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?
Great recipe! Thanks! I had most of the ingredients, so it was perfect timing to find this. I had a regular cuke, so I took out the seeds. I also had fennel so I finely to get rid of, so added some finely chopped stalks which added a nice crunch and tossed in the fronds. No lemons, so substituting lime was excellent. And then a little hot crushed red pepper (UTICA GRIND has no seeds!)
A BIG hit.
Wow! That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your spin on this dish!
What is the serving size?
Hi Chris, there are 6 servings. the serving size is listed in the upper left side of the recipe card. The recipe card is located at the bottom of the post 🙂
SO GOOD! I can’t say it loud enough!
Thank you, I will be making this again and again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this!
Could you substitute cilantro with something else. Not a fan of it. Maybe spinac , kale, etc..
Kathleen, if you are not a fan of cilantro, you can use dill or chives/green onion. 🙂
Thank you
You’re welcome!
Oh, good thought, thanks! Dill and parsley I have, but I can’t stand cilantro (and so many recipes and restaurants want to put it in everything!).
RK
You’re welcome.
What is the serving size for the nutritional value listed?
Hi Sharon, this recipe serves 6 people as a side salad. The nutritional value would be for 1/6th of the recipe. Hope this helps 🙂
Wow, wow and wow! This salad was fantastic! I mixed the tunas. I used chunk light in oil and solid white albacore. I also added tomatoes. It was so yummy tasting and filling I made it 2 days in a row. A very nice change from the traditional salads. I will now try the avocado chicken salad.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :).
I used tuna in water and will definitely get the tuna in oil next time…maybe even salmon. This definitely tasted less fishy the next day too. 6 out of 10.
Thank you Joy.
I honestly could not have predicted how delicious this was going to be looks like I just found a regular lunch! Thank you!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hi! These look so good! I have shared this recipe in my post 12 Best Keto Meal Prep Recipes for #MealPrepMonday on Keeping It Keto. Thanks for much for your sharing your recipes with the rest of us! ♥ Keto On!
xox
Sarah
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
Thank you for a beautiful flavourful and nutritious salad. Quick and easy, the whole family loves it! Thank you Natasha.
You are very welcome Amy and thank you for making it 😀
hi
i had all of the ingrediants, plus a half of red pepper that needed to be eaten so i added it, will definately make this again, very soon.
thanks,
sherry
You are very welcome Sherry and thank you visiting our site 😀
Always looking for quick lunch recipes and stumbled across yours. Oh wow, is an understatement. I never would have imagined combining these ingredients would be so spectacularly tasty.
I’m happy to hear how much you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
Hubbys doctor told us he need to eat more fish. I hadnt bought tuna as I didn’t know he like it. So I bought some, but also had some avocado that needed to be eaten. I came across this recipe and had all the ingredients in the house. I put it on croissants, added shredded cheese, hard boiled egg and tomatoes. It made a fantastic sandwich. Going to keep this recipe.
Yum, that sounds delicious Fern! Thanks for sharing your great review with other readers!
Instead of regular tuna, I use ALBACORE.
do you have the nutritional info for me? net carbs and calories
We are working on adding nutrition labels and metric measurements on all of our recipes. It’s a slow process since it is one recipe at a time. Until all of the recipes are updated, check out this nutrition analyzer: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594. 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!
Thank you so much for being patient Karen!!
My husband and I just had this salad for supper, and we both liked it! He’s pickier than I am so I was thrilled that he liked it.
Thank you for this wonderful, healthy, recipe.
You’re welcome Linda! I’m happy to hear the recipe is “picky eater” approved! Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
Hi Natasha, I am gluten-free and cannot have mayo because of an allergy to canola and soybean oils (always in mayo), so your recipe intrigued me. I made it and added Roma tomatoes, red pepper and lime juice instead of lemon. Omg…off the charts fantastic! I ate half of it for my dinner and had to control myself from finishing it totally. Thank you so much…I will be watching for more recipes!
HI Marilyn, I am so happy to hear that!! If you liked this one, you will probably also Love our other viral salad recipes and this new salmon avocado salmon – all of them are mayo free :).
Thank you so much. I will definitely check out and try the other mayo-free recipes as well. This has been an answer to my “allergy” prayers!
My pleasure Marilyn, glad I can help!
This is AMAZING! I substituted chicken for tuna and cherry tomatoes (sliced) for cucumber. Absolutely wonderful!
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe and how versatile it can be! Thanks for sharing your great review Melanie!
How can you half this, since I am a single person
Hi Charlie, it might be easier to do 1/3 of the recipe and cut everything down by 1/3; i.e. 1 avocado, 1 can tuna, etc. We are working on a tool to add to all of our videos where people will be able to change the serving size and see the modifications in the list of ingredients but it is taking 1 recipe at a time so it will be a little bit before they are all completed.
That would be such a special help!
You need to list the calories and carbs of your recipe. Will only use ones that do .
We are working on adding nutrition labels and metric measurements on all of our recipes. It’s a slow process since it is one recipe at a time. Until all of the recipes are updated, 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 and thanks for being patient Sandra!
Looks good.
Not sure if I could deal with the cilantro. Not a fan of cilantro.
And I might add some more veggies (olives, roasted red peppers, and celery) But damn, I love me a good Tuna salad!
It’s super popular for good reason! It’s so versatile, you can definitely change up the ingredients to fit your personal preferences. I hope you enjoy it Bob!