Affordable, nutritious, and delicious, tuna is popular across many cuisines for good reason.
It is an excellent source of protein and contains healthy omega-3 fats that are important for brain health. They are also full of B and D vitamins.
Canned tuna is incredibly versatile and there are a variety of ways of including it within your meals.
This article contains 29 healthy canned tuna recipes you can try no matter what type of diet, cuisine or ingredients you use.
Simple, Easy & Quick Healthy Canned Tuna Recipes
Nonna’s Tuna Frittata
This is an Italian-inspired recipe that’s rich in healthy protein, packed with flavor, and big enough to feed a crowd.
Using only eggs, tuna, garlic, and green onions, this Tuna Frittata is a wonderfully easy recipe that’ll fit right into any budget. Even if you’re a beginner cook, you can make a great dinner out of this one.
Homemade Tuna Sushi Bowl
Can you enjoy sushi on a budget? Absolutely!
Using canned tuna you can savor the delicious textures and flavors of your favorite sushi rolls at home, for a fraction of the price of take-out!
Sticky sushi rice, creamy avocado, fresh cucumber, and edamame beans turn canned tuna into a satisfying meal.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
If you’re tired of classic tuna salad, or just want a break from all that mayonnaise, this recipe might just be worth a try.
It’s a protein-packed lunch bursting with natural and healthy Mediterranean flavors. Rich olives, roasted sweet peppers, fresh basil leaves, crisp celery, and more make this a salad to love.
Deli Tuna Salad
The secret to making the best tuna salad? Time.
Of course, a boiled egg, some diced red onion, and a pinch of seasoning won’t hurt either! Make this old-school tuna salad ahead, giving those classic flavors time to blend beautifully in the fridge for a few hours.
Then have fun slathering it into your sandwiches.
Low Carb, Healthy Canned Tuna Recipes
Low Carb Tuna Casserole
Break up with the usual pasta-based casserole and make something new with that canned tuna.
Combine everything in a baking dish and allow it to gently bubble to perfection in the oven.
This recipe makes for a hearty dinner, loaded with fresh vegetables and rich creamy cheese sauce. Oh, and it’s even keto-friendly!
Purple Cabbage Slaw with Tuna
A fresh, crunchy, and delicious new way to enjoy tuna salad.
This colorful dish uses shredded purple cabbage to make a zesty and spicy slaw that’s much more exciting than a bed of plain old lettuce.
Top the slaw with a creamy salad made with canned tuna and chipotle mayonnaise for a dreamy low carb lunch.
Stuffed Avocado with Tuna
Topping creamy avocado with healthy spiced tuna salad makes a great light lunch or even a filling snack.
The flavors in this recipe are inspired by the Middle East, adding the fragrance of sesame seeds and sumac to a classic tuna salad.
A truly delicious way to enjoy a gluten-free or low-carb dish.
Low-Carb Tuna Sushi
Sushi is one of the tastiest ways to enjoy tuna.
However, finding low-carb sushi can be challenging. Why not make your own fresh, flavorful sushi bowl at home?
This recipe combines canned tuna, rich avocado, crunchy cucumber, and green onion with cauliflower rice for a perfectly healthy way to eat sushi without so many carbohydrates.
Healthy Canned Tuna Lunches
Avocado Tuna Melt
The tuna melt is a lunchtime classic for a reason. That combination of gooey melting cheese and protein-packed tuna is a perfect sandwich filling.
Why not step it up a notch though? Try using creamy avocado, fresh ripe tomato, some bold spices, and the perfect type of cheese to turn that old-school sandwich into something new!
Tuna Veggie Wraps with Hummus
With this recipe, eating the rainbow has never been easier.
These healthy wraps are packed to the brim with fresh crunchy vegetables, zingy lemon, smooth hummus, and canned tuna. Not to mention how quick and affordable they are!
You can get your greens in on a budget, and love eating them too.
Salad Niçoise
Inspired by a classic French dish, this Salad Niçoise is a timeless way to dress up budget-friendly canned tuna.
This recipe is loaded with protein, fresh vegetables, creamy potatoes, and tangy olives. It’s a wonderfully nutritious salad and wholesome meal that will leave you undeniably satisfied too.
Tuna Sandwich Mix
Want to learn how to master a classic tuna sandwich? This recipe will help you get that perfect balance between canned tuna, mix-ins, and seasoning just right.
Don’t worry, it’s not just tuna and mayonnaise! A healthy glug of olive oil and crunchy bell pepper make this classic creamy sandwich filling super-healthy too.
Mini Tuna Sushi Burritos
Sometimes one country’s cuisine alone doesn’t quite satisfy those cravings. This recipe brings together Mexican and Japanese inspiration to make a fresh, fun, and filling meal.
The tuna is the real star, whether fresh or canned. It brings the flavors and textures of these adorable sushi burritos together in every harmonious mouthful.
Healthy Canned Tuna Pasta Recipes
Garlic Lemon Tuna Pasta
A one-pot pasta dish that you can have ready in mere minutes. This recipe is bursting with bold but refreshing flavors and just a few everyday ingredients.
You probably already have what you need in your fridge and cupboards. Plus you can easily scale this wholesome meal to feed yourself, your family, or a whole crowd.
Tuna Carbonara
Inspired by both an Italian classic and an American favorite, this super-fast pasta dish is a dream. You’ll love the creaminess and bold flavor of this pasta, even if it’s lighter than traditional carbonara. It’s speedy, affordable, and easy to toss together.
Rotini Tuna Pasta Salad
Is it summertime without a fresh pasta salad?
