Classic Tuna Salad Sandwich

Recipe from Craig Claiborne

Adapted by The New York Times

Classic Tuna Salad Sandwich
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(3,125)
Comments
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Here is Craig Claiborne’s version of the classic lunchbox staple. Celery, red onion and red bell pepper add crunch; capers and lemon juice lend a little tang. —The New York Times

Featured in: Salads, Sandwiches,Sauces

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2(6-ounce) cans solid, waterpacked tuna
  • ½cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
  • ½cup finely diced celery
  • 3tablespoons finely diced red onion
  • 3tablespoons finely minced red bell pepper
  • 2tablespoons drained capers
  • 2teaspoons lemon juice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Sliced sandwich bread of choice
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, bell pepper, capers and lemon juice. Mix with a fork until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on the sandwich bread of your choice.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,125 user ratings
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Comments

Katherina

For those financially strapped people in the world I find that if you rinse the tuna with cold water in a fine mesh strainer takes away most of the salt in the tuna. Also a trick that I learned while working at a deli is to grab the tuna by the handful and squeeze out the water. This makes the tuna dryer which will allow the flavors in the recipe like the lemon juice and mayo soak into the tuna without making it soggy.

JM

I completely agree. Everyone has a tuna salad recipe. This one belongs to Craig Claiborne, who certainly knew his stuff. Let's save all the ad-libbing and over-tweaking of a classic recipe for another forum. Let's talk about THIS recipe.

Fred Stone

i'm ok with the Claiborne contents, except:

Canned tuna is loaded with salt. Therefore, kill the capers and don't add salt.

Perfect tuna salad requires solid light tuna in olive oil, not drained.

grated carrot adds sweetness. kalamata olives add to a Mediterranean flavor. scallions are milder that red onion. finally adding a tablespoon of hummus, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard takes the whole project from good tuna salad to heavenly.

Joseph Hartman

I always add some chopped pickles. Pickles and tuna go great together. I know it's not the healthiest, but I also always add baby swiss cheese to my sandwich.

HeatherT

Good, but I used about 1/3 cup of mayo and that was still more than necessary. I can't imagine what a sloppy mess would result if one used the full 1/2 cup that the recipe calls for.

Duke

I followed the recipe with just one exception. I substituted peanut butter for the mayo. Delicious!

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Credits

Craig Claiborne

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