Are you looking for a healthy tuna salad? This Avocado Tuna Salad is a healthy tuna salad without mayo! It makes a healthy, easy lunch!
This Avocado Tuna Salad is the healthy tuna salad I’ve been turning to for quick lunches for years now. I love that it takes about 5 minutes to make and I get a balanced, delicious meal that’s loaded with nutrients.
Is it Healthy to Eat Tuna Salad?
Do you know if you’re getting enough omega 3 fatty acids? For me, the omega 3s available in plant foods, ALA, are much easier to get in my diet than the ones found primarily in some fish, EPA and DHA. Unfortunately, the ones that are harder for me to get are the ones I need more.
EPA helps control inflammation, DHA is vital for our nervous system, including brain function (and development in children), and both are important for our heart health. These omega 3 fatty acids are probably one of the most important nutrients we can feed our bodies, yet many of us aren’t getting enough.
Healthy tuna salad is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids! I’ve been turning to this Avocado Tuna Salad for one way to help me get those essential fatty acids into my body.
What Can I add to Tuna Instead of Mayo?
Avocado is the natural answer!
It’s not that I don’t like mayo. I like it a lot, actually. It’s just difficult to find a mayonnaise with healthy oil. Most have soybean oil, which I mostly avoid, and even the healthier varieties are made with canola oil, another one I prefer to limit. There are some made with avocado oil now, but they are more expensive. Sure, I could make my own mayonnaise, but who has time for that? Not this mama. 
Avocado is a perfect stand-in for mayonnaise in this recipe. I add carrots and celery for crunch and extra veggie goodness. For a different twist, I also add just a touch of smoked paprika. I love the flavor of it and it makes this avocado tuna salad a little different than traditional tuna salad. You can definitely leave it out if you don’t have any or don’t love the smoky flavor of it.
I use Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna, which is only cooked once (many tuna brands are cooked twice which diminishes their nutritional content) and is packed without oil, water, or fillers. According to their website, this tuna is not only rich in omega 3s but also has lower mercury content due to the smaller size of fish they catch. I highly recommend this brand. I find this brand at Costco or you can get it on Amazon.
I think this salad is perfect on top a bed of lettuce. It’s a filling, yet light lunch. I hope you love it, too!
Healthy Tuna Salad Recipe
Healthy Tuna Salad
This Healthy Tuna Salad without mayo is made with avocado! It’s quick and easy to make and super flavorful!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: lunch
Ingredients
- 1 (5 ounce) can wild albacore tuna
- 1 small/medium avocado
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalked, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mash together the tuna and avocado.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Serve as a sandwich or over a bed of lettuce.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 2.6g
- Sodium: 210.7mg
- Fat: 15.6g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3g
- Carbohydrates: 12.9g
- Fiber: 7.8g
- Protein: 16.2g
- Cholesterol: 25.5g
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If you want a slightly different flavor, try this Curried Tuna Tomato Salad!
You might also love this Avocado Chicken Salad recipe or Avocado Egg Salad!
This recipe was originally published in 2016. A video was added and updates to the post were made in 2019. Links to products are affiliate links. Thank you for always supporting Happy Healthy Mama! I appreciate you.
Kate says
March 10, 2016 at 1:21 pmI make this combination all the time – although with a slightly Japanese twist through sesame oil, sesame seeds, and a few drops of soy sauce.
The celery and carrot addition sounds great – I’m gonna try this variation next!
Maryea says
March 10, 2016 at 9:07 pmThat sounds like a great twist! I’ll have to try your idea too. 🙂
P.S. I wanted to comment on your wardrobe post, but got a 503 error. Just wanted to let you know something may be wrong with your commenting system. Loved your ideas on simplifying your wardrobe! I need to take yoru advice for sure. Great thoughts and very inspiring.
Kate says
March 10, 2016 at 11:24 pmThanks, for the info Maryea. It should be working now.
Great that you loved the ideas on simplifying your wardrobe. Let me know how it goes.
Rach's Recipes says
March 12, 2016 at 5:38 amMade this and it was fantastic. I added celery too as well as red onion. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Maryea says
March 14, 2016 at 6:19 amSo glad to hear it, Rach!
