This Avocado Tuna Salad has a simple and surprising combination of ingredients but it just works! This tuna salad can be served on the side with dinner or as a very satisfying lunch because it comes together quickly and is loaded with protein.
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The avocado gives this tuna salad recipe a healthy and highly satisfying creaminess without needing mayo. The lemon juice and cilantro give it incredible fresh flavor – this may just become your new favorite tuna salad.
P.S. Want to know a little secret? This salad is a close relative to the #1 recipe on my site of all time – that’s where the inspiration came from and it was an instant hit!
Ingredients for Avocado Tuna Salad (print the recipe below):
This Avocado Tuna Salad has such simple ingredients and you may already have everything you need to make it (I love it when that happens!!).
What Kind of Tuna is Best for Tuna Salad?
We used drained Solid White Albacore Tuna in oil for more flavor and it seems to hold its form better, but you can substitute for well-drained tuna in water if you prefer.
Make-Ahead Tip: Once you add salt, the salad should be enjoyed within 3 hours of making, or the cucumbers start to lose their crispness. To prep the salad in advance, combine all of the ingredients except the salt, cover and refrigerate. Season with salt just before serving.
I would pass you a fork if I could so you could experience this amazing tuna salad for yourself. It’s worth discovering and this tuna salad recipe is meant to be shared!
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT (affiliate links):
Boos Cutting Board
OXO Fruit Scoop
Wusthof Classic Ikon 7-Inch Santoku Knife
VIDEO GEAR (if you’re curious!):
CANON 6D Camera
Canon 80D Camera (auto-focus for overhead shots)
Canon EF 24-105 F4 Camera Lens
Canon EF 100mm 2.8L IS Camera Lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L IS USM Camera Lens
Manfrotto Tripod
Manfrotto Video Head
Rhino Slider with Motion Controller
Rhino Arc Motorized Pan Head for Motion
Camera Mount Wireless Lavalier Mic System
Avocado Tuna Salad Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this Tuna Salad Recipe with Avocado! It is mouthwatering good and so simple – definitely an upgrade on classic tuna salad.
Is your mouth watering yet??
Print Friendly for Avocado Tuna Salad:
Avocado Tuna Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 oz tuna in oil, drained and flaked, (3 small cans)
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 2 large or 3 medium avocados, peeled, pitted & sliced
- 1 small/medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, (1/2 of a small bunch)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, combine: sliced cucumber, sliced avocado, thinly sliced red onion, drained tuna, and 1/4 cup cilantro
- Drizzle salad ingredients with 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper (or season to taste). Toss to combine and serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
It really is as good as it looks. Avocado and tuna are a winning combination.
So much juiciness and flavour!!! Make this for your next party and your guests will rave about your avocado tuna salad. I hope you love this so much that it becomes a new favorite for you.
Q: What are YOUR favorite tuna recipes?
I am not a big fan of tuna have you tried this recipe with chicken or anything else?
Oh yes! Chicken would work great here :). I also have a chicken avocado salad that is currently our most popular recipe 🙂
FANTASTIC recipe! My only amendment would be to use only 1/2 of the red onion and to finely chop it rather than thinly slice it. I found it a bit overpowering as is, but even so this five star recipe is worth its weight in gold. Thanks for sharing, Natasha!
You’re welcome Laura! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
How long does this recipe keep??? It looks amazing 🙂
Hi Amber, because the avocado will slowly start to brown, I would say not more than 2 days. The lemon juice will preserve the avocados and keep them looking fresh overnight but probably not much beyond that.
Thus looks yummy and I’m going to try it with canned salmon. Canned tuna in Canada isn’t that popular and is usually served to cats, but salmon is very popular and easy to find.
lol that’s interesting and must be a cultural thing. Cats – that’s funny to me :). This would still work great with salmon. I love that idea!
What part of Canada are you in? Because we have canned tuna in our groceries just as much as there is milk and bread. I am in Ontario.
YOu said it, Tuna in Canada sucks big time! Cheap, and no flavor.
