Mediterranean Tuna Salad

4.83 from 34 votes

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

This simple, fresh, and filling Mediterranean Tuna Salad makes an easy protein-packed make-ahead lunch for your workweek.

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Prep Time20

Cook Time0

Total Time20

Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Mediterranean

Total Cost: $10.75 recipe / $1.79 serving

Servings: about 1 cup each

Author: Beth Moncel

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

1/4 cup olive oil $0.88
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar $0.20
1 Tbsp lemon juice $0.06
1 tsp dried oregano $0.10
1/2 tsp salt $0.02
1/4 tsp black pepper freshly cracked, $0.02

Salad

1 cucumber $1.29*
1 pint grape tomatoes $2.48*
1/2 red onion $0.49
1/4 bunch fresh parsley chopped, (about ½ cup) $0.35
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans $0.94
1 12 oz. can chunk light tuna $2.50**
2 oz. feta cheese $1.42

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette first, so the flavors have a little time to blend. In a bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the vinaigrette aside.
If you want to soften the flavor of the red onion a bit, slice it then soak the slices in ice water for about five minutes before dicing. Otherwise, finely dice the red onion, cut the cucumber into quarter rounds, slice the tomatoes in half, and roughly chop the parsley.
Combine the cucumber, tomato, onion, and parsley in a bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over top, then stir until the vegetables are coated.
Rinse and drain the beans, and drain the tuna. Add the beans, tuna, and feta to the salad, then gently stir to combine. These three are added last and only gently stirred to make sure the tuna remains in larger flakes instead of falling apart into tiny pieces.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to four days. Give it a quick stir after refrigerating and before serving to redistribute the dressing.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I use an English cucumber. You can use a conventional cucumber and diced Roma tomatoes in place of English cucumber and grape tomatoes if needed.

**I suggest chunk light tuna for this recipe because I think it's the happy medium between good texture (large pieces instead of tiny flakes) and price. You can use tuna packed in either water or oil, whichever you prefer. The nutritional stats below are calculated using tuna packed in water.

You can add, substitute, or skip the salad ingredients in this recipe based on your needs. I think sun-dried tomatoes, pitted olives, bell peppers, chickpeas, avocado, cooked orzo, penne, or bowtie pasta, spinach or romaine (keep separate if meal prepping), or roasted red peppers would be delicious additions.

Nutrition