I must admit, I eat Tuna Salad a lot. This can be ‘controversial’ as I know people either like tuna salad, or absolutely hate it. I grew up on Classic Tuna Salad and I love it.
I realized that this simple recipe is something I make almost weekly. Yet, I’ve never formally shared the recipe in a blog post! Most of you know very well how to make a Tuna Salad and you likely won’t need this recipe. But I notice when I mention it’s what I am eating for lunch on Instagram– I get some questions on how exactly I make my Tuna Salad.
So yeah, here we go. A *really good*, paleo, classic Tuna Salad recipe that never fails me. It’s dilly, zesty, bright, and delicious!! It might seem odd that I add a touch of coconut sugar to my tuna salad, but it’s an addition I’ve recently added and the touch of sweetness just really makes the dish.
Make a big batch of this Classic Tuna Salad on a Sunday so that you can enjoy it for lunches throughout the week. I serve mine with fresh-cut veggies + crackers! My favorite busy workday lunch!!
Classic Tuna Salad

Ingredients
- 2 [4-ounce] can of tuna, drained
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery about 1 stalk
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion about 1/4 of a medium-sized onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp dijon
- 1 tbsp dill relish
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- a dash of cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Using a fork, stir and mash until the tuna salad is very well combined. Serve and enjoy or refrigerate before serving for best results!!
22 Comments
Stephanie
July 5, 2022 at 5:34 pmMy husband and myself love this recipe! Such a good meal-prep recipe that we use a lot.
Lindsay
April 22, 2022 at 5:41 pmI eat tuna salad pretty often but never actually followed a recipe. This was amazing! So much flavor but still healthy. Will definitely use this recipe going forward.
Brenna
April 16, 2022 at 6:42 pmI don’t think I have eaten tuna salad since I was in college but this recipe looked so good so I decided to give it a try. Oh. My. Gosh. These flavors are perfect. I was thinking I would save it for the work week but my husband and I just gobbled it all up. Delish! Thanks for the great recipe!
VNick
April 10, 2022 at 6:43 pmI don’t leave reviews that often, but my gah that was bomb!
Alex
April 11, 2022 at 12:08 amThank you for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Sarah
March 22, 2022 at 6:20 pmBest tuna I have ever had!
Brittany
March 15, 2022 at 12:56 amWhat canned tuna do you use?
Alex
March 22, 2022 at 5:18 pmI use Wildplanet skipjack tuna!
Pearl
February 7, 2022 at 11:03 pmFavorite Tuna Salad recipe! The flavors add so much to a classic tuna recipe. Thank you!
Ashley
November 16, 2021 at 3:44 amI’m so excited to try this! But I’m hung up on this… is it 2 cans of tuna, totaling 4 oz… or 2 cans of 4 oz tuna, totaling 8 oz? THANK YOU!
Alex
November 16, 2021 at 6:00 pmtotaling 8 ounces 🙂
Molly New
October 15, 2021 at 7:53 pmWhat GF crackers are those shown in the photo?
Alex
October 16, 2021 at 12:44 pmSimple Mills!
Beth Marsh
August 15, 2021 at 5:17 pmThis is my favorite tuna salad recipe ever. Thank you!
Alex
August 15, 2021 at 10:46 pmThank you, Beth!!
John Mitchell
July 11, 2021 at 3:14 pmJust a note I made this whole 30 by omitting the coconut sugar (and I used mt olive brand simply dill relish which seemed to be compliant based on the ingredients, primal kitchen for the other condiments). I also made half with canned chicken as opposed to tuna (splitting the ingredients in half into two bowls and combining separately) just in case I did not like tuna salad (hadn’t had canned tuna since I was a kid!)
They are both great and still fantastic even without the sugar. You always nail it on amount of stuff for flavor! Thanks for sharing these recipes.
C
June 21, 2021 at 12:11 amWhat brand tuna do you use?
Alex
June 21, 2021 at 5:24 pmI like wildplanet or safe catch a lot!
Jean
April 19, 2021 at 8:12 pmMy new favorite tuna, thank you!
JUSTINE THOMPSON
April 22, 2021 at 10:18 pmMy new fav tuna salad!
Claudia
March 9, 2021 at 11:29 amHow long can this dish be refrigerated for?
Alex
March 10, 2021 at 4:13 pmabout 5 days