I had a request for more tuna recipes lately but instead of heavy casseroles, I was in the mood for something lighter and more fresh (I’m soooo ready for Spring). So I made this Mediterranean Tuna Salad, which is sort of a hybrid of two of my other favorite recipes. And guess what? It holds up great in the fridge, so it’s another meal prep ready salad! 🙌
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What’s in Mediterranean Tuna Salad?
As I mentioned in the intro, this salad is a hybrid of two of my other favorite recipes: Super Fresh Cucumber Salad and Tuna and White Bean Salad. The salad starts with a base of fresh vegetables, like cucumber, tomato, red onion, and parsley, then gets a dose of protein from tuna and white beans, and is finished off with a tangy homemade vinaigrette and just the right amount of crumbled feta. The combo is absolutely perfect!
What Else Can I Add?
What I love about “refrigerator salads” (besides the fact that they hold up for days in the fridge) is that they are always quite flexible. You can add, substitute, or skip ingredients based on your needs. Here are some other ingredients that you can add into this Mediterranean Tuna Salad:
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Olives
- Bell peppers
- Chickpeas
- Avocado
- Cooked orzo, penne, or bowtie pasta
- Spinach or Romaine (keep separate if meal prepping)
- Roasted red peppers
How to Serve Mediterranean Tuna Salad
This well rounded salad could be served on its own in a larger portion as a stand alone meal, but you could also round it out by adding some pita and hummus on the side, stuffing the salad itself into a pita or wrap, or adding some cooked pasta to make it into a pasta salad. However you eat it, it’s going to be filling, fresh, and flavorful!
What Kind of Tuna Should I Use?
I definitely suggest chunk light tuna for this recipe because I think it’s the happy medium between good texture (large pieces instead of tiny flakes) and price. You can use tuna packed in either water or oil, whichever you prefer. The nutritional stats below are calculated using tuna packed in water.
How Long Does it Last?
My salad stayed fresh for about 3-4 days. The ingredients hold up extremely well in the refrigerator. You do want to give it a good stir before serving, though, to redistribute the dressing and make sure everything is as flavorful as possible.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Servings 6 about 1 cup eachIngredients
Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil ($0.52)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Salad
- 1 English cucumber* ($1.29)
- 1 pint grape tomatoes* ($1.49)
- 1/2 red onion ($0.16)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (about ½ cup) ($0.35)
- 1 15oz. can cannellini beans ($0.69)
- 1 12oz. can chunk light tuna ($1.89)
- 2 oz. feta ($1.10)
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette first, so the flavors have a little time to blend. In a bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the vinaigrette aside.
- If you want to soften the flavor of the red onion a bit, slice it then soak the slices in ice water for about five minutes before dicing. Otherwise, finely dice the red onion, cut the cucumber into quarter rounds, slice the tomatoes in half, and roughly chop the parsley.
- Combine the cucumber, tomato, onion, and parsley in a bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over top, then stir until the vegetables are coated.
- Rinse and drain the beans, and drain the tuna. Add the beans, tuna, and feta to the salad, then gently stir to combine. These three are added last and only gently stirred to make sure the tuna remains in larger flakes instead of falling apart into tiny pieces.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to four days. Give it a quick stir after refrigerating and before serving to redistribute the dressing.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Mediterranean Tuna Salad – Step by Step Photos
Start with the vinaigrette, so the flavors have a little time to blend. Combine ¼ cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
If you want to soften the flavor of the red onions, soaking them for five minutes or so in ice water really helps! I slice them first to give more surface area to water contact, then finely dice them after soaking. For this recipe I used about ½ of a red onion.
You also want to cut one cucumber into quarter rounds, slice a pint of grape tomatoes in half, and roughly chop about ¼ bunch of parsley (about ½ cup chopped). Add them all to a bowl with the finely diced red onion.
Pour the vinaigrette over top, then stir until everything is coated. We’ll add the tuna and feta last so they don’t break apart too much when stirring.
Rinse and drain one 15oz. can of cannellini beans, and drain one 12oz. can of chunk light tuna. Add the beans, tuna, and 2oz. feta to the salad, then fold to combine.
