14 Simple Ways To Take Plain Tuna Salad To The Next Level

There's tuna salad — and then there's amazing tuna salad. One incredible ingredient can elevate a ho-hum salad into tinned fish as a lifestyle.

Plain tuna salad's been due for a glow-up. Once salads hit the restaurant scene in the mid-1800s, fish regularly appeared in the mix. Still, it was the invention of canned tuna in 1904 that took all the cooking out of cooked fish, making quick-fix tuna salad the best thing since sliced bread.

Tastes have changed with the times, leading to a collective craving for more flavor, something to dazzle the senses, and, well, whatever it takes to leverage a can of tuna. Luckily, this dish was practically born for transformations, including everything from the crunchier to the sweeter, the lighter, the fluffier, the nuttier, and the, um, vegan-er. Dress it up or dress it down, just don't go on one more day eating the same plain tuna salad you've always known. Here's how to take your tuna to the next level.

If you love them in your chocolate chip cookies and eat them by the handful, there's a real chance that walnuts will add a pleasing crunch to your plain tuna salad recipe. And, as a bonus, you'll also sneak in extra nutrients and healthy polyunsaturated fats.

You could toss them into a mayo-style tuna salad or sandwich the mix between two slices of bread. Or, you can guarantee the nuttiest crunch by sprinkling rough-chopped walnuts right on top of your salad, too. Not only do walnuts level-up the texture, they boost your nutrition, as well. Toasted nuts offer extra crunch, but raw walnuts can support digestion, thanks to natural enzymes.

Walnuts pack good-for-you unsaturated fats that satiate your hunger, omega-3 fatty acids that minimize inflammation, and compounds that trigger brain function and a healthy gut. Add to that the iron and magnesium that come with walnuts and your plain tuna salad just got upgraded to taking-care-of-business class.

There's a bounty of options to sub for the mayo in your tuna salad (yogurt, hummus, avocado — they're all winners). But if you want to go a little lighter on the calories and fat, go all in and skip the mayo completely.

While these versions are typically billed as healthier tuna salad recipes, you won't be forced to sacrifice flavor in the name of lowering fat. Mayonnaise imparts tang, umami, and sometimes sweetness to the mix, but just an average tablespoon serving of it contains 10 grams of fat or 15% of the recommended daily serving for adults. With recipes calling for 1 tablespoon of mayo for every 5-ounce can of tuna on average, a recipe that calls for 4 cans of tuna is going to lean heavier on the fat.

You can incorporate mix-ins to keep it interesting, with some suggesting a pickled profile with mustard, dill, and pepperoncini and others leaning Mediterranean with the addition of Kalamata olives, fresh parsley, and mint leaves. Not only does mayo-less tuna salad count eliminate the dairy from this dish, it can also make it paleo-friendly for those following a diet that steers clear of dairy and grains.

You could double up on the umami of the mayo by adding a classic fish sauce, or ride the wave by mixing in some on-trend miso paste to level up your plain tuna salad. This savory, fermented condiment derives from soybeans, sea salt, and rice koji which is rice that's been cooked using a fermentation culture known as Aspergillus oryzae. It's an extremely versatile Japanese seasoning blend that's used in all sorts of dishes from miso soup to miso butter, steak marinated in miso, and even cacio e pepe-esque miso pasta. All that to say it's basically screaming to be mixed into plain tuna salad.

You'll likely find miso labeled by its color in the U.S., with each variety lending a slightly different umami profile to the recipe. Some home cooks suggest sweet, mild-tasting white miso paste, also known as shiro miso, while the saltier, more deeply-flavored red miso would take the savory vibe to the next level. Can't decide which way to miso? Mixed miso paste — also called awase miso — combines the best of both the shiro and aka miso varieties, serving up rich, red miso flavor with a delicate white miso sweetness.

Acting a little bit like the cousin of the famous Waldorf salad with the fruit and the mayonnaise, crisp apples give plain tuna salad all the sweet crunch you didn't know it needed. And it definitely needed it.

More than a few basic tuna salad recipes have left their soft, gloppy impression on a tuna melt or two. But when you're craving a robust texture with contrasting sweet and tangy flavors, apples are key. Martha Stewart famously tosses a diced McIntosh or Gala apple into her (favorite) tuna salad, but you could also go for tart Granny Smith apples, Honeycrisp or Fuji apples, and sweetly tart Pink Lady apples.