Jeri Peratis says
March 14, 2016 at 3:38 pmI like mine with a little more tangy dressing so I use Miracle Whip made with olive oil. It does have some soybean and canola oild in it, though. I saw Veganaise at the grocery store last week….made without soy. Next shopping trip I’m going to try it. I buy Wild Planet Albacore as well and I like the fact that it’s pole caught, not caught with seine nets. I put celery and a tiny bit of chopped sweet gherkins in it. It’s good and has a lot of protein.
★★★★★
Christine says
April 5, 2016 at 10:15 amI am in love with this simple lunch recipe! I make it twice a week, and have changed out the tuna for chicken, and it was just as delicious!
★★★★★
Maryea says
April 5, 2016 at 3:37 pmThanks for the feedback, Christine! 🙂
Marcie says
May 22, 2016 at 8:22 pmHow much is one serving?
Becky Drenth says
May 25, 2016 at 11:41 pmSuper helpful recipe. I made this for lunch because … avocado & tuna.
I liked it exactly as you have it here, and I liked it even more with some fresh chopped onion.
Thank you for a new way to enjoy avocado!
★★★★★
Maryea says
May 30, 2016 at 7:43 amYou’re welcome, Becky! Thanks for letting me know you tried this. 🙂
Lori says
July 18, 2016 at 4:22 pmHow long does this keep if you make it ahead of time? I’m guessing the lemon juice will keep the avocado from browning.
Maryea says
July 19, 2016 at 5:04 pmI try to eat it up within 2 days.
Sarah says
August 24, 2016 at 3:32 pmBelieve it or not, you DO have time to make your own mayonnaise! It takes me longer to describe the process than to do it. If you have an immersion blender and a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, you can do it, too!
First, measure out your oil of choice (I use safflower or sunflower) in a separate 1 cup measure (use 1 cup oil).
In your 2-cup measure, add 1 egg, 1 Tbsp vinegar (I use cider vinegar), 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Next, turn on your immersion blender and briefly blend the ingredients in the 2-cup measure. Then, VERY SLOWLY, WITH BLENDER RUNNING, pour the oil into the 2-cup measure. Add the oil as slowly as you can at the beginning of the process. By the time you have poured in half of the oil, you should have something that is starting to look like mayo! At this point, you may add the oil more rapidly since the emulsification process has begun. Continue to blend until all the oil has been added. If your mayo is getting too stiff (happens sometimes) simply add a Tbsp of hot water and reblend as needed. (yes, there is raw egg in homemade mayo… I know that will be a dealbreaker for some folks.)
ANYWAY – thank you so much for this recipe! I have been looking for a way to make chicken salad or egg salad that did not use mayo at all (even though I always make my own), & here it is.
Maryea says
August 26, 2016 at 10:13 amSarah,
How long does mayo last making it this way? I would do it if it would last a while, but since we don’t use mayo much, I don’t think that we’d use it up before it goes bad. I’m the only one who likes it in my house.
Annie Heminger says
September 13, 2016 at 5:38 pmSomething I add to tuna is cottage cheese. It’s creamy and helps the texture without using very much mayo. I will try the avocado too…looks delicious. Also I add some fresh chopped red onion, celery (powder ok too) a bit of Dijon mustard, and A sprinkle of seasoned salt (lawrys) adds great flavor.
Maryea says
September 14, 2016 at 9:38 amGreat ideas, Annie! Thanks for sharing.
Mana Jo says
November 14, 2016 at 3:00 pmHello Mareya,
I am excited to try your tuna salad idea. Is the addition of lemon juice to help keep the avocado from turning? I am always so hesitant to use avocado unless I will be eating it right away lol.
Thanks!
Maryea says
November 14, 2016 at 9:35 pmYes, the lemon juice is there to help with keeping the avocado from turning brown. I feel the same way about avocado. I’ve had good luck with this one still being okay to eat the second day.
Jimz says
July 13, 2017 at 10:49 amwill lime juice work the same for the avocado as lemon juice……..?
★★★★★
Maryea says
July 14, 2017 at 9:54 amYep that should work fine!
Crissy says
November 25, 2016 at 8:28 pmWow, this was delicious! I brought the mayo out cause I thought it would need it but it went right back in the fridge. I added lime juice instead of lemon, cilantro, and celery salt instead of paprika and dill. It was fantastic, served on a bed of greens. Can’t wait to make this again for a healthy dinner, thanks for sharing your recipe!
