If you're looking to satisfy a craving for Thai food, this DASH-friendly recipe delivers a crunchy, peanut-y, tasty cool tuna salad bite! Perfect on a hot summer day - for a casual lunch or dinner, or for meal-prepping for a busy week, make a batch of this zesty Thai tuna salad recipe. Bonus! It gets even tastier over time in the fridge.
If you've never cooked Thai at home, this recipe calls for two items that might be new to your fridge or pantry. Grated ginger and sesame oil make all the difference in this recipe and are worth keeping in your cabinet. This recipe gets prepped weekly in our house for quick simple lunches on the go.
Ingredients:
3 cans of Albacore tuna packed in water (drained)
1 red onion, finely chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
1 jalapeno, cored and finely chopped
2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup cilantro, rinsed and chopped
Dressing for the tuna salad:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I prefer the olive oil mayo)
1 lime, zested and juiced
2 tsp sesame oil
A dash of salt & pepper to taste
Preparing this recipe:
In a medium bowl combine the drained tuna, chopped onion, celery, peanuts, jalapeno, cilantro and ginger. Using a fork, break apart the large chunks of tuna and use fork to thoroughly combine the ingredients evenly.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, sesame oil and mayonnaise and a dash of salt and pepper until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Pour over tuna salad mixture and stir to combine until the tuna salad is coated thoroughly. Chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hrs before serving.
This recipe may be served on wheat toast, stuffed into pita pocket, on a piece of lettuce as a lettuce cup or on a nut thin/cracker, take your pick! Refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 3 days, stirring to recombine each time before serving.
Enjoy!
Nutritional facts per serving (recipe makes 8 servings), Tuna Salad only / as a lettuce cup:
Cal: 117, Total Fat: 6g, Sat Fat: 1g, Sodium: 173mg, Carbs: 5g, Sugars: 1g, Fiber: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Protein: 13g, Potassium: 237mg
Nutritional facts (per one whole wheat pita pocket half, as pictured) tuna salad + pita pocket pouch:
Cal: 187, Total Fat: 6g, Sat Fat: 1g, Sodium: 288mg, Carbs: 18g, Sugars: 2g, Fiber: 3g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Protein: 16g, Potassium: 302mg