Summer Tomato Tuna Salad

Summer is when I want my meals to be fresh, colorful, and require as little actual cooking as possible. Give me a handful of good in-season produce, some fresh herbs, something salty and briny, and I’m pretty much set. This Summer Tomato Tuna Salad is exactly that.

It’s kind of a tuna salad, kind of a chopped salad, but truly I don’t really care what we call it because it’s just GOOD. It’s heavily inspired by Greek salad, and if you want to add a litte feta, I won’t argue with you. It’s fresh, salty, tangy, herby, and packed with enough texture that every bite feels a little different. The tuna and eggs add a little protein and make it feel like an actual meal, while the herbs, olives, and tomato keep it fresh and interesting.

And because this is summer and I refuse to make lunch harder than it needs to be, the whole thing comes together in one bowl. Chop everything up, boil a couple eggs, toss it all together, and you’re done. Add some crusty bread for scooping up all those juices and you have yourself a very good lunch.

Ingredients you’ll need

• 1 medium (5 oz) tomato, any variety
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 2 mint sprigs
• 1/4 medium sweet white onion
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (3 oz) can tuna, packed in oil, drained
• 2 large bread slices, toasted, for serving

Ingredient substitutions

• Sweet white onion: Can be swapped for yellow onion, red onion, shallot, the white part of one large leek, or a fennel bulb (if you like fennel!)
• Kalamata olives: Can be swapped for black olives or Castelvetrano olives. If you don’t like olives, you can leave it out altogether, or sub for a pickled pepper that you like! Something extra salty really helps here.
• Red wine vinegar: Sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar are great alternatives.
• Extra-virgin olive oil: Swap for avocado oil, grapeseed oil, or really any oil you like!
• Tuna: You can use canned salmon instead. Or, if you want a different protein or texture, shredded rotisserie chicken, canned chickpeas, or even shredded seitan will work.

How to bring the salad together

This salad is simple and quick. The most work is chopping the veggies and herbs, but after that it’s really just assembly. Here’s how to pull it all together:

1. Dice the tomato, finely chop 1/4 cup of dill and 2 sprigs of mint leaves (remove the stems), thinly slice 1/4 of a white onion and 1/4 cup of kalamata olives. Add all this to a large bowl.
2. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, sugar, and black pepper. Mix to combine.
3. Let all of this mingle together while you boil 2 eggs for 7 minutes. Shock them in an ice bath, then peel and quarter them. Add them to the bowl along with the drained tuna.
4. Give all of this a good mix. Serve with big pieces of crusty toasted bread to soak up all the juices.

Serving suggestions

The beauty of this salad is that it’s super versatile. There are many ways to serve it, but here are my favorite suggestions:

• Serve it on top of toasted sourdough or whole grain bread for the best open-faced tuna salad sandwich (my personal favorite).
• Spoon it over brown rice or quinoa for a grain bowl.
• Pair it with greens for a lighter lunch plate.

Storage tips

This tuna salad makes two servings, which makes it really phenomenal for meal prep. Especially when you like having a few different options in your lunch rotation. I suggest storing it in the fridge in an airtight container (or two) for up to 3 days!

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Looking for more summer salads?

More-Salad-Than-Tuna-Salad…Salad

A tongue-in-cheek title for this crispy, zippy celery salad that takes all the best things of a tuna salad, and makes them something just a *bit* more salad adjacent. Everything you love in a tuna salad is here – briny olives, dill and chives, just a touch of good mayo, and a lemony dressing. The celery and red onion take up the bulk of the volume of the salad, but make sure to get a good quality tinned tuna that you can flake into the salad itself. The result might be the best tuna salad you've ever had.

Check out this recipe

Summer Shishito Pepper Salad

Raw corn, bright flavors and quickly sautéed shishito peppers make this salad one of my summer favorites. It's slightly spicy, earthy from the walnuts and so filling. Proving once and again that an amazing salad doesn't always start with lettuce.

Check out this recipe

Cucumber and Melon Salad

What I love about summer is how everyone is craving cold, crispy and raw things – this melon salad hits all those notes. It has sweetness from the melon, crunchy from the cucumber, and subtle saltiness from the feta. My favorite part is the sesame lime dressing, which will have you coming back for bite after bite.

Check out this recipe

And that’s it for this Summer Tomato Tuna Salad!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Summer Tomato Tuna Salad

5 | 3 reviews

Think of this as the protein-packed version of the bottom of a Greek salad, where all the dressing gets super concentrated, the vegetables are nicely marinated, and everything is fresh and juicy and good. For a quick summer lunch that's savory, punchy and filling, this hits the spot every time.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 18 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Cook mode:Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• ▢
  1 chef's knife
• ▢
  1 large bowl
• ▢
  1 medium pot

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 medium (5 oz) tomato
• ▢ 1/4 cup fresh dill
• ▢ 2 mint sprigs
• ▢ 1/4 medium sweet white onion
• ▢ 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 (3 oz) can tuna, packed in oil
• ▢ 2 large bread slices, toasted, for serving

Instructions 

1. Dice the tomato, finely chop 1/4 cup of dill and 2 sprigs of mint leaves (remove the stems), thinly slice 1/4 of a white onion and 1/4 cup of kalamata olives. Add all of this to a large bowl.
2. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, sugar, and black pepper. Mix to combine.
3. Let all of this mingle together while you boil 2 eggs for 7 minutes. Shock them in an ice bath, then peel and quarter them. Add them to the bowl. Drain the tuna and add it in as well. Give it all a good mix.
4. Serve with big pieces of crusty toasted bread to soak up all the juices.