If tuna salad and egg salad had a salad baby, it would be this delicious Tuna Egg Salad! This simple make-ahead cold lunch works great for meal prep or a picnic option. Turn it into a sandwich, lettuce wraps or dip for pita chips!
Tuna salad. Egg salad. They each have their pros. They both have similar cons – name is not a strength let’s just say, and have you seen it? Like on a plate? Not the cutest.
But putting these two salads together works exactly how you’d hope. It’s pretty cool actually. Not too much tuna. Not too much egg. Just a wonderful cold lunch you’ll look forward to!
What are the ingredients in this Tuna Egg Salad?
The ingredients in this Tuna Egg Salad should remind you equally of an egg salad and a tuna salad!
They definitely have a bit of crossover when it comes to ingredients, but I’ve never put celery or pickles in my egg salad before! Until now. And I don’t regret it.
Here are the ingredients I used for my Tuna Egg Salad:
- tuna – One of the two main stars in this salad show! I prefer to use sustainably caught Albacore wild tuna, but any tuna packed in water will work.
- hard boiled eggs – Star number 2! I use my Instant Pot to make hard-boiled eggs, but please use your preferred method. Here’s a great tutorial for how to boil eggs stove-top method, and here’s an Instant Pot tutorial that is very similar to my method. I usually cook my eggs just slightly less than hard boiled (4 minutes high pressure). Definitely not runny, but not totally hard cooked.
- celery – I’ve always had celery in my tuna salad, and I think it goes well here too. Brings a nice crunch and texture!
- dill pickles – Pickles are important not only for crunch, but for the dill flavor. Pickles are a prime tuna salad ingredient for me, and they go really well with the eggs too!
- red onion – I don’t even like raw onions very much but a small amount is necessary for a little zing of flavor.
- mayonnaise – This is what makes it creamy and delicious! I suppose you could use Greek yogurt if you want but I haven’t tested this.
- lemon juice – Adds a bright and fresh taste that honestly kinda brings the whole thing together.
- dijon mustard – For the same reason you need onion, you need mustard. It adds a bit of complex flavor, and is an ingredient I would use in both tuna salad and egg salad.
- garlic powder – I love garlic and a quick dash of garlic powder adds flavor and saves you from having to chop up the garlic.
- salt & fresh ground black pepper – Flavor flavor flavor. These basic spices take it from medium to awesome and bring the whole salad together.
How do you make the Tuna Egg Salad?
This Tuna Egg Salad is pretty darn easy to make. All it takes is hard boiling some eggs and practicing a little knife skills action.
First, if you haven’t already, hard boil four eggs in your preferred method. You can use the stovetop, Instant Pot or air fryer. Cool the eggs in an ice bath and then peel and set aside.
While the eggs are cooking and cooling, dice up all your veggies. You can add each to a medium sized mixing bowl as you chop them up.
Open up the can of tuna, give the juices to your cats, and use a fork to flake the tuna as you add it to the same bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl after the veggies and tuna, including the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Stir everything together until it’s well mixed, and that’s it. Tuna egg salad! For meal prep, portion the salad into three or four containers and pair with your fave sides. Ideas below 🙂
What are some serving ideas for the Tuna Egg Salad?
Here are some ways to eat this Tuna Egg Salad:
- eat it as is with a fork or spoon
- dip pita chips or crackers
- spoon it onto bread for a sandwich
- spoon it into big leaves of lettuce for lettuce wraps
- add romaine and tuna egg salad to a tortilla wrap
What are some ideas for meal prep sides to this dish?
As you can see in the photos, I added fresh strawberries and blackberries to my meal prep containers. It’s seriously my favorite simple side.
Here are some other ideas for meal prep sides:
- cut veggies and dip
- trail mix
- pita chips (I recommend storing separately)
- different fruits or a fruit salad
- any kind of green salad + dressing
- crackers and cheese
- NOTE: For anything crispy or bread-like, I recommend storing separately and not in the fridge to avoid sogginess.
Alternative customization ideas for the Tuna Egg Salad:
I would definitely consider this Tuna Egg Salad recipe to be a base recipe that can handle some customization and ingredient swaps.
Here are some ideas to customize this recipe off the top of my head:
- add some red chili pepper flakes for some heat
- another option for heat would be Tabasco sauce
- switch out the mayonnaise for a mashed avocado
- add some fresh dill for extra dill flavor
- add some smoked paprika for color and flavor
Where do you get those meal prep containers?
I always recommend glass containers for storing your food. Here are some container options for this meal:
- 3 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!) – The brand is Prep Naturals and I love their 2 and 3 compartment containers! If you don’t want your foods to touch until you eat them, these are the containers for you.
- 4-cup Pyrex Round Glass Containers (affiliate link!) – I love Pyrex and I have several of these containers. However, the lids are slightly inferior and will rip after a couple years of continued use. Still love the glass containers though!
- Pyrex 3-cup Rectangular Glass Containers (affiliate link!) – Another Pyrex option I own, just a different shape 🙂 Obviously this is a 1 compartment container, so your food will touch!
See all my meal prep container recommendations here!
No, I would not recommend freezing this meal. Hard boiled eggs and some of the veggies in this meal will lose their texture and will not thaw well.
Store this dish in an airtight container (recommendations above!) in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I suggest eating this meal cold from the fridge – no need to reheat 🙂
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Tuna Egg Salad Meal Prep
If tuna salad and egg salad had a salad baby, it would be this delicious Tuna Egg Salad! This simple make-ahead cold lunch works great for meal prep or a picnic option. Turn it into a sandwich, lettuce wraps or dip for pita chips!
- Total Time5 minutes
- Yield3–4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 (5 ounce) can of tuna, drained
- 4 large hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 2 medium dill pickles, diced
- 1/4 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix up the salad: In a large mixing bowl, add the can of tuna and use a fork to flake it into smaller pieces. Add all remaining ingredients including hard boiled eggs, celery, dill pickles, red onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Mix well until you’ve got a creamy, delicious looking tuna egg salad.
- Serve & store: Portion into 3 or 4 meal prep containers if you’d like, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Equipment
Rubbermaid High Heat Spatula Scraper
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3 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers
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Notes
- Nutrition information for Tuna Egg Salad only estimated with My Fitness Pal.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Lunches
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/3 of recipe
- Calories: 416
- Sugar: 1g
- Fat: 36g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Protein: 20g
Did You Make This?
I love seeing what you made! Leave a review below, and be sure to tag me at @ProjectMealPlan when you share a photo!
That isn’t much tuna for all those ingredients. Eas 1 can a typo?
Yes, 1 can is accurate! There are also 4 hard boiled eggs which add lots of volume to the salad as well. I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂 -Danielle
Five stars!! amazing recipe! Please give this a try. I’m terrible at tuna fish, but the entire family loved this one!