Tuna rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 207 recipes to cook with it.
Tuna is a big, fast-swimming saltwater fish that reaches the kitchen in two very different forms. One is fresh steaks cut from the loin. The other is the cooked, sealed product in cans and pouches.
Those two forms behave so differently it helps to treat them as separate ingredients that happen to share a name.
Fresh tuna is deep red, dense, and meaty, closer to beef than to flaky white fish. Canned tuna is fully cooked and mild, built to sit in the pantry. Most cooks meet tuna first in a sandwich, then later at the fish counter as a steak.
A handful of species cover almost everything sold. Bluefin is the costly sushi fish, rich and rarely on a home menu. Yellowfin, often labeled ahi, is the everyday fresh steak: firm and lean, good seared rare. Bigeye also sells as ahi and runs a touch fatter.
Albacore is the pale one. It cooks up almost white and goes into cans as "white tuna," milder and softer than the rest.
Skipjack is the small, strong-flavored species behind most standard "light" canned tuna, and behind a lot of the world's cheaper cans.
Fresh tuna steaks are a quick high-heat job. You sear the outside hard and leave the center rare to medium-rare, the way you would a beef steak.
Cook it all the way through and it turns gray and chalky. That is the most common mistake people make with fresh tuna.
Canned tuna is the opposite. It is already cooked and shelf-stable, so the work is flavor and binding: mayonnaise for tuna salad, a cream sauce and noodles for a bake, melted cheese for a tuna melt.
The Mix & Match Casserole and Bisquick Impossible Tuna Pie both lean on the canned form. A steak recipe like Grilled Tuna Steak with Lemon-Caper Butter belongs to the fresh side. Across the site, tuna runs through nearly 100 published recipes.
Tuna sits near the top of the ocean food chain, so it carries more mercury than smaller fish. Bigeye and bluefin are highest. Canned light tuna, mostly skipjack, is among the lowest.
The U.S. FDA and EPA advise that children and people who are pregnant favor light canned tuna and limit albacore. For most adults, a couple of servings a week is a non-issue.
Buy fresh tuna with a bright, almost translucent sheen and no brown edges or sour smell. Cook it the day you buy it, or freeze it. Wrapped tight in the coldest part of the fridge it holds about a day, maybe two.
Canned and pouched tuna keeps for years unopened. Once opened, move leftovers to a covered container and use within a day or two.
Pick the format that matches the job. Water-packed and oil-packed cans go to salads and bakes; fresh loin steaks go to the grill or the pan.
Specific kinds of tuna and the recipes that use them.
Canned tuna is tuna that has been cooked and sealed in a can or pouch, ready to eat the moment you open it. It is one of the most useful pantry proteins around: cheap, shelf-stable for years, and the base of a quick lunch.
Most cans are skipjack, sold as "light" tuna, with a darker color and a stronger flavor. Albacore is sold as "white" tuna, paler and milder and usually pricier. For sandwiches and salads either works. Where the fish is the star, white tuna reads a little cleaner.
Tuna steaks are thick cross-section slices cut from the loin of a fresh tuna, usually yellowfin (ahi) or bigeye. They are deep red and dense, with a firm, meaty grain that has more in common with a beef steak than with flaky white fish.
That meatiness is the whole point. A good tuna steak takes high heat fast, browning on the outside while the middle stays cool and rare. Treat it like a fish to be cooked through and you will be disappointed.
Ahi tuna loin is a long, boneless cut from the side of a yellowfin or bigeye tuna, the prime piece for searing rare and for eating raw.
"Ahi" is the Hawaiian name for both species, and on a fish counter it signals a firm, deep-red, sushi-bound tuna rather than the pale canning kind.
The flesh is dense, meaty, and almost beef-like, ruby to deep pink, with a clean, mild flavor and very little fishiness. Because the loin is one solid muscle with no bones or connective tissue, it slices into clean steaks and blocks.
This is steak-of-the-sea tuna, and the cooking treats it like a steak.
Food group: Tuna is a member of the Finfish and Shellfish Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup, solid or chunks | 154 grams |
| 1 ounce | 28 grams |
| 1 can | 165 grams |
| 3 ounce | 85 grams |
| 1 can (12.5 oz), drained | 315 grams |
There are 352 recipes using and its varieties.