And that’s a wrap! Your Mediterranean Tuna Salad is ready to go. You can either serve it immediately or refrigerate for up to four days. Enjoy!
This is a keeper! Delicious, filling, and healthy meal that is quick and easy. I used garbanzo beans because that’s what I had on hand and it added a nice texture that I think I’ll use when making again. I added an extra tablespoon of red wine vinegar for a little pop of acidity and and additional ounce of feta (just personal preference). Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!
This was delicious, thank you!
This was SO good! I added egg noodles, because I wanted a pasta and it’s all I had 😅. And I also added sun dried tomatoes. 🤌 I added more vinegar and lemon juice than the recipe called for because I like things more acidic. DE-LICIOUS! It was filling, light, and refreshing. Will be making it again!
LOVE!!! This is my go to lunch now. I use the recipe as a base and then add sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, garbanzo beans (cannellini beans are too soft for my liking), and Kalamata olives. Wonderful recipe.
Really fresh and delicious. And easy!
Such a great meal prep. I made a couple of substitutions based on what I had on hand: canned chickpeas instead of beans, bell pepper instead of cucumber. Totally delicious!
Made this tonight with the following substitutions: drained, canned tomatoes instead of fresh, dried parsley instead of fresh (added to vinaigrette), 2-5 oz cans tuna instead of 15 oz can. Turned out very yummy and fresh for mid winter treat.
DELICIOUS!!!
Nomnomnomnomnomnom – this is SO DANG GOOD!
This is absolutely going on rotation in our house.
I made the vinaigrette the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight, stirring it occasionally the next day. IDK if that made a big difference. I know sometimes that lets the flavors come together and, as Emeril says, “get happy.”
Just yes. Yes yes yes!
Inexpensive, easy, soooo tasty.
THIS.
Such a great meal leaving you feeling energised. It’s quick and a meal you can always have the ingredients for in the pantry.
This is truly delicious! Rare to have a recipe that makes you feel virtuous while you gobble up every delicious bite! This is going on repeat!
Delicious and perfect for hot weather. I just added a ts of mayo in the dressing to make it a bit creamy.
Made this for lunch and it’s super tasty! And I love that’s it’s really healthy and guilt free! Thanks for the recipe!!
I don’t care for Tuna. Do you think this would be just as good with chicken instead? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Yes, you could do something like this with cooked chicken. I’d use garlic marinated chicken to make sure it’s super flavorful.
Absolutely delicious and kept me full for hours! Added some pickled hot peppers for some kick.
can u add grilled salmon to this instead of the tuna?
Sure! :)
Added some chopped bell pepper and served it over arugula for some extra veggies and added a couple of kalamata olives for extra salt. Healthy, satisfying, tasty, and cheap!
Great salad! I added canned artichokes and olives. Lots of great flavors and stayed tasting fresh for three days in the fridge. Will be making again this week.
This is a great meal for college students! It still tastes good after sitting in the fridge, and the price is definitely right. I don’t care for tuna so I used imitation crab and it tasted great. Love this and for sure will make again :)
This was the perfect lunch to bring to work! I stuffed it in some warm pita and it was absolutely delicious and filling. I also added kalamata olives.
This was really good! A healthy, no cook option perfect for summer. We had ours with warm pita and hummus.
This was really good! Great flavor!
I made this for lunch today and it was delicious! I made it with canned salmon instead of tuna. Definitely adding it to my rotation
This was so good for a meal prep lunch! Healthy and had a good amount of protein. I was hesitant to put the tuna in bc someone commented they didn’t like it. I used 1 can albacore that was 7 oz and it was perfect. The tuna flavor wasn’t very noticeable. I also used some Kalamata olives bc I didn’t have feta on hand.
The tuna + white bean combo is a great one that I learned from this website (in fact, Beth’s tuna & white bean salad is a recipe I’ve returned to over and over throughout the years!). However, I personally didn’t enjoy the tuna in combination with the other flavors in this salad — would rather have just had it without the tuna.
