Quick & Easy Tuna Salad with Celery and Relish
Ok, here’s the deal. Not every recipe I share is Cuban (I am first-generation Cuban-American, after all!) BUT… every recipe I do share reflects how I actually eat.
And in my Cuban family, even the basics have to taste good. If not, what’s the point of eating it?!
I’ll tell you… Mami loves my tuna salad, so we make this for lunch on repeat. It’s our go-to basic tuna salad recipe: creamy, crunchy, a little tangy, and ready in 10 minutes.
I’ve tested a bunch of variations, but this one always wins. Whether you serve it as tuna salad for sandwiches, stuff it in a lettuce wrap, or pile it over warm & fluffy white rice (yum!), it’s fast, satisfying, and full of flavor.
Let me show you how to make it!
5 star review
“Just finished eating nearly the whole batch. Thanks for the recipe! I made it as-is, give or take, since I was just eyeballing, but this is gonna be my new go to for a quick lunch!”
—Stacy
How To Make My ‘Sassy’ Tuna Salad 💃🏻
If you’ve got a can of tuna and 10 minutes, you’re halfway to lunch.
This simple tuna salad recipe starts with basic pantry ingredients—just tuna, mayo, a little pickle relish, plus garlic and onion powder for flavor.
Mami and I prefer wild albacore tuna because it tastes so clean but use what you have on hand!
This tuna salad comes together in minutes: just mix the tuna, mayo, relish, celery, and spices in a bowl until creamy and well combined.
Serve it however you like—one of my favorite unique ways is to serve this tuna recipe with Yuca (Cassava) Chips. Have you ever made them? Highly recommend!
I love recipes like this because they fall under my quick 15-minute recipes. Think fast, flexible, and actually fills you up!
I make this easy tuna salad at least once a week… right up there with my easy Cuban pinwheels, another fast favorite I make when I need something that doesn’t taste boring.
Recommended For This Recipe
Mixing Bowl Set
This mixing bowl set comes with three different sizes of bowls that are perfect for prepping or mixing so many delicious dishes!
Quick Tips
You can totally swap the mayo for Greek yogurt or avocado, if you’re wanting to switch things up, and feel free to stir in extras like red onions, chopped apples, or fresh herbs.
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3 to 5 days, but skip the freezer on this one.
Quick & Easy Tuna Salad with Celery and Relish
Ingredients
- 10 ounces canned wild albacore solid white tuna
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1 celery stalk, sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Serving Suggestions
- Arroz Blanco (White Rice)
- Yuca Chips
- Lettuce wraps
- Crackers
- Whole grain bread
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the drained tuna, mayo, pickle relish, celery, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Use a fork to break up the tuna and mix everything together until it’s creamy and evenly combined.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed (sometimes I add an extra pinch of garlic powder for more punch).
- Scoop the tuna salad onto sandwich bread, chips, crackers, or lettuce leaves, or do what we do and serve it over warm white rice. Enjoy!
Been looking for something simple but flavorful that this retired widower can make. This one was perfect. I use very high quality tuna and don’t want to kill it with other flavors, and this does it.
Omg! I’m so glad I found your page, just saw a recipe my mom used to cook for my Cuban dad, “ROPA VIEJA “. Brought back so many memories. Can’t wait to try your recipes!
Loved this. Quick and easy. The only thing different I did was chop a small amount of red onion and added that.
Just made this recipe for my family and have already decided to meal prep it for the week! I didn’t have celery on hand but it’s still perfectly easy and delicious. Subbed light mayo to keep it more WW point friendly ;)
Made the tuna salad. Used minced garlic and chopped onion in place of the powders and added 2 hard boiled eggs. Yum 😋
It needed more seasoning but overall, it came out pretty good.
Simple, tasty , excellent on a hot day
Do you know any recipes for a “Mexican style’ tuna salad? I lost touch with a friend that made one she called “mock ceviche”-not sure why that name though.
Anyway, I remember her using cans of tuna,chopped cilantro and onions,some chopped up canned chipotles in adobo
& a little of the juice from that can and she served it on tostada shells.
Sounds like you have the recipe right there. Sounds delicious, Sherry! :)
Since I was told to make this my own, ans I did not have relish on hand, I did half of Mayo and half of sandwich spread, the whole cereal stick (leaves and all) and just winged it with the powders. 😅
Family loved it! Total win and easy to make.
I just made this and it’s in the fridge getting chilled. I’ll probably eat it tomorrow because I like it to sit overnight. I did taste it; really good.
Just finished eating nearly the whole batch. Thanks for the recipe!
I made it as-is, give or take, since I was just eyeballing, but this is gonna be my new go to for a quick lunch!
Happy you enjoyed it, Stacy!
Easy and delicious!!
Love this, raw onion and garlic can be overpowering and do a job on your breath! This is a great recipe for tuna salad.
Glad you loved it, Jennifer! :)
Why all the powders?
I use capers, less Mayo, Trader Joe’s tuna (the best) w olive oil drained and pepper. Celery is great but I just don’t like it. Same with onions , if on s burger patty 🤮
I agree tuna is an easy go to that we forget about but why not use fresh garlic or onions?
You can adapt the recipe however you’d like, Sudan! :)