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23 Delicious Canned Tuna Recipes for When You Just Can’t

Well, actually, you can, because we’re talking about canned tuna recipes.
A composed salad of canned tuna new potatoes green beans cucumbers and boiled eggs.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski

You just got home from a long day at work (canned tuna recipes), it's record-breaking hot outside (canned tuna recipes), you haven't come up with weeknight dinner ideas (canned tuna recipes), and you just can't. Can't turn on the oven, can't use any more brainpower, just...can't.

You know what you can do? (Did our subliminal messaging work?) That's right: Open up your pantry door, pull out a can of tuna fish, and go the semi-homemade route. Make a 15-minute couscous with capers or a bean and radicchio salad or a tuna melt, one of the best comfort foods of all time.

Here are 19 easy recipes that go beyond tuna noodle casserole—although that's here too—for when you feel like you can't, but you actually can.

  • Two halves of a classic tuna melt sandwich stacked on a plate with potato chips covered in Frank's red hot and a pickle...
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
    1/23

    The Ultimate Tuna Melt

    And here, perhaps one of the all-time best canned tuna recipes—the classic, diner-style tuna melt. Picture: creamy tuna salad, toasted Pullman, salty pickles, and melted cheddar.

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  • Photograph by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy
    2/23

    Tuna Niçoise Salad

    Nothing says “I’m on vacation” like a two-hour lunch featuring glasses of rosé (no one’s counting) and this meal-worthy composed salad.

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  • Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon
    3/23

    BA’s Best Tuna Casserole

    You might not find this nouveau tuna noodle casserole under "healthy tuna recipes," but you will find it under "dinner recipes using pantry staples that the whole family will love." (Just read the comments.) And, when it comes to the topping, potato chips > breadcrumbs.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
    4/23

    Tuna Salad With Crispy Chickpeas

    Crispy chickpeas and red endive turn your tuna salad into a tasty light lunch. If you need something a little more filling, you could stuff this into a pita and call it a tuna wrap, of sorts.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'mytrek Brown
    5/23

    Classic Tuna Salad

    If it isn't broken, don't try to fix it. This classic tuna salad recipe has everything you crave and would expect: red onion, celery, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon, parsley, and capers.

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  • Photo by Patricia Heal
    6/23

    Tuna Empanada

    Thanks to both canned tuna and store-bought frozen puff pastry, this Galician empanada is very easy to make.

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  • Photo and Food Styling by Diana Yen
    7/23

    Onigiri Three Ways

    Compact and ready to be taken on the go, onigiri are one of our favorite lunch ideas—and you don’t need to be a sushi chef to make them.

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  • Photo and Food Styling by Molly Baz 
    8/23

    Anything-Goes Green Goddess Salad

    Herby, punchy, creamy green goddess dressing is as versatile as it is delicious. You can use cilantro, mint, basil, or any combination of tender herbs, and it can be mixed into shredded chicken breasts, chickpeas, chopped hard-boiled eggs, or, yes, high-quality canned tuna.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Molly Baz, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    11/23

    Niçoise Toast

    Niçoise salad, but make it toast. Yes, you read that right: Fried bread is our contribution to the classic French dish turned easy dinner. (We're patting ourselves on the back as we type.)

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  • 12/23

    Roasted Squash and Cauliflower With Cashew Tonnato

    This tonnato gets its creaminess from cashews instead of eggs and, along with the dukkah spice mix, will gussy up any tray of roasted veggies.

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  • 15/23

    Pan Bagnat

    Take a Mediterranean tuna salad, put it between two halves of toasted baguette, and you have pan bagnat. And trust us when we tell you that napkins are not optional.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    16/23

    DIY Hand Rolls

    For last-minute parties, senior food editor Christina Chaey sets out a few jars of tuna and the fixings for do-it-yourself hand rolls. The thing is, you don't have to be hosting a party to do it yourself.

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  • Photo by Lisa Hubbard
    19/23

    Tuna, Asparagus, and New Potato Salad

    This vibrant spring salad is dressed in a kicky chive vinaigrette and gets a topping of fried capers for exciting pops of salty, briny flavor.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    20/23

    Mackerel Pantry Pasta

    The technique for this no-cook sauce, in which you warm the tuna in a heatproof bowl set over your pasta pot as the water boils, ensures that the fish won’t dry out or become tough.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini
    23/23

    Charred Green Beans with Spicy Tonnato

    Did you doubt that a canned tuna recipe could be so elegant? Tonnato, a classic, creamy Italian sauce made with tuna and anchovies, is usually served with veal, but here it gives charred snap beans an umami base.

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