Loved this! I only had 10 oz of tuna so mixed in 5 oz of canned salmon. Originally put three tbsp of lemon in but thought it could use more. Ended up putting the juice of the whole lemon and the flavor was amazing and so bright. I thought the red onion amount was fine and wouldn’t reduce it. Can’t wait to try some other variations. Thanks for sharing’
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
My dad is not easily pleased and this was magic! thanks Natasha for another successful recipe!
That’s great, I’m happy to hear that! Thank YOU for sharing your great review!
I despise cilantro. What could I use as a replacement? Looks delicious!
Hi Marsha, if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can use dill or chives/green onion. 🙂
Could I half the recipe? No one but me would eat it😕
Hi Janey, absolutely you can cut it in half 🙂
Hi! I write for SIMPLY SERENE, a blog about clean eating, gut health and natural wellness. I included this awesome recipe in one of my posts – hope you can check it out! Thanks!
thesimplysereneblog.com/2017/12/03/6-reasons-to-eat-more-avocados/
Hi. I’m new to avocados so I just want to know if cilantro is necessary in recipes
Hi Shirley, we are crazy about cilantro and it compliments avocados really well, but if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can use dill or chives/green onion
Looks yummy, not a fan of cucumber or celantro though. Any ideas? THX.
Hi Aldo, you can customize it. I would suggest making our chicken avocado salad and just subbing with tuna.
This was so good! although I didn’t use tuna and used Cannellini Beans and chick peas instead, so simple and so yum and so healthy! 🙂
I’m glad you love the recipe Stasia! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
I have made this recipe with great results, using tuna in olive oil. Instead of draining/discarding this oil, I use it for the dressing. Also, I have found the leftover salad to be fine for lunch several days later. Thanks for thd inspiration.
You’re welcome Michael! I’m happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
This recipe was awesome, all I did differently was add thinly sliced fennel and enjoyed it on toasted whole wheat bread. Delicious!
I’m happy to hear that Octavia! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review with other readers!
This is very good. I am just wondering how long this will keep i you do not add in the salt.
Thank you much.
Hi Stan, because the avocado will slowly start to brown, I would say not more than 2 days. The lemon juice will preserve the avocados and keep them looking fresh overnight but probably not much beyond that.
Can you please provide the nutritional value content?
Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you Sandra!
How much is in one serving? Look delicious!!
Hi Rebecca, it depends on how you are serving it but generally about 1 cup per serving.
How many calories per cup?
Due to time constraints, I don’t typically include nutritional info, but check out this nutrition analyzer – you can plug in the ingredients from any recipe, select the serving size and it will give you nutritional info, calories, etc. I hope that is helpful to you Toni!
This was so delicious I’m not a tuna person myself but when you add all these ingredients together it takes the flavor of tuna to a whole new level . Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re welcome Maria! I’m glad to hear you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
I’m thinking this would be a great lunch for my diabetic husband. I have a question though – what is the difference between an English cucumber and just a regular cucumber? Is there a taste difference? Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Julie, generally, there isn’t much taste difference. English cucumbers are more expensive because they are not waxed like plain cucumbers so you don’t have to peel English cucumbers where you do want to peel regular cucumbers. Homegrown is best if you have them, but any kind of cucumbers will work in this recipe 🙂
Hello Natasha. Great website! Awesome work – especially the videos. I wish there were more videos!
I found your site by accident, and have been visiting it often ever since. Also, with a daughter named Natasha, your site has a special meaning for us!
Being as you are a really good cook, I would LOVE if you explored alternative diets, such as the Whole 30 and Paleo diet, or even the Auto Immune Paleo diet, and developed recipes for those special diets. My husband was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s recently, and I have been searching for recipes that suit his eating requirements ever since. Some of your recipes have been helpful to me, such as this one above.
Looking forward to seeing what you might be able to come up with!
Many thanks!
Hi Kate, I do need to study up on the newer diets and learn the ins and outs. Is there a good book you could recommend for getting started? Thanks Kate!
Kate- Have you checked out the Trim Healthy Mama diet?? In what is called an “E” setting, Hashimoto’s is helped. My
daughter has this as well and she likes the whole 30 diet and THM
Good Luck
Sarah
Hello. Im interested in trying this. Do you need to use tuna in oil or will the tuna in water work just as well. Tyia!
Hi Nicole, it will still work using tuna in water 🙂