The Gluten-Free Swap To Try With Your Next Tuna Salad Sandwich

The sheer volume of canned tuna upgrades, spicy swaps, and crisp additions to tuna salad nearly outweighs all the fish in the sea. But, although there are almost endless ways to amplify that otherwise canned seafood, its vehicle is less versatile. Tuna salad is typically served on bread, sometimes veering into the wider world of toast, crackers, or flour tortillas, which often contain gluten. And whether you're avoiding gluten for medical reasons (in which case you must also triple-check your other ingredients, prep area, kitchen tools, and so on) or you're simply tired of bread, leafy greens are just the cradle your tuna salads require.

The more precisely phrased "lettuce wrap" is an effective shorthand for this type of tuna presentation, but the possibilities extend beyond that plant alone. Some lettuce varieties aren't actually even useful for this application, either. Little Gem lettuce, for example, would be a bit too petite to approximate a whole sandwich, but you can use it to create a dainty lettuce cup. Bibb is similarly situated. Wraps, instead, require not only decently sized leaves, but denser ones less likely to tear. Good old iceberg lettuce is ideal in this case, as its large surface area and layering capabilities can stand up to the tuna salad with less tearing. (You might just need a few toothpicks to hold it all together.) And plenty of other veggies can perform just as well.

Some plants outside of the lettuce family, per se, can have interchangeable uses. What radicchio lacks in size, it makes up for in heartiness, crunch, and flavor. The densely packed, purple chicory's layers can be easily peeled back and filled with tuna salad. You just might want to make one or two extra for a nicely sized lunch. Its perky bitterness might not be for everyone, in which case milder red cabbage will have a similar effect. Its larger leaves also mean you won't be as inclined to double up.

You won't get the same dramatic color or bite with green cabbage as you will with red or radicchio, but its substantial leaf approximates iceberg in size with an even tougher texture that will stay together. And remember to keep your flavors in balance whether you're using a true lettuce or just something that could pass for it. Iceberg is neutral enough that it can complement spicy tuna salad or a more herbaceous dill tuna salad mix. Assertive radicchio, however, won't play as nicely with tuna salads that have a lot of acid, such as from pickles or brine, as their elements tend to clash. And, even if things do fall apart, toss in some tomatoes and just call it all a different kind of salad.