This Nicoise Salad is a beautiful play off its French counterpart. It keeps the traditional string beans, potatoes, boiled eggs and tuna, but it adds an Asian inspired dressing that elevates this salad to the next level. By changing the usual white potatoes to sweet potatoes, it becomes a healthier version of the recipe. Sweet potatoes provide more vitamins and minerals than regular potatoes and they have fewer calories. Add in the Omega-3 benefits in the tuna, the protein of the eggs, and fibre-packed beans, and you have got a power packed lunch that tastes like a million dollars. This recipe will certainly be singing to your taste buds tuna.
Classic tuna salad mixes canned tuna with celery, onion, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice in a creamy mayo base. The simple deli-style sandwich filling done right.
Classic tuna salad with crunchy celery and onion, creamy mayo, tangy dry mustard, and a touch of sweet relish. The quick, crowd-pleasing filling for sandwiches, wraps, or crackers.
Tuna Casserole Supreme is a quick and easy dish that combines pantry staples like canned soup, tuna for a comforting meal. It features a creamy, savory base with added crunch from water chestnuts and almonds, topped with cheese for a delightful texture contrast.
Learn how to make tuna salad sandwiches for kids with canned tuna, celery, and mayonnaise. This recipe is super quick, easy, and kid-friendly.
This can tuna pasta salad brings canned tuna to life with a burst of fresh and hearty flavors. The combination of green beans, tomatoes, olives, capers, and pasta creates a vibrant and satisfying dish. It's a delicious way to elevate canned tuna into a memorable meal.
Eat heartily, accompanied by much loud Italian conversation. In fact, I typed this accompanied by much loud Italian conversation. My parents were here, and both were shouting instructions over my shoulder. They disagreed about the arrangement of the lettuce - my mother said that the hole in the middle of the platter was necessary; my father insisted that it wasn't, saying you can just dump the tuna on top of the lettuce. I finally had to give up on this reply until they went home. So now, in the peace and quiet of the aftermath, I've finished it. Hope you had a wonderful holiday.
Crunchy tuna salad with water chestnuts, celery, carrots, and green onions in a Dijon-soy mayo dressing. Asian-leaning twist on classic tuna salad. Ready in 10 minutes for lunch.
This recipe is a very popular dish in Sri Lanka. I hope you’ll try this recipe.
Quick and easy to put together, spoon the salad over toasted whole grain bread to make it even healthier, and it also tastes delicious.
A quick and easy way to make lunch that is also packed with deliciousness.
Very easy to put together, tastes delicious and it's packed with goodness as well. Perfect for a quick lunch or a no-fuss dinner.
The addition of ingredients like curry powder and grated Parmesan make this salad special. Great for sandwiches, on crackers as an appetizer or served on lettuce leaves.
Use solid white tuna, not chunked tuna. To keep the tuna moist this recipe uses a quick marinade to allow the tuna to absorb the flavors.
Inspired by Cat Caro's recipe, we made a few changes in our version. These deliciously filling sandwiches are also loaded with good-for-you ingredients. Perfect for a quick-fix lunch or dinner.
Crispy pan-fried tuna burgers with celery crunch and a chili sauce kick, served on toasted English muffins. Just 20 minutes from bowl to plate. A budget-friendly canned tuna patty the whole family devours.
Low-fat tuna salad blends water-packed tuna with cottage cheese instead of heavy mayo, plus chopped hard-boiled eggs, celery, and scallions. A high-protein lunch ready in 10 minutes.
Tuna (chicken of the sea) Caesar wraps. A crunchy healthy version of a Caesar salad wrapped up in a flour tortilla.
It sounds weird, but it's really good! Not too unhealthy either. This only takes about 6 minutes to make. Great for a quick lunch for one!
Awesome flavors in every way. Pickled relish with wasabi mayo perfectly complimentary. When you bite into it the texture is equal or better than milk-fed fillet mignon.
Make these delicious and economical tuna burgers for your family. They are ready within 20 minutes and perfect for a supper on a busy weekday.