Not only do apples add something to chew on, they also boost the nutritional value of your tuna salad, packing a relatively light calorie load into a nutrient-dense fruit. Apples are known for being antioxidants, and offering fiber as well as vitamin C. They also contribute to better gut health and digestion.

This might seem obvious to tuna lovers who source their oil-packed fish in nothing but glass jars, but shelling out for one of the better brands of tuna on the market will, in turn, totally transform your tuna salad game. That's right, you've gotta bring on the bougie.

Great tuna just makes tuna salad better, and some higher-quality types of tuna include oil-packed tuna and tuna chunks in brine. Other than the fact that higher-grade packaged tuna will likely feature a milder flavor, and more delicate flake — like heaven on a cracker — if the tuna is packed in oil like it is for Olasagasti Bonito Del Norte tuna, that oil creates a richness that infuses each filet.

You might choose tuna packed in water if you're watching fat and calories, but oil-packed tuna offers additional nutrients including selenium, which supports metabolism and immunity, as well as vitamin D, which builds strong bones and teeth. If you're in a situationship with your current can of choice, here are a few tuna brands to kick things up a notch.

Just a little kimchi adds major tang to your tuna. Liven up your plain tuna salad with traditional Korean fermented veggies that complement just about any savory recipe.

If you're unfamiliar with this dish, in the U.S., you'll often find it prepared as baechu kimchi with Napa cabbage, garlic, salt, as well as fish sauce and gochugaru (Korean chili flakes). The gochugaru is where this cabbagy kimchi gets its deep red color and signature spicy kick. What goes really well with something that tastes sour, a little salty, and ultra rich in umami? Mayonnaise. Is it a match made in heaven? It sure feels like it. Here, kimchi can either add a little zip or almost take over the show depending on how you incorporate it into your tuna salad. Some recipes call for an entire jar of the stuff — including the juices — while others mix in a smaller amount that's been drained to offer crunchy pops of fermented flavor. It's up to you how much you want to add, but we recommend starting out small and adding more from there to taste.

Fermented foods have also long been considered a benefit to your health. Kimchi actually features a natural bacteria that can help with digestion and even restore your gut microbiome when eaten regularly over time. Nobody's saying that tuna salad is now the superfood of lunch time, but nobody's "not" saying that, either.

Maybe not everyone wants a tuna salad recipe that lights up the fridge like a Vegas casino. Sometimes you feel like switching things up with a little more subtlety that flies slightly under the radar but still provides a flavor variation on the theme. If you're searching for a nutty, herb-y, salty addition to your recipe, marinated artichoke hearts are just the ticket.

Tender marinated artichoke hearts are jam-packed with flavor and provide a tangy earthiness that lends itself to a luscious tuna salad mix. You could incorporate them in any way you want; adding artichoke hearts plus some of the oil-based marinade left behind in the jar or adding grilled marinated artichoke hearts that have been drained.

Artichoke hearts also provide a nutrient-dense boost to your tuna salad. They're packed with potassium, plus phytonutrients and antioxidants that can help regulate bad cholesterol, while being loaded with fiber which keeps you feeling full. Mix in a few 'chokes and you'll also be getting a dose of vitamin C that works to repair and grow tissue, strengthen bones, and create collagen in the body.

Gochujang easily ups the plain tuna salad ante with just a dab of funky, fermented, umami paste. New spice, who dis? Well, if you like bold, sweet-and-spicy, salty sauces, you might really love gochujang, which is made of sticky rice, red chile pepper flakes, fermented soybeans, and salt. You'll probably find it in a tub of some kind, and once you figure out how hard you want to go (start with a little to test its intensity), you might find yourself just as obsessed with this Korean favorite as the internet seems to be.

Recipes from heat-seeking home cooks feature just a dollop of bright red gochujang. Even a tablespoon of the sauce can quickly transform innocent pink tuna into a tomato-like hue the color of the setting sun. It's dramatic, it's zippy, it's exactly what you need to zhuzh up a plain old tuna salad like it's going out dancing (in your mouth).

Chickpeas over fishies, people. We're classifying this one under tuna salad even though there's no tuna in it because sometimes tuna salad is a vibe, not an ingredient. Vegans, rejoice; this switcheroo is for you.

