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Elevate your lunches with my Apple Tuna Salad Recipe! Packed with crisp apples, crunchy walnuts, and bursting with flavor, this easy tuna salad recipe will redefine how you use canned tuna!
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Tuna Salad with Apples
Tuna salad is a quick, delicious, and versatile lunch option. It's perfect as a protein-packed filling for wraps, in tuna melts, or served chilled with crackers. You can't go wrong!
While I've enjoyed plenty of basic tuna and mayo salads, this tuna salad with apples is extra special. The combination of crunchy walnuts, crisp apples, and the perfect mix of sweet pickle relish and tart apples brings a world of flavor for such a simple recipe. It's the best tuna salad recipe I've ever made!
Apple and Tuna Salad Ingredients
- Canned Tuna: Look for chunk or solid white albacore tuna that has been farm-raised and canned in water, not oil. Avoid wild caught tuna.
- Apple: Use your favorite apple in this recipe! I recommend a sweet variety rather than tart, and make sure it's juicy. Pink Lady apples or Honeycrisp are a great choice.
- Celery: Celery adds a mildly bitter flavor and a crunch to tuna salad and is a classic choice. However, you can leave it out if you'd prefer!
- Sweet Relish: Sweet relish adds additional crunch and flavor to apple tuna salad that is just irresistible.
- Walnuts: You can leave out the walnuts if necessary! However, they pair perfectly with apples and are a great choice.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: Check out my guide for How Long to Boil Eggs for the fastest, easiest hard boiled eggs you've ever made!
- Mayonnaise: Use your favorite creamy, high-quality mayo.
- Dijon Mustard: Stone ground mustard or whole grain mustard will work, too. I recommend avoiding yellow mustard in this recipe.
Tuna Salad with Apple Substitutions
- Apples: If you don't have any apples, try using dried cranberries or golden raisins.
- Walnuts: Feel free to swap out the walnuts for pecans, Brazil nuts, or even macadamia nuts! I recommend rich, oily nuts that aren't too sweet.
- Mayonnaise: If you want to make tuna salad without mayo, swap it out for simple olive oil. It won't be as creamy, but it will still taste great!
- Eggs: I love adding hard boiled eggs to my tuna salad for extra bulk and protein, plus that incredibly creamy texture! You can safely leave them out, however, if you don't like eggs.
Do you love tuna salad, but want to try something different? Check out my perfectly creamy Egg Salad Sandwich recipe, or take it back to the classics with my Old Fashioned Ham Salad!
How to Make Tuna Salad with Apples
- Chop the apple, celery, walnuts, and eggs finely, then add them to a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir well, until everything is evenly distributed. Chill to develop the flavors, then add to sandwiches or crackers, and serve!
Recipe Tips
- You can add extra flavors as you wish! Lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and pecans are all great additions.
- Let the salad rest overnight for the best possible flavor! With a tuna salad this flavorful, you'll want to give it time for all the juices to blend together.
- Use tuna canned with water, not oil. Combined with mayonnaise, the oil packed tuna will be too greasy. If all you have is oil-packed, drain the tuna over the sink well before using it.
- Pure white tuna will have the best texture. However, you can also use chunk light. Just make sure to drain the tuna first!
- Tart and sweet, crunchy apples work best for this recipe, such as Cosmic Crisp, Fuji, or Honeycrisp.
Storing Apple Tuna Salad
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, apple tuna salad can last for up to 3 days. It tastes best within the first 24 hours!
FAQ
Yes! Canned chicken can be used in place of tuna in this recipe and should taste delicious as an apple chicken salad.
Absolutely! In fact, making the salad in advance allows the flavors to meld together. Store it in the fridge for a few hours or up to a day before serving.
Serve this salad over a bed of greens, as a sandwich filling, in wraps, or with a simple side of crackers! If you want to make a tuna melt, I recommend using cheddar or gouda as they taste the best with apples.
Side Salad Recipes
- Easy German Potato Salad with Bacon
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Old Fashioned Ham Salad
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Cold Quinoa Salad
Apple tuna salad is also easy to prepare. The ingredients are pantry staples, the process is as simple as chopping and stirring, and the salad tastes even better after you leave it in the fridge for a little while. Make a big batch and trust me, you'll be fighting for the last bite!
Apple Tuna Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can Tuna - in water, drained
- ½ Apple
- 1 stalk Celery
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish
- ¼ cup Walnuts
- 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
- 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Instructions
- Chop the apple, celery, walnuts, and eggs finely, then add them to a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients.1 can Tuna,½ Apple,1 stalk Celery,1 Tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish,¼ cup Walnuts,2 Hard Boiled Eggs,2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise,½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- Mix well, until everything is evenly distributed. Then chill, add to sandwiches or crackers, and serve!
Notes
- Enhance flavors with lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and pecans.
- Rest the salad overnight for best flavor.
- Use water-packed, not oil-packed tuna. If using oil-packed, drain well.
- I always recommend using farm-raised tuna and not wild caught.
- Prefer pure white tuna for better texture, but chunk light is also fine after draining.
- Tart-sweet, crunchy apples like Cosmic Crisp, Fuji, or Honeycrisp are ideal.
- No apples? Use dried cranberries or golden raisins.
- Swap walnuts with pecans, Brazil nuts, or macadamia nuts for a rich texture. You can leave them out if desired, too.
- Replace mayonnaise with olive oil for a less creamy, but tasty alternative.
- Hard-boiled eggs add bulk and creaminess but are optional.
Patricia Walker says
I haven't left it in the refrigerator over night yet but just making it tasted good.
Isabel Laessig says
So glad you enjoyed it, Patricia! Thank you!