Mediterranean-Style Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe
I am an overall fan of tuna salad sandwiches. What some consider a boring combination of mayonnaise and canned tuna, I see as a tasty opportunity for flavor exploration. As someone who cooks just about day in and day out, the quick and easy assembly of a tuna salad sandwich makes it an ideally nourishing meal. I often hastily craft one and nosh on it while waiting for something more elaborate to finish roasting, baking, proofing, simmering, or slow cooking. (Don't even get me started on the virtues of PB&Js).
This Mediterranean-style tuna salad sandwich was actually born out of frustration. I had a bunch of mostly-empty jars of all sorts of cured, marinated, and pickled goodies clogging up my refrigerator. Instead of angrily chucking 'em, I realized that I could put them to some very good use (and that my frustration was probably the early onset of just being "hangry"). The briny blend of olives and feta pairs so nicely with twangy mayonnaise and the meaty tuna. The inclusion of vibrant herbs (dill and parsley), succulent sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, and crisp cucumbers adds a pleasing textural and flavorful variance. This fully loaded assortment of ingredients also stretches a couple cans of tuna into a many-serving meal. I crafted these sandwiches to be impressively hearty. But if you want this salad to accommodate many tasty lunches (or snacks), it will absolutely do so.
Gather the Mediterranean-style tuna salad sandwich ingredients
You will need two cans of tuna salad for this recipe. You can use a variety of canned tuna options. I used albacore white tuna in water. You can certainly use tuna in olive oil or another variety of tuna: yellowfin, skipjack, etc...
For dressing the salad and assembling the sandwiches, you will need mayonnaise, lemon juice, fresh dill, fresh parsley, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, pitted Kalamata olives, pitted green olives, red onions, olive oil, cucumber, and arugula.
For the bread, I used half of a seeded baguette. Feel free to use a demi-baguette, Italian bread, or hoagie roll instead. If you opt for canned tuna in olive oil, you can use the oil inside the can instead of using additional olive oil for toasting the baguette.
Step 1: Drain the tuna
Drain the tuna and place it in a large bowl.
Step 2: Add the dressing components
Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, and parsley to the bowl. Stir to combine.
Step 3: Add the Mediterranean ingredients
Add the feta, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green olives, and red onion to the bowl.
Step 4: Stir to combine
Stir to combine, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 5: Prep the baguette
Drizzle the split baguette with olive oil.
Step 6: Toast the baguette
Toast the baguette in either a toaster oven or conventional oven until golden and lightly crisp.
Step 7: Add half of the tuna salad
Spoon half of the tuna salad mixture onto the baguette and spread it out evenly.
Step 8: Add the cucumbers
Top the tuna with a layer of sliced cucumber.
Step 9: Add the remaining tuna salad
Top the cucumber with the remaining tuna and spread it out evenly.
Step 10: Add the arugula
Top the tuna with arugula.
Step 11: Cap and secure the sandwich
Cap the sandwich with the baguette top and secure with toothpicks.
Step 12: Slice and serve the sandwich
Slice the sandwich into quarters and serve.
What can I serve with a tuna sandwich?
Mediterranean-Style Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe
Briny olives and feta pair nicely with twangy mayonnaise, tuna, sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, and crisp cucumbers in our Mediterranean tuna sandwich.
Ingredients
- 2 (5-ounce) cans tuna in water or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chopped pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 tablespoon chopped pitted green olives
- 1 tablespoon chopped red onion
- 1 seeded demi baguette or half baguette, split
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup sliced cucumber
- 2 cups baby arugula
Directions
- Drain the tuna and place it in a large bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, and parsley to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the feta, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green olives, and red onion to the bowl.
- Stir to combine, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Drizzle the split baguette with olive oil.
- Toast the baguette in either a toaster oven or conventional oven until golden and lightly crisp.
- Spoon half of the tuna salad mixture onto the baguette and spread it out evenly.
- Top the tuna with a layer of sliced cucumber.
- Top the cucumber with the remaining tuna and spread it out evenly.
- Top the tuna with arugula.
- Cap the sandwich with the baguette top and secure with toothpicks.
- Slice the sandwich into quarters and serve.
What are some tips for crafting the perfect tuna sandwich?
I craft my sandwiches with two things in mind: stability and tastiness. To accomplish a stable tuna salad sandwich, we need to make sure that any slippy-slidy ingredients are securely ensconced within. Though our sliced cucumbers add a spectacular pop of crunch and freshness, alas, they are some of the slipperiest ingredients you could add to a sandwich. Hence, we layer them within two pockets of tuna salad for safekeeping.
I am also not a big fan of soggy sandwiches. To reduce the sog, I recommend thoroughly draining your tuna before adding the salad ingredients. We also toast the baguette in this recipe. That quick toast staves off any lingering moisture that might cause our sandwiches to get soggy. That toasting will also help keep the bread crisp for longer, allowing you to confidently pack this sandwich to-go without too much mess later when you are ready to nosh. If you are planning on waiting more than a couple hours before consuming the sandwich, pack your tuna salad and cucumbers separately from your baguette and arugula. Simply assemble right before you're ready to eat.
What are some other Mediterranean ingredients that would work well in a tuna sandwich?
You can absolutely mix and match the Mediterranean ingredients in this recipe to suit your taste, preference, or availability (if you happen to have some mostly empty jars of stuff in your fridge, too). The olives are interchangeable. You can use any variety you like, or you can forgo them completely and use a combination of capers and cornichons to achieve that briney bite.
Pickled, roasted, or marinated bell peppers would be a lovely substitute for the sun-dried tomatoes. You can also use a mix of both sun-dried tomatoes and peppers, as they complement each other, and I am sure that would be very tasty too.
For an egg-free option, you can opt out of the mayonnaise and craft a vinaigrette as the primary dressing. I've also made tuna niçoise sandwiches that are very similar to this one, just sans mayonnaise. Speaking of niçoise, you can use a variety of lettuces or fresh veggies in place of the cucumbers and arugula. Radishes would be an especially crisp and peppery pairing for this sandwich.