Can You Really Make Tuna Salad With A Food Processor?

Tuna salad is an easy, protein-packed meal that's perfect with crackers, over lettuce, or between two pieces of bread. It's primarily made with canned tuna and mayonnaise, but you can whisk in anything from plain Greek yogurt for tang to fresh garlic, or even curry powder to add layers of flavor to tuna salad. And you don't even have to mix it by hand — just toss everything in the food processor, and it does all the hard work for you.

The food processor is a small appliance that chops, grinds, or even minces various foods together. There is a right time to use a food processor versus blender because they are so similar, but the processor doesn't grind food as finely, which is why it's perfect for something like tuna salad. You can add onions, celery, canned tuna, and anything else to the processor with some seasonings and mayonnaise. Use the pulse setting until the salad comes together and reaches your desired texture. For whipped-style tuna, incorporate a little more mayonnaise and pulse it longer. Or, keep it more textured with only a few pulses for a less-blended salad.

Food processors usually have at least two settings: chop and grind. The chop setting is the coarsest option, so it's likely what you'll want to use for tuna salad unless you want it incredibly creamy and smooth. It's best to give any vegetables a rough chop before adding them to the processor to ensure they fit and that the blade can spin properly. For the best consistency, chop the vegetables first, then add the mayonnaise and tuna since they don't need as many pulses to blend in.

For strong flavor, use Greek yogurt in combination with mayonnaise to balance out the latter's richness; you can also replace mayonnaise with avocado for an easy, healthy, and simple swap that will make your tuna salad taste like heaven. Add some chopped vegetables, like red onions for a hint of pungency and celery for texture. Fresh herbs — especially dill — go well in tuna salad, too. If you prefer larger chunks of tuna, you can also omit it from the food processor entirely. Add the other ingredients as normal, pulse them to combine, then fold in the tuna by hand at the end for a chunkier salad.