Every now and again I get a pretty strong craving for canned tuna, but there are two problems with that: 1) canned tuna has gotten quite expensive and 2) All that mayo can be pretty dangerous. So, I came up with this easy little Tuna and White Bean Salad to solve both of those problems.
What’s in Tuna and White Bean Salad
White beans (navy or great northern) are pretty neutral in flavor and the texture goes quite well with tuna, so they’re a really great way to bulk out tuna salad for cheap. Instead of using mayo to keep the salad moist and flavorful, I made a light and bright mix of lemon juice and olive oil. Green onions, freshly cracked pepper, and a little salt are all you need to make the flavors pop. This salad is simple, flavorful, filling, and can be eaten on crackers, in a pita, or just plain with a fork. It’s a great way to pack in that protein!
What Else Can I Add?
If you happen to have lemon pepper seasoning on hand, you can sprinkle that into the salad for a little extra pop or in place of the lemon juice and freshly cracked pepper. It will give the same great flavor with one little shake of the bottle! A chopped up hard boiled egg would also be an excellent and inexpensive way to bulk up this salad.
Tuna & White Bean Salad
Servings 3Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can white beans ($0.86)
- 1 5 oz. can chunk light tuna in water ($0.89)
- 2 whole green onions ($0.19)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.06)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- salt & pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Pour the can of beans into a colander and rinse with cool water. Allow the excess water to drain off. Drain the can of tuna. Combine the drained beans and tuna in a bowl. Thinly slice the green onions and add to the bowl as well.
- Add the olive oil and lemon juice to the bowl, along with a light sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
- Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your liking.
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Nutrition
How to Make Tuna and White Bean Salad – Step By Step Photos
Drain and rinse the white beans. Drain the tuna and thinly slice the green onions. Combine all three in a bowl.
Add the olive oil, lemon juice, a light sprinkle of salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. I like pepper a lot, so I added probably about 20 cranks of the pepper mill.
Stir everything together and then adjust the seasoning to your liking. You can see how the tuna and beans were kind of falling apart, which makes it not so pretty. Higher quality beans will stay intact and higher quality tuna will be more chunky than mushy. But it tasted great all the same!
This is an EXCELLENT way to stretch tuna! I live in NYC, so things are always pricey, but my beans were close to 2.00 and the tuna was on sale for $2.50, so this helps a lot. If tomatoes are in season, I recommend cutting up a bit of a nice beefsteak and adding it to the salad for a great lunch! Very good recipe!
I love this fresh recipe! Impressed thoroughly. Threw in some chopped, juicy tomatoes and some granulated garlic and was satiety. Thanks for a budget friendly recipe on a lean diet.
This is incredibly easy and filling and I have made it, no lie, for at least three weeks’ worth of meals over the past two months. It’s become my new go-to because it’s simple and cheap and filling. Usually when I eat it I also add a handful of grape tomatoes and some fresh feta (I can get it for pretty cheap at Lidl) to each individual serving to bulk it out, and I’ve also swapped in chopped red onion instead of green onion and it’s been just as delicious! This meal has really been a lifesaver this summer.
Delicious and easy lunch. I changed the green onion for celery and loved it!
I normally just tolerate tuna salad, and it’s hard for me to enjoy it even though I know it’s so good for you. I just have to say, this was the first time I ever enjoyed a tuna salad!! Something about the beans and the tuna really work well together. I will be making this over and over as it’s a great way to get in lean protein. Thank you so much!!
Yet another amazing recipe! I added orzo to bulk it up for meal prep, and added some white vinegar to zest it up a bit. Canned salmon instead of tuna, and served it over arugula with chopped grape tomatoes, my own pickled jalapenos, and fresh avocado!
Was looking for something different for lunch and came across this recipe. I really thought it was going to be bland but it was very refreshing and delicious. Definitely a keeper.
Easy and delicious. Tastes like it would be fattening but it’s not. Used red onions instead, since that’s what I had.
Thanks!
I was happily surprised at how good this recipe turned out. I am not a fan of canned tuna but wanted to try and increase my protein intake. This was delicious. I did add some granulated garlic and made it the night before so the flavors blended.
This was great!! I totally agree with other reviewers on here that once you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, the flavors really pop. I added extra lemon juice to mine — probably closer to 2 tbsp. I also added some chopped celery for a little crunch, which was a really nice addition! I think I might try adding some roasted garlic next time. At any rate, this is a super fresh and versatile lunch recipe, and it comes together SO quickly!
Another winning recipe!
Everyone turns their nose up at chunk light tuna like it’s the step child of food, but using anything other than chunk light in this recipe would ruin the creaminess of it. I love tuna salad, but mayo repeats on me and so tuna salad had become a special treat these days, but now that I’ve found this recipe, tuna salad is now back in my life.
There is the right ratio of tuna, oil, and lemon, that makes this recipe creamy like your traditional tuna salad. And I believe onions in a tuna salad, generally red, but they’re strong and can overpower, but green onions add the onion taste, without overpowering the entire dish.
Winner, winner, tuna salad dinner!
Great recipe amd easy to do,
Tip: Refrigerate and let it sit until cold for the flavors to incorporate! I made this for lunch and at room temp it tasted merely okay and kinda meh, not something I’d make again if I wasn’t searching for a way to use up a can of white beans. However when I came back to the leftovers later the cold made the flavors super crisp and bright, taking it to “OMG I definitely have to make this again!”. Thanks Beth!
Love this!!!!!!! I just poured random amounts of olive oil and lemon juice in and added chopped cilantro bc I had some to use up. Very happy with my yummy, satisfying, nourishing lunch!
I love tuna and use canned tuna regularly, but this was a miss for me. There weren’t enough other flavors to balance the fishy taste (I used a really nice can of tuna too). The lemon seemed to enhance the fishiness. Maybe i’m just not a fan of cold bean salads or non-mayo salads :( I wish I did because it’d be gentler on my wallet.