So good and even better the next day when the beans have soaked up the dressing. I am definitely adding to my lunch rotation!
I added garlic and oregano marinated kalamata olives but saw an earlier comment about adding artichokes and that is going to be another add in next time I make this.
My husband had used up the last of the red wine vin, so I had to use white wine vin. It was still delicious! What a fresh, tasty new take on a tuna salad. Would be awesome over some bulgar or other grain. Next time I make this, I think I’ll heat up some Trader Joe’s naan or pita’s to go with. Yet another awesome BB recipe!!
We loved this tuna salad! Great recipe for Fridays during Lent and into the hot summer months. I had it with toast while my husband took it to work and had crackers with it. He insists that we now make it regularly since he also enjoys having it as a good snack in the evenings. Thanks for the great recipe!
This tuna salad is fresh AND savory! Definitely a must-try. I’m enjoying it with some soda crackers for dinner.
Made this for lunches this week. I skipped the feta & used chopped green olives instead, for that briney flavor. Turned out great! Will def make again.
Yum! I didn’t have cannelini beans or parsley. So I subbed them for garbanzo and cilantro. I also used large diced tomatoes and added yellow squash. Came out savory and delicious and I’m sure the flavors will meld and it will be even better tomorrow! 🤤 Thanks budget bytes!
Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of red wine vinegar for the dressing?
Yes, the flavor will be slightly different, but there is a lot going on in this salad so it probably won’t be quite as noticeable.
I love the dressing on this salad. I found a jar of roasted red peppers and cut them up and added them to the salad. It was delicious! Decond time around found that cannelini beans just work better in this salad than chickpeas. Every recipe that I’ve made from this site has tasted good. I really appreciate your listing the prices for things. Thank you so much for posting all these great recipes!
Love this recipe! Simple, healthy and delicious! This makes a great lunch. Thanks!
Julie, we always have pintos on hand for a quick lunch. Do you think substituting them for the cannellini would work? Thanks
I substitute pinto beans for a lot of different bean recipes and they do fine. In recipes that require heated cooking I try to stick to the recipe beans ie: black beans, red dark kidney beans.
It’s still very cold where I live, but this recipe looked too good to pass up! It was a nice break from the heavy stews and soups we’ve been having lately. We followed the recipe almost exactly; the only change is we added a jar of drained artichokes, because they are one of my husband’s favorite foods. This was a very flavorful and surprisingly filling salad! I think even people who don’t like canned tuna would like this, as the flavor of the red onions and the dressing are really the stand outs here.
Can canned chicken be used instead of tuna?
Sure! :)
To Julie W.: it’s pretty easy to reduce sodium content in recipes, just by using common sense. I always rinse anything which comes out of a can with water, try to buy low or no-sodium products whenever they’re available, avoid adding additional salt into recipes, & cutting down a bit on the amount of cheese in recipes. No one in our family has medical issues, but I’m trying to avoid future problems, and especially – I don’t want to get my kiddoes ‘addicted’ to the taste of salt, as most folks now seem to be. Good luck & be well. This is a lovely recipe, & I’m looking forward to enjoying it. TUNA….YUM!
To Angelina:
Everything your doing I’ve been doing. I’m trying to get off my medication for prehypertension. I’ve got a lot going on in my life. So I appreciate your feed back. I just utilize calculations as a way to see how much of a portion I’m allowed to consume without throwing off my blood pressure readings. Since my Dad is in hospice my stress level has not been the same.
Another way to reduce sodium per serving is increase the proportion of low and no sodium foods, such as adding another cuke, more tomatoes, or any of the fresh veggies.
This is a great recipe Beth. I was wondering if you have low sodium recipes on your site? I know your site is helping many people with their budgets I’m sure older people could benefit from your site as well especially, if their on fixed incomes.
We’ve just recently finished calculating nutritional content for the recipes, but unfortunately, we don’t have them categorized by sodium content. That might be something we can add in the future, but we don’t have it available right now.
I think that would be great. Cause a lot of older people have to watch out for high salt content. Again, their on fixed incomes so what you can do I think would be a huge benefit.