This recipe takes a healthy twist on a classic lunch staple: the tuna melt! Learn how to make this tuna sandwich loaded with healthy fats, proteins, and clean ingredients.
The Best Healthy Tuna Melt
There is not just one way to make a tuna melt. Everyone has their own version of a tuna melt that they grew up with, whether it’s between two slices of bread or on an open-faced sandwich.
Personally, I’ve always enjoyed tuna melt on an open-faced sandwich because that means I get to taste more tuna salad! Yum!
Tuna melt refers to a tuna salad spread on bread and layered with cheese. It’s grilled to a crunch, melting the cheese into the tuna salad along with the crunch from the onions and celery (sneaking in vegetables again!). This makes for such a tasty combination and takes the normally cold tuna sandwich and turns it into a deliciously hot meal!
I’ve shared my healthy tuna melt many times with reluctant friends (they get turned off by tuna) and have only received feedback on how amazing it turned out to be. So even those picky anti-tuna lovers in your family are sure to enjoy this recipe.
So, what’s in this tuna melt?
Do you know what’s in your can of tuna? The type of catch and the way the fish is processed will all take a toll on our bodies, so it’s important to know just what we are consuming. I’ve learned so much about choosing the right seafood for my recipes, and want to help you learn too.
This tuna melt sandwich is made only with the healthiest ingredients so I know I’m feeding my family the absolute best ingredients.
This recipe calls for wild-caught tuna. This is 100% pure tuna without ANY additives, has low mercury content, and is sustainably sourced. Read my full, honest review of this tuna!
In this recipe, I’ve chosen the cleanest mayonnaise I know from Primal Kitchen. There aren’t any artificial ingredients or preservatives, and it’s paleo-approved! Thanks to the avocado oil and organic eggs, this mayo is healthier but doesn’t compromise on taste. Tuna melts can’t get any cleaner than this.
As for bread, I like the flavour and texture you can get from sourdough bread. But of course, the options are endless. Tuna melt works perfectly on burger buns and baguettes too. You can make this a gluten-free dish using gluten-free bread instead.
If you’re ready to make tuna melt that’ll blow your mind away, check out my recipe below!
For more flavorful salad sandwiches try these: Literally The BEST Egg Salad Sandwich, Avocado Chicken Salad or Chicken Caesar salad Wrap.
Ingredients needed to make this tuna salad:
- canned wild-caught tuna: always opt for wild-caught seafood!
- mayonnaise: (I always use the Primal Kitchen mayo, as I find it’s made with the cleanest ingredients).
- dijon mustard: because what’s tuna salad without some dijon mustard mixed in for flavor?!
- celery: for the best crunch (and a great way to sneak veggies in)!
- red onion: also for the crunch-factor and gives the tuna salad lots of flavor.
- lemon juice: love the flavor that it gives this tuna salad.
- garlic: for flavor!!
- salt and pepper: adjust to your liking!
- bread: I recommend whole wheat, sourdough, gluten-free or paleo bread.
- cheese: always opt for grass-fed and organic. I like swiss or cheddar for this. I buy a block of cheese so I can freshly grate it on top. Sliced cheese works as well.
The Best Tuna Melt
This recipe takes a healthy twist on a classic lunch staple: the tuna melt! Learn how to make this tuna sandwich loaded with healthy fats, proteins, and clean ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Broil
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cans wild-caught tuna (drained)
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup diced celery
- 3 tbsp diced red onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- pinch of salt & pepper
- bread (sourdough or whole wheat; change to paleo-friendly or gluten-free bread if preferred)
- cheese (always opt for grass-fed and organic). I like swiss or cheddar for this.
Instructions
- Turn the oven on broil and allow it to preheat for 5 minutes.
- Drain the canned tuna to remove any excess liquid.
- Add the tuna, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, celery, red onion, and garlic in a mixing bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
- Line a baking tray with a baking sheet and place a few slices of bread onto the tray.
- Spoon the tuna salad on top of a few slices of bread.
- Freshly grate some swiss cheese or cheddar cheese on top of the tuna salad.
- Place in the oven and broil for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy!
Notes
- Broiling creates a high heat environment of 500 F to 550 F in the oven, which is why it’s great for making tuna melt in a short time. Since the broiler settings may vary across ovens, I recommend that you experiment with the heat in your oven in advance. You may want to adjust the time you allow it to preheat and to broil your sandwiches.
An alternative to this would be to use a toaster oven. It’s smaller and may not load as many tuna melt sandwiches at a go, but it does the trick! Whichever way you choose, the end product should be a crispy sandwich with gloriously melted cheese over a tasty tuna salad! - You can make extra portions of tuna salad to store in the fridge for up to 5 days. These will come in handy when you need to fix up a quick lunch for a busy day! Just spread some tuna salad over bread, grate some cheese, and broil it!
Keywords: tuna melt
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