This healthy Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad is creamy, high-protein, and made without mayo! Perfect for meal prep, sandwiches, or lettuce wraps. Ready in 15 minutes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
My healthy tuna salad recipe is super popular and a few of you asked if mayo can be omitted. I don’t love to recommend recipes without testing myself, so I made this tuna salad with Greek yogurt and happy to report it’s just as delicious!
Here is why I think you’ll love it too:
- Mayonnaise-free: All the creaminess you love from a traditional tuna salad, but lightened up using protein-packed Greek yogurt.
- High protein: Just like my canned salmon salad, this tuna salad has 20 grams of protein but only 100 calories per serving. It’s a satisfying salad that actually keeps you full!
- Quick and easy: Goes from the pantry to your plate in just 15 minutes – no cooking required!
- Perfect for meal prep: It stays fresh and flavorful in the fridge for up to 5 days, making it the ultimate grab-and-go lunch.
- Flavor-packed: The combination of fresh dill, Dijon mustard, and a hint of garlic gives it a “gourmet” taste (think tuna egg salad vibes).
Ingredients for Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad
- Canned tuna: 4 cans of any tuna packed in water. I usually buy light tuna as it’s more affordable and lower in mercury. Albacore tuna has more mild flavor but is more pricey. Use what you like.
- Greek yogurt: Use plain Greek yogurt with at least 2% fat for the creamiest texture.
- Crunch and zing: Celery ribs and red onion add crunchy texture and flavor. Dijon mustard adds tang and spice, important ingredient since we do not use mayo.
- The flavor secret: Fresh dill and a little bit of grated garlic make this tuna salad taste “gourmet”.
- Spices: Red wine vinegar (or lemon juice), smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad
- Whisk the dressing: In a large bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, mustard, vinegar, onion, celery, dill, garlic, and spices.
- Prep the tuna: Drain the tuna cans thoroughly—press down on the lid to get all the water out so your salad isn’t watery!
- Combine: Fold the tuna into the yogurt mixture, flaking it with a fork as you go.
- Chill: This is the most important part! Let it sit in the fridge for 1 hour to let the flavors marry.
Tips for Best Results
- Drain well: To avoid a soggy salad, make sure that tuna is as dry as possible before adding it to the bowl.
- Go full-fat: Don’t use 0% Greek yogurt as it is too tart and lacks creaminess, and we do not have mayo to “help”. 2% or 5% Greek yogurt fat provides a much richer, mayo-like experience.
- Fresh herbs swap: If you don’t like dill, fresh parsley or chives work beautifully here too.
- Add saltiness: I didn’t want to make ingredients list longer, but pickles or capers would be wonderful i nthis dish as well.
Serving Ideas
- The classic: On toasted whole-grain bread with a slice of tomato.
- High protein: Serve on a slice of Greek yogurt bread or cottage cheese bread and instantly add 7-10 grams of protein.
- Low carb: Inside large romaine or butter lettuce leaves. Can also serve stuffed into an avocado half.
- Snack style: Served as a dip with cucumber slices or whole-grain crackers.
- Salad topper: Scoop it right over a big bed of mixed greens.
How to Store
Store: Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It actually tastes better on day two!
Freeze? I don’t recommend freezing this recipe, as the texture of the Greek yogurt and celery will change significantly once thawed.
More Healthy Tuna Recipes to Try
- Mexican tuna salad
- Chickpea tuna salad
- Avocado tuna salad
- Healthy tuna pasta salad
- Healthy tuna melt
Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad
This healthy Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad is creamy, high-protein, and made without mayo! Perfect for meal prep, sandwiches, or lettuce wraps.
Ingredients
- 4 6 ounces cans tuna, packed in water
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2%+ fat
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or lemon juice
- 1/4 cup red onion, minced
- 2 large celery ribs, diced
- 2 tablespoons dill, finely chopped
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, vinegar, red onion, celery, dill, garlic, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Stir well.
- Drain cans with tuna thoroughly. I usually press hard onto the lid while draining the can completely.
- Transfer to a bowl with Greek yogurt mixture. Separate into flakes with a fork and then mix well.
- Refrigerate for about an hour to let flavors "marry each other".
- Serve cold in a sandwich or over lettuce leaves.
🎉 Last step! If you made this recipe, please leave a review and let us know what you think!
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- What canned tuna to buy? I buy canned light tuna packed in water. Albacore tuna has less “fishy” taste and white “meaty” texture or yellowfin/skipjack/light tuna is tan to pink in color and has more strong fish taste. I always buy chunky one vs. whole because it’s cheaper.
Nutrition
Calories: 100kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 185mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @ifoodreal or tag #ifoodreal!