★★★★★
stacey says
April 14, 2017 at 4:18 amI’m creating a list of healthy and quick recipes I can use to start sorting out my candida, and this looks easy and fun.
Maryea says
April 14, 2017 at 7:55 amGreat! I wish you the best on your health journey.
Ruth Mead says
May 28, 2017 at 1:58 pmI am soooo happy to find this! I don’t like mayonnaise, so always ate my tuna sandwich with just butter. I can’t wait to try this!
Maryea says
May 29, 2017 at 6:58 amOooh I think you’re going to love this Ruth! Please let me know. 🙂
SB McManus says
June 8, 2017 at 6:29 amRecipe tastes good but doesn’t “work” as suggested. Following the recipe I just got a dry, crumbly mess. I needed to add mayo to make the recipe moist enough to be edible.
★★
Maryea says
June 8, 2017 at 9:08 amYour avocado may have been not ripe enough and/or too small. I have made this countless times, and it never turns out the way you described, so something must have been off in your preparation.
Allison says
June 12, 2017 at 2:27 pmHi! Can’t wait to try this but I was just wondering if this recipe is a single serving size or is the portion for 2? Thanks!
Maryea says
June 14, 2017 at 11:50 amThis recipe serves 2. 🙂
Rosie says
June 12, 2017 at 2:29 pmI just want to thank you so much for this recipe!
I’m in the total groove of cleaning my house today, and I started to get hungry. I popped open a can of tuna to realize that my mayonnaise expired just about 2 weeks ago (oops, haha)! I searched up “no mayo tuna” and this page came up saving my tuna. Thank you!
Maryea says
June 14, 2017 at 11:51 amYay! So glad you found this. I hope you enjoy some of my other recipes as well. 🙂
Thomas Chase says
July 8, 2017 at 8:15 pmRfignugget
Amy says
September 14, 2017 at 12:51 pmHow can I get more of your recipes? I don’t have facebook but I see you have so many healthy choices!
I’d really appreciate if you could let me know where to find more!
Thank you,
Amy R.
★★★★★
Maryea says
September 14, 2017 at 1:55 pmHi Amy! You definitely don’t need Facebook to access my recipes. They are all hosted right here on my site. 🙂 Here’s my recipe index: https://happyhealthymama.com/recipes-2 You can always bookmark that and come back whenever you wish. Hope that helps! 🙂
Aima L. says
November 27, 2017 at 8:15 amThis seafood salad looks like the perfect meal for entertainment time. Love the use of the product too. Although thanks for sharing great recipe.
★★★★★
roy says
May 14, 2018 at 12:06 amThat dish looks very attractive. I will proceed to do it now
Laura says
July 14, 2018 at 4:33 pmI just made this (found it on pinterest) and it is AMAZING! It’s the only way I’ll eat Tuna Salad going forward so thank you!! 😀 😀
Maryea says
July 16, 2018 at 7:17 amThank you for the feedback, Laura!
Ethen says
August 1, 2018 at 6:06 amHow can I get more of your recipes? I don’t have facebook but I see you have so many healthy choices!
Maryea says
August 3, 2018 at 8:02 amHey Ethen! You don’t need facebook to get my recipes. You can come directly to my website. 🙂 Here’s my recipe index: https://happyhealthymama.com/recipes-2
Blume says
January 8, 2019 at 3:14 pmHi Maryea,
Great recipe for a healthy fat substitute. I did make some changes to the recipe to suit my taste. I added a few pieces spring onions, about a tablespoon of diced sweet onions and Mrs. dash original.
Your recipe states serving size is about 2, is that 2oz? On the can of tuna serving size is about 1/4 cup /2oz.
★★★★★
Maryea says
January 9, 2019 at 11:11 amI haven’t actually weighed the servings, so I can’t say for sure. Glad you liked this!
Sheri says
March 26, 2019 at 10:07 pmI want to print this recipe but when I click your print button it wants to print three pages because of all the advertisements included. Is it possible to print this without all of the advertisements on your webpage trying to be included in the print out?
Maryea says
March 27, 2019 at 7:01 amI’m so sorry that’s happening to you, Sheri. I am forwarding this to my ad network and hope they will be able to take care of that for me.