A hearty and scrumptious tuna casserole made with green peas and cream of mushroom soup.
Fight evil and help those who are hungry with this scrumptious casserole that is sure to produce a happy ending.
A scrumptious tuna casserole that's perfect to take with you to the next family gathering!
A quick, easy yet delicious tuna salad sandwich is ideal for a week-day lunch or supper.
These quick-easy roll-ups taste delicious and are also very nutritious. Use whole grain tortillas for a even heartier result.
When President-elect Barack Obama made tuna salad with his family on “60 Minutes” last year, he used this recipe, specifying troll-caught albacore.
A much improved tuna casserole that's perfectly sized for two hearty servings. Cheesy creamy and packed with a variety of textures.
Pasta shells with canned tuna, broccoli, lemon, parsley, and red onion. No-cook tuna sauce tossed with hot pasta and broccoli. Italian pantry weeknight dinner.
Quick, easy, frugal and kids love them. Tune and mushroom soup turns into crispy on the outside and moist on the inside covered with a quick and easy sauce.
Add some fish to your summer diet with this savory dish that will have you and your family licking your lips.
This should be one of the easiest and yummiest way to cook tuna. The beurre blanc was creamy and rich, wasabi added a bit zing. We didn't have cream, so just used milk instead, which was rich enough to our taste, and it worked deliciously with tuna. Sesame seeds added a bit crunch and nice nuttiness. The salmon was cooked to perfection, seared on both sides, and still moist on the inside. A very impressive dish.
An easy to make hearty colorful tuna casserole that's topped with zucchini and tomatoes.
This recipe is easy, cheap, nutritious, and my four kids (age 1,2,4, and 5) all eat 2 or 3 of them each time I make it. The first time I made it, I had to double the recipe in a hurry because everyone ate so much. It's even good without sauce.
Tuna and olives match beautifully in this cheesy baked savory muffin that's served with a tangy butter sauce.
Tuna casserole? Many will moan, but this recipe changes the image. Nice texture and crunch from the water chestnuts and the creamy sauce was wonderful. A real winner on this old classic.
An easy yet delicious recipe. I followed the recipe, and used whatever I had on hand. Then just mixed them up, and baked in the oven until the cheese was nicely browned. I let the casserole rest for about 10 minutes, then served it. Overall a great dish.
Enjoy these quick and easy Stove-Top Tuna Cakes, made with simple, hearty ingredients like canned tuna, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Ready in just 20 minutes, this budget-friendly recipe delivers crispy, flavorful patties perfect for a satisfying meal.
An upscale low-carb, gluten-free version of an easy tuna casserole. Whip together an easy crustless tuna quiche with just cheese, eggs and milk.
Italian seafood antipasto with canned tuna, crisp raw vegetables, briny capers, and olives for a light no-cook lunch or appetizer ready in 10 minutes.
Grilled tuna steaks brushed with Caesar dressing, nestled on toasted whole-grain onion buns with crisp lettuce and fresh tomato. This 20-minute high-protein sandwich is summer grilling at its simplest and most satisfying.
Try this succulent side dish that is perfect plain or served with crusty bread.
Yummy tuna mounds with curry mushroom sauce shapes tuna into breadcrumb-bound baked patties surrounded by a curried cream-of-mushroom gravy. Mid-century pantry comfort with a warm spice lift.
French toasted tuna sandwiches dipped in vanilla egg batter and griddled golden. A clever mashup of tuna salad and French toast ready in 20 minutes.
Easy tuna casserole with green peas, mushroom soup topped with potato chips/crisps.
Tender rice simmered with tuna, stewed tomatoes, mixed vegetables, and melted cheddar in a one-pot Creole-style dish.
Cold pasta salad with blanched asparagus, tuna chunks, ham strips, black olives, and linguine tossed in garlic olive oil and lemon juice. Great at room temperature or chilled.
Tuna pizza with homemade dough, fresh tomato sauce, pine nuts, and basil. An Italian-style pizza from scratch with a slow-rise crust and Mediterranean toppings.
Tuna casserole with cream of celery soup, hard-boiled eggs, green peas, and a crunchy potato chip topping. A classic comfort food dinner with pantry staples.
