I’ll show you how to make the BEST tuna melt! My version of this classic diner sandwich is loaded with creamy tuna salad, crunchy pickles, and fresh lemon, stuffed between two buttery, toasted bread slices with melty American cheese.
Who else has a stockpile of tuna cans in the cupboard? If so, definitely make this tuna melt recipe. Then, try my tuna noodle casserole for dinner!
When I’m looking for a quick and easy lunch, I often turn to my curry chicken salad or tuna salad recipes. And when I’m craving something a bit heartier, nothing beats my patty melt or my homemade tuna melt recipe. Turning my favorite tuna salad into a crispy, cheesy grilled sandwich takes all of 10 minutes.
Mix up chunky canned tuna with crunchy pickles, veggies, and a flavorful, creamy dressing, then load it between toasted bread slices with melted cheese and serve with crispy air fryer potato chips on the side. It’s fast, comforting, and delicious.
Not Your Average Tuna Melt
- 10 minutes. Preparing a tuna melt couldn’t be quicker. All you need is a few minutes and a skillet.
- Toasted and cheesy on both sides. Why have one side of the bread golden, buttery, and cheesy when you can have BOTH?
- Fresh flavors. Some tuna melt recipes I’ve tried tend to be greasy or heavy, weighed down with an overload of mayo and cheese. This one strikes a good balance with fresh celery, tangy pickles, and lemon to contrast the richness.
- Make it your own (easily). You can customize the dressing and ingredients in more ways than one. I add chili flakes, but you can easily leave them out or add chopped jalapeños instead. Swap the pickles with capers, lighten things up with yogurt instead of mayo, etc.
What Is a Tuna Melt?
If you’ve never had one, a tuna melt is a classic hot sandwich made from tuna salad and melted cheese between toasted bread slices. In this recipe, I eat it closed, like a grilled cheese, but you can also enjoy an open-faced tuna melt.
Key Ingredients in This Tuna Melt Recipe
The best tuna melt comes down to contrasting textures: tender tuna, crunchy veggies, and creamy dressing, matched with melted cheese and crispy bread. These are the ingredients that get us there. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable recipe details.
- Canned Tuna – I like to use tuna packed in water since it’s less oily. Drain the tuna well before you make your salad filling.
- Mayonnaise – For a lighter option, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt is a good substitute.
- Celery and Onion – Finely chopped. I use red onion, but yellow, white, or sliced green onion also works.
- Pickles – I much prefer to add freshly chopped pickles to my tuna salad filling rather than the usual pickle relish. Dill pickles are my favorite, but you can use bread and butter pickles. Of course, feel free to skip the pickles altogether if they aren’t your thing!
- Lemon Juice – You can use a splash of pickle brine instead, if you’d like.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Optional, for a little kick. Leave these out or replace the chili flakes with paprika if you’re sensitive to spice.
- Bread – Any kind you’d like. My go-to bread for toasting includes white or whole wheat sandwich bread, rye, sourdough, or ciabatta slices.
- Butter – Unsalted or salted. You can use olive oil if you prefer.
- Cheese – I use American cheese slices because of their gooey, melty texture. You can use any combination of sliced or grated, melty cheese you’d like.
The Best Cheese to Use
The best cheese for a tuna melt is any meltable cheese that you’d choose for a grilled cheese sandwich. Provolone, Cheddar cheese, Swiss, and Havarti are all great choices. I generally opt for milder, younger cheeses, as mature, sharper cheeses don’t melt as smoothly.
What Else Goes Well With Tuna?
The beauty of this tuna melt recipe is in how many ways you can make it your own. Sometimes, I’ll stir a spoonful of spicy zhoug sauce into the tuna salad to boost the flavors. Or, before adding the cheese, I’ll spread the bread slices with homemade honey mustard or the remoulade sauce from my air fryer crab cakes recipe.
Recipe Tips and More Variations
- Drain the tuna. Whether you’re using canned tuna in water or oil, it must be drained well; otherwise, your tuna melt will turn out too wet.
- Finely chop those veggies. Dice ingredients like onions, celery, and pickles very finely so you don’t wind up with big chunks in your tuna salad.
- Spread the bread with mayo for more flavor. This is a handy grilled cheese-making trick, where you spread the outside of the bread with mayonnaise before adding it to the pan to toast.
- Fresh herbs. If you don’t have dill pickles, mix in chopped fresh dill, chives, or green onions instead.
- No-mayo version. Instead of mayonnaise in the dressing, use a good-quality olive oil for a lighter option. Stir it through to taste.
- Not a fan of tuna? Swap tuna salad with a classic chicken salad instead, or make a vegetarian version that replaces the tuna with chickpeas.
Serve Your Tuna Melt Alone or With Sides
A tuna melt is a filling meal on its own. If I’m sitting down for lunch, I’ll often crisp up a batch of air fryer French fries or potato wedges while I cook the sandwich. These golden air fryer onion rings are a favorite on the weekend! A tuna melt is also great with a green salad on the side, or with a bowl of tomato soup in the colder months.
Pin this now to find it later
-
Prepare the tuna. Add the drained tuna to a bowl and flake the tuna with a fork. Add mayonnaise, celery, dill pickles, red onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Stir well to combine and set aside.
-
Toast the bread. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a large skillet. Once melted, add 4 bread slices to the skillet. Toast the bread for 2 minutes. Flip the bread, and add the remaining butter to the skillet. At the same time, add American cheese on top of the toasted side. Toast the underside of the bread for 2 minutes.
-
Assemble. Place the bread, cheese side up, on a plate. Divide the tuna salad between two pieces of the toasted bread. Close the sandwich with the melted American cheese facing the tuna filling.
-
Enjoy! Serve immediately with some pickles and potato chips on the side.
Calories: 815kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 1686mg | Potassium: 453mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 962IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 548mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make a Tuna Melt Sandwich
I toast the bread on both sides so it’s extra crispy and buttery! Trust me, it’s worth it. Here’s how to make the best-ever tuna melt in minutes.
- Mix the tuna salad. Start by draining the canned tuna and flaking it into a bowl. Add your mayo along with the chopped celery, dill pickles, and red onion. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season the mixture with salt, pepper, and chili flakes before tossing everything to coat.
- Toast the bread. Next, melt butter in a skillet (or, for extra flavor, use garlic butter). Add 2-4 bread slices to the skillet, depending on the size of your skillet; you may need to do this in batches. Toast the bread for 2 minutes, flip, and add more butter to the skillet.
- Add cheese. Add American cheese on top of each toasted bread slice and let the underside toast for another 2 minutes. Then, move the bread to a plate, cheese side up.
- Assemble. Now, divide the tuna salad mixture between two bread slices. Close the sandwich with the melted cheese facing the filling. Serve with extra pickles on the side, and enjoy!
Not a Fan of Tuna?
You can swap canned tuna with chicken instead, or another seafood, like flaked air fryer salmon or chopped leftover shrimp scampi. I’m already planning to make a melt-inspired lobster grilled cheese with the filling from my lobster roll recipe!
Storing Leftovers
A tuna melt is best enjoyed right away. Whenever possible, store the leftover tuna salad on its own rather than assembled in a sandwich. Stored airtight, the tuna salad keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days. Give it a good stir before you use it again.
I like to add my leftover tuna salad to lettuce wraps or roll it into a low-carb cottage cheese flatbread or egg white wrap.