Making it meatless, protein-packed chickpeas open up the world of tuna salad dishes (see: melts, hors d'oeuvres, tuna salad Niçoise) for the vegan and vegetarian set. Cooked chickpeas — or garbanzo beans — taste nutty and buttery, and you don't need to skin them before adding them to the mix. Plus, mashing most of the chickpeas leads to a velvety, melt-in-your-mouth texture that works perfectly with the crunch of pickles and fresh herbs.

Chickpeas also offer a few health benefits that tuna just can't swing. They're full of filling fiber, blood cell boosting vitamin B9, and the essential mineral manganese, which can help in balancing metabolism, bolstering brain and heart function, and regulating blood sugar.

Fluffier tuna salad might not have been the first thing on your mind, but here's one you don't want to knock before you try it (psst: You can do this with crumbled Cheez-Its). Japanese panko edges out breadcrumbs here since panko is made with airier white bread, which maintains its air pockets; Regular breadcrumbs are too small to have air pockets in the first place. Mixing panko into your recipe creates a lighter texture, while also giving you the superpower of being in command of the level of moisture. Too heavy and wet? Add more breadcrumbs.

Still, you don't have to limit yourself to just panko for this purpose. Along with the savory, salty Cheez-Its, there's also the classic spud option because if potato chips can add crunch to tuna casserole, they can do the same for tuna salad. Just make sure to add them right before eating so they don't lose their crispiness.

There is definitely an audience for tuna salad with raisins. But if you want to go for the shriveled grape's trendier sister fruit, scoop up a handful of dried cranberries to toss into your next salad. Dried cranberries offer a similar chewy texture to that of raisins, but with a sweet-tart sort of flavor that contrasts creamy mayo and brightens up pickled flavors like mustard or relish.You could go all in and add ¼ cup of dried cranberries per can of tuna, or just sprinkle in a few and go for a mix that serves up more of an occasional burst of big cranberry flavor.

For the sake of adding color, golden raisins offer another option that swings a little more fun than regular raisins. With a little of the tartness of dried cranberries, golden raisins offer a semi-soft, plump, flavorful pop in an otherwise creamy tuna salad.

If you have not heard of this tip before, please immediately add curry powder to your shopping list for your next tuna salad, and prepare to just be amazed. This warm, rich Indian seasoning blend commonly includes cumin, fennel seeds, coriander, and turmeric among other earthy spices. Just a tablespoon of curry powder for every 15 ounces of tuna does the job of flavoring the entire salad while adding a deep, golden hue that tastes as good as it looks.

Often, curried tuna salad recipes utilize the Greek yogurt sub for mayo, and with yogurt being a common ingredient in Indian cooking, it only adds more depth to this dish. Plus, curry powder sure packs the health benefits. Curry offers anti-inflammatory support that may alleviate oxidative stress and increase the health of your heart. It's not a simple, plain tuna salad anymore.

This one's for everyone who's ever pulled the "it doesn't taste hot to me" spicy food flex. If you really want to turn up the heat on your plain tuna salad — with umami times the power of Andre the Giant — add a little prepared horseradish for some serious bite.

Too much horseradish definitely brings the pain, so start easy on the amount and taste as you go. Recipes that include horseradish often call for something close to a tablespoon for every 6-ounce can of tuna. But other recipes go even lighter, suggesting 1½ teaspoons for each 5-ounce can of tuna, plus fixings. Also note the type of horseradish on the shelf. You'll see prepared horseradish and then horseradish sauce which isn't the same thing. The sauce version comes with all sorts of additional seasonings and ingredients that can affect the overall flavor. Go with plain prepared horseradish and challenge yourself to the donkey kick of tuna salad recipes.

Capers are amazing in tuna salad, but you probably already knew that. The tip here is that you can add texture and crank up the briny flavor by frying the capers before adding them to your tuna salad. Sound freakin delicious? We thought so, too. Even better, it is an easy way to really kick up the flavor while adding a little texture.

Capers open up like tiny flowers when they are fried, leaving their "petals" to develop an irresistible crunch. To successfully deep fry the tiniest pickles on the planet, make sure you are starting with capers that have been patted dry. Fry in batches in oil that's hot enough to shimmer, and allow them to fully cool so they reach ultimate crispy level. This one might be better as a topper, but if you want to go with a full tuna salad toss, we're sure these things are "caper"-ble of retaining some of that crispy fried crunch.