Mix canned tuna and mayonnaise with fresh tomato and cucumber for a gorgeous warm-weather way to enjoy pasta, or a heartier way to enjoy salad.
Making this one ahead of time ensures you’ll get even more flavor from your ingredients.
Tuna Pesto Pasta
Jarred pesto and canned tuna might just be the saviors at the back of everyone’s kitchen cupboard.
Stir these tasty ingredients through short pasta shapes with bursting cherry tomatoes, oily artichoke hearts, and your favorite seasonings for a stunning and speedy dish.
Tuna Bolognese
Making a meal for the family from canned tuna has never been easier.
Why not try switching meat for fish with this pasta recipe? Dried herbs, black olives, sour capers, and tangy tomatoes help that little can feed a whole hungry bunch.
Plus, you’ll only need a few short minutes to get this perfect pasta dish on the table.
Pasta Puttanesca
Despite its naughty name, this dish is timeless for good reason.
Bold tastes dance on the tongue thanks to the classic Italian ingredients. While traditionally made with anchovies as its protein source, this recipe adds canned tuna for extra satisfaction and vegetable juice for extra flavor.
Healthy No Mayo Canned Tuna Recipes
Mayo-Free Creamy Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Finding a delicious creamy tuna salad recipe without mayonnaise can be difficult. Sometimes you want something lighter to stuff into those crunchy, fresh lettuce wraps.
This recipe uses the magic of healthy cashew nuts to create a creamy garlicky sauce to dress your tuna and vegetables with.
Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower, Tuna and Egyptian Roumy Cheese
Macaroni and cheese dishes are delicious in all forms. This particular recipe celebrates this quintessential dish while adding extra flavor and nutrition.
Adding fresh cauliflower and canned tuna adds extra vitamins and protein to the dish, with Roumy Cheese and fresh parsley providing appetizing new aromas.
Jalapeño Tuna Cakes
If you prefer your meals bold with seasoning, this could be a great new way to eat canned tuna. Ditch the mayonnaise and instead try making spicy, healthy tuna cakes.
Jalapeños, cilantro, and ground cumin will ensure that these tender tuna cakes are bursting with flavor.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
An American family favorite, but better. Combining typical ingredients such as spiral pasta, canned tuna, onions, carrots, and celery make a great base.
However, swapping canned cream of mushroom soup for fresh milk, butter, and healthy sliced mushrooms makes for an even tastier and more nutritious dinner.
Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes
Tired of tuna sandwiches? A great tuna salad doesn’t have to be destined only for bread, in fact, it’s a delicious filling for fresh seasonal tomatoes.
This quick recipe provides healthy inspiration for preparing summer vegetables, and a new way to enjoy that classic tuna mayo.
Tuna Broccoli Quinoa Patties
A modern, nutrition-packed way to cook with canned tuna. Combine the fish with broccoli, onion, and quinoa for an easy dinner idea.
This recipe will help you make some protein-packed patties and a deliciously tangy, creamy sauce to dunk them into. Filling, fresh, and full of flavor.
Tuna Cannellini Bean Salad
Budget-friendly and super-satiating, this salad is a speedy way to boost your daily protein intake.
Mixing store cupboard favorites with fresh vegetables makes this salad a great everyday lunch idea.
Dress it lightly with oil and vinegar to keep it low in cost and calories.
Healthy High Protein Canned Tuna Recipes
Chickpea Tuna Salad
An Italian-inspired way to use that can of tuna. The fish is mingled into refreshing cucumbers and tomatoes, salty olives and capers, and zesty lemon and parsley.
You could even add some fresh or dried chili for an extra kick! You’ll have a healthy lunch on the table in 10 minutes.
Tuna Rice Casserole
A new spin on an American dinner classic. Swap the typical pasta for rice for a quicker and creamier tuna casserole.
Mushroom soup and mozzarella cheese ensure this recipe will be rich and satisfying, and stovetop cooking means you’ll be ready to eat in just half an hour.
Tuna Burgers
Everyone loves a burger, but not everyone loves the cost or the calories of a classic cheeseburger in their own kitchen.
For a high-protein, low-fat, budget-friendly dinner, these tuna burgers with fresh chili and cilantro are a great option.
You’ll need just a few minutes and even fewer ingredients to put these together.
Quick & Healthy Canned Tuna Recipes
Ingredients
- Nonna’s Tuna Frittata
- Homemade Tuna Sushi Bowl
- Mediterranean Tuna Salad
- Deli Tuna Salad
- Low Carb Tuna Casserole
- Purple Cabbage Slaw with Tuna
- Stuffed Avocado with Tuna
- Low-Carb Tuna Sushi
- Avocado Tuna Melt
- Tuna Veggie Wraps with Hummus
- Salad Niçoise
- Tuna Sandwich Mix
- Mini Tuna Sushi Burritos
- Garlic Lemon Tuna Pasta
- Tuna Carbonara
- Rotini Tuna Pasta Salad
- Tuna Pesto Pasta
- Tuna Bolognese
- Pasta Puttanesca
- Mayo-Free Creamy Tuna Lettuce Wraps
- Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower, Tuna and Egyptian Roumy Cheese
- Jalapeño Tuna Cakes
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes
- Tuna Broccoli Quinoa Patties
- Tuna Cannellini Bean Salad
- Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Tuna Rice Casserole
- Tuna Burgers
Instructions
- Choose your favorite recipes.
- Get ingredients and follow the instructions.
- Create a healthy dish using canned tuna.
To Sum Up
Thank you to all our recipe developers who allowed us to use their recipes in their roundup.
We also have plenty of recipes on our site too. Just use the search function on our home page if you’re looking for a specific ingredient or check out our recipe page.
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