I don’t know about you, but I LOVE a good tuna salad. Nowadays, a tuna sandwich costs around ten bucks, and they typically douse it in full-fat mayo. Making it at home is not only cheaper, but you can control how much mayo is in it. As someone who loves to get creative in the kitchen, I searched for a healthier version that didn’t neglect taste. What I came up with has no added sugar, is high in protein, and is lower in fat/calories. This is the magic I came up with.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of tuna (I like Sold White Albacore Tuna in Water)
- 1 TBL pickle juice
- 1 TBL plain Greek yogurt
- ½ TBL mayonnaise
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp celery salt
- Black pepper to taste
Pickle Juice:
Yes, pickle juice! Trust me. My aunt told me about this little secret when she was making me chicken salad one afternoon. It adds the perfect amount of tang to the tuna salad.
Plain Greek Yogurt:
My friend introduced me to this healthy mayo swap. It replaces some of the mayo for a tuna salad that has fewer calories and more protein. The best part is that you won’t even taste the difference when tuna is made with all mayo.
Mayo:
I go for the Sir Kensington Mayonnaise, which has no added sugar and is less processed than your typical mayonnaise or light mayo. Sir Kensington’s first two ingredients are avocado oil and cage-free egg yolks. Hellmann’s Light Mayo has water and soybean oil as the first two ingredients.
Onion Powder, Celery Salt, & Black Pepper:
I often don’t have the time or energy to chop up fresh onion and celery for my salad. I like the flavor of celery, but in all honesty, I don’t enjoy the texture of celery in my tuna. To preserve that onion and celery flavor, I opted for onion powder and celery salt. The celery salt adds the flavor of celery while also providing the salt—kind of a two-for-one spice in this. And, in my opinion, the onion powder tastes just as good as adding chopped-up onion. I top it off with a good twist of cracked black pepper and then stir it up in a bowl.
I love eating this tuna salad right out of the bowl with a fork, scooping it up with a little bag of reduced-fat Cape Cod potato chips, or putting it on a fresh Portuguese roll with all the fixings (a slice of cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and banana peppers).
