Veggie tuna salad is a New York deli and bagel-shop classic. It's creamy, crunchy, and packed with finely chopped vegetables. Serve it on a bagel or bialy, tuck it into a wrap, or spoon it over greens.
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Growing up in New York, some of my favorite lunches came from bagel shops and diners. Veggie tuna was always a favorite, but you rarely see it outside Jewish delis and bagel shops.
Try my recipe for New York Diner Tuna. I've had many tuna sandwiches and salads in diners too.
Now that I live in the Florida Keys-and the nearest bagel shop is 20 miles away-I make my own.
I consider myself an expert tuna salad chef. For classic New York-style tuna salad, I skip eggs, jalapeños, cilantro, and hot sauce. The standard is simple: smooth, creamy, and well-balanced.
First, use the right tuna.
What Is The Best Tuna for Tuna Salad?
The best canned tuna is solid albacore white tuna. The can should say white, not light. It should also say solid, not chunk. Chunk Light is dark and very fishy-tasting.
I like Wild Planet Wild Albacore tuna.
For the popular supermarket brands, I used to buy Bumble Bee, but lately, Chicken of the Sea White Albacore tuna packed in water tastes much better.
Ingredients
- Solid white albacore tuna
- Hellmann's mayonnaise (you can sub avocado mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, or sour cream to make it healthier)
- Diced celery
- Carrot, shredded on a box grater
- Diced red bell pepper
- Diced red onion (you can sub scallions or a grated yellow onion)
- Dill (optional). If I have fresh dill in the fridge, I add it.
- Salt to taste
How to Make Tuna Vegetable Salad
- Tuna: Squeeze as much water as you can out of the can so the mayonnaise binds to the tuna. In a large bowl, mash the tuna with the back of a fork until it's in small pieces. Never grind in a food processor; it will get mushy.
- Veggies: Chop into small pieces.
- Mayo: Mix in about a quarter cup for two cans of tuna so the tuna sticks together.
- Salt: You might need a little salt, depending on the tuna and the mayo.
Extra Tuna Salad Add-Ins
Other popular additions include:
- Garlic powder
- Dijon Mustard
- Lemon juice
- Hard-boiled eggs
Serving Suggestions
Serve your tuna salad however you like. My favorite way is on a bed of lettuce with tomato, cucumber, scallions, and onion slices. Try these everything bagel chips as a crispy side.
Try these too:
- Veggie tuna on a bagel or bialy
- Stuff the tuna in an avocado half
- Lettuce Wrap
- Tuna Melt
You'll find more classic tuna recipes in our canned fish recipes.
What's a Bialy?
For my friends in Key Largo: Have you ever had a bialy? They're in the freezer at Winn-Dixie and Publix, and they're very good.
The traditional Polish bread comes from Bell's Brooklyn Bagels and Bialies in Oceanside, New York, a few miles from where I grew up.
A cross between an English muffin and a bagel, a bialy is a little smaller than a bagel and toasted like an English muffin.
The bottom half of every bialy has a bunch of sweet chopped onions, about the size of a quarter, right in the middle, which gives the bialy a distinct flavor.
Storage
Store tuna salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Do not freeze.
Takeaway
Veggie tuna salad is an easy lunch or light dinner made with canned tuna. Mixing diced vegetables into your tuna with mayo gives you a fresh, crunchy twist on a classic.
It's simple to make, full of flavor, and perfect for sandwiches, wraps, or a big tossed salad.
If you like this, try veggie egg salad too-it's made the same way, just swap tuna for chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Make sure you get high-quality solid white (albacore) tuna.
To make your tuna healthier, use plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, or mashed avocado in place of mayonnaise.
You can find a box of bialys in the freezer section at Publix and Winn-Dixie in Florida to enjoy a taste of New York City!
More New York Recipes
Florida Fish Dip is Florida's answer to New York delicatessen Whitefish Salad. Made with locally caught Mahi or Wahoo, fish dip is a mixture of smoked fish with mayo, cream cheese, and some chopped veggies.
- The Gotham Salad
- New York Diner Tuna Salad
- Deli Macaroni Salad
- Sweet Coleslaw
- Chicken Salad with Grapes
- NYC Deli Chicken Salad
- Shrimp Salad with Old Bay and Dill
For more deli recipes, visit Deli-Style Salad Recipes.
FAQ
Bagels, sour pickles, coleslaw, and a good cup of coffee are great with tuna salad.
Veggie tuna is white albacore canned tuna, chopped and mixed with mayonnaise and crunchy vegetables such as diced carrots, celery, red onions, and bell pepper.
You can put anything you want in tuna salad. However, mustard isn't a traditional condiment you would find in a New York deli.
Veggie Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (5 oz.) cans white albacore tuna packed in water (or one double can)
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper, ½ pepper
- 3 tablespoons diced celery, 1 stalk
- 3 tablespoons red onion or scallions, ½ small onion or 2 scallions
- 2-3 tablespoons shredded carrots, 1 carrot (shredded on a box grater)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
- sea salt to taste (if needed)
Instructions
- Open the cans of tuna and drain them into a colander, pushing out all the water.
- Chop all of the veggies into small pieces.
- Mix the veggies and the tuna. Add enough mayonnaise so the tuna salad sticks together, but not too much so it tastes like a bowl of mayo.
- Serve on a bed of lettuce with tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. Or, pile on a warm bagel or toasted bialy.
