Deliciously satisfying Apple Tuna Salad made with Greek yogurt, crisp apple, toasty pecans, and no mayo! Enjoy in a sandwich, lettuce wrap, with a spoon, or on crackers. A healthy, filling lunch the table in 10 minutes!
This is the crisp weather, crunchy leaves, almost-sweater-weather lunch we all need right now.
We really like tuna in the hummus household. It's such a quick, easy and accessible protein, ya dig?
You're going to love the crave-worthy flavors of this apple tuna salad recipe. For more tuna stardom, don't miss my Healthy Tuna Salad (on repeat for lunches) and 10-minute Tuna Chickpea Salad that Jeff's obsessed with.
The low down on ingredients
- Tuna: You can really use any canned tuna you like here. I used pole and line caught skipjack tuna in water (I like that it's lower in mercury), but albacore also works. Even the kind packed in oil is good if you prefer the extra moisture and fat!
- Apple: I love the crisp, sweet bite of Honeycrisp but you can use any apple variety you like here, even more tart varieties like Granny Smith.
- Greek yogurt: Plain, unsweetened yogurt adds creamy tang instead mayo. The higher fat percentage, the better it will taste, so I recommend 2% or whole.
- Pecans: For nutty crunch and toasty flavor. I used pre-chopped roasted pecans. I've tested this recipe with walnuts, too. Yum!
- Onion: For sharp bite and flavor. Red or white onion will work.
- Celery: I love the crunch and think celery is a must in tuna, but you can leave it out if you're not a fan.
- Oil: Just a tablespoon add that tuna salad texture we all know in love since we're not using mayonnaise. I don't recommend skipping it! Any neutral oil or even olive oil work great.
- Lemon juice and Dijon: For a nice pop of bright flavor!
Let's make it!
Place drained tuna, apples, onion, celery, and pecans in a mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
In a small bowl, add yogurt, Dijon, oil, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
Pour mixture over tuna.
Mix to combine and season to taste.
But wait, it's healthy?
As a dietitian, I'm all about high protein lunches that keep you fueled all afternoon long!
- Apples are packed with filling fiber. The skin is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, so don't peel it! Apples also have strong antioxidant activity.
- Tuna is lean and loaded with protein. Look for no salt added if you're watching sodium. It also contains omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, B, and D as well as selenium, iron, phosphorus.
- And we've got our nutrient-rich veggies, celery and onion! Bonus points if you serve it with leafy greens.
Make it your own!
- Nut free: Omit the pecans and use pepitas or sunflower seeds.
- Dairy free: Omit the yogurt and oil and use mayonnaise instead (start with ¼ cup and add more to taste). You can also try unsweetened dairy-free yogurt but they tend to have strong flavors so I wouldn't recommend it.
- Celery: if you're not a celery fan, just leave it out!
Store for later
Store tuna salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Don't forget to leave a star rating and comment letting me know you made these! I'm so grateful for your feedback always.
Print
Healthy Apple Tuna Salad (with Greek yogurt!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Deliciously satisfying Apple Tuna Salad made with Greek yogurt, crisp apple, toasty pecans, and no mayo! Enjoy in a sandwich, lettuce wrap, with a spoon, or on crackers. A healthy, filling lunch the table in 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 5oz cans tuna
- ⅓ cup celery, diced (1 small stalk)
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onion
- ⅓ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
- 1 cup chopped sweet tart apple (from 1 small Honeycrisp or Fuji)
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or full fat)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tbsp Dijon mustard (I like whole grain Dijon)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt + lots of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Drain tuna. Flake with a fork into a medium mixing bowl.
- Add celery, onion, apple, and pecans and mix to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, lemon juice, Dijon, salt and pepper. Pour over tuna mixture.
- Mix to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed, or extra yogurt/drizzle of oil if you want more moisture. Serve with crackers, cucumber slices, or between whole grain bread!
Tammy in MD says
Never would have thought Greek yogurt could be such a great substitute for mayonnaise in tuna fish salad. I made this as written, except added 1/2 tsp of onion powder versus the chopped onions. I think onions can be over-powering in tuna fish salad. This recipe is a keeper.
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Love that you made it your own, thanks for sharing Tammy!
Alex says
I'm pregnant and made some tuna (skipjack, poll and line caught) with Fage 2% Greek yogurt because mayo makes me gag. I ended up cutting up a honeycrisp apple to go with it, instead of toast. I thought it was kind of a weird combo but it was so good that I looked up some recipes and yours popped up. The ingredients are almost exactly what I made and I can't wait to try your recipe!!! Especially with the whole grain mustard which I'm obsessed with 🙂
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Yayyy I hope you love it, Alex! One of those weird but good combos. LMK if you try it!
Coleen Lunsford says
can I sub yellow mustard for the dijon?
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
I wouldn't recommend it; the flavor is pretty different!
Megan says
Made this today and it was sooo good. My husband already said we need to make it again next week!!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Heck yes, I'm thrilled to hear it Megan!
Brenda says
I made this and gosh it was delicious, thanks for sharing!
Alexis Joseph says
Thanks so much, Brenda!
Lisa says
What a tasty salad. Light and full of flavor. After several days of heavy Thanksgiving fare, this was a nice palate cleanser!
Alexis Joseph says
Perfect, thanks so much Lisa!
Kelly Huffer says
Delicious! I continue to be impressed by each recipe I make from you! Thanks so much 🙂
Alexis Joseph says
Love it Kelly, thank you tons!
Alexis Joseph says
I’m thrilled you liked it!