8 Tasty Ways to Dress Up a Can of Tuna, According to TikTok

Leah Goggins
·5 min read

Looking for a way to upgrade that canned tuna in your pantry? We have a few ideas. These TikTok recipe ideas take full advantage of the convenient and inexpensive pantry staple. Bonus: Canned tuna is actually super healthy-it packs protein and hard-to-get nutrients such as selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Here's how to take canned tuna to the next level, according to TikTok.

8 Ideas for Canned Tuna

Spicy Tuna Bites

TikTok user @missabbeyeats shared this recipe, a quick riff on tuna salad that's served on cucumber slices with a side of soy sauce. "They kind of mimic the taste of sushi," she says in the video. Abbey starts out with a 5-ounce can of chunk light tuna in water. Then she adds three simple ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha

  • Splash of sesame oil

Slice some cucumber and pour some soy sauce and you're good to go!

Mayo-Free Tuna Salad with Pepperoncini

This recipe is a win for any pickled pepper lover. TikTok user and former private chef Kathleen Ashmore, whose handle is @katcancook, uses 6 sliced pepperoncini to add a big pop of flavor to this tuna salad. For this meal prep-ready recipe, Ashmore suggests using 4 cans of good tuna in olive oil. To the tuna, Ashmore adds:

  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped and soaked in cold water and drained

  • 3 celery stalks, chopped

  • 6 pepperoncini peppers, sliced

  • 2 tablespoons capers, minced

  • Bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

She tops it all off with her dressing ingredients, which get mixed straight into the bowl:

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 1/3 cup pepperoncini brine

  • 1/3 cup red-wine vinegar

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • Salt and pepper to taste

The capers and pepperoncini do make this recipe idea a bit high in sodium, so tuna lovers trying to eat a heart-healthy diet may want to dial back the salt in this recipe.

Tuna Wraps

These creamy, crunchy wraps add veggies and fresh herbs to the mix for a jam-packed rice paper roll-up. Eugene Wong, who posts under the handle @the_eugefood, starts out by building his tuna salad with a can of albacore solid white tuna in water, a splash of sesame oil, some sesame seeds and generous squirts of Kewpie mayo and Sriracha.

Wong also throws together some quick-cured cucumbers by thinly slicing cucumber and sprinkling equal parts salt and sugar over the top. He then chops up some red cabbage-dunking it in ice water for extra crispness-and a few slices of avocado. All of those fillings, plus some Thai basil and cilantro, get rolled up burrito-style in a rice paper wrap.

Niçoise Salad

Got time and tuna on your hands? Following along with this artful tutorial from @theemoodyfoody could be just the task for you. And if you're looking for a more instructive tuna niçoise recipe, try our Classic Niçoise Salad Recipe. The Moody Foody's measurement-free recipe begins with chopping and blanching fresh green beans, boiling small fingerling potatoes and hard-boiling an egg. Thinly sliced shallots, halved grape tomatoes, halved Kalamata olives and chopped chives are prepped next. The tomatoes, olives, green beans and potatoes are all tossed in a dressing made of parsley, red-wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, honey and salt.

You serve the salad on a diagonal slice of French bread, with ripped pieces of iceberg lettuce between the bread and the salad ingredients. Once you slice the egg and drain the tuna, pile the salad atop the lettuce with a few slices of shallot and a sprinkle of chives on top.

Tuna Fried Rice

Canned tuna doesn't have to be synonymous with salad. This recipe from @eatsplorations stir-fries tuna with rice and frozen veggies for an easy upgrade. Other than the drained tuna, the recipe calls for just a few other ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons oil

  • 1 tablespoon butter

  • Chopped spring onion

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons frozen mixed vegetables

  • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce

  • Salt

  • Pepper

  • ½ teaspoon sugar

  • 1 cup cooked white rice

Serve it up in a bowl with a fried egg on top, and you've got yourself a perfect tuna-centric meal for lunch or dinner.

Tuna Rice Balls

This measurement-less recipe comes together quickly into little rice balls packed with flavor. Tiktok user @jasmineandtea begins with freshly cooked white rice, to which she adds a drizzle of sesame oil, drained tuna, Kewpie mayo, chili powder, salt, pepper and ripped pieces of dry seaweed.

The key ingredient, @jasmineandtea says, is the Kewpie mayo. But if you can't find it in your local supermarket, she suggests substituting mayo mixed with rice vinegar and a little sugar. This calls for the Japanese spice blend nanami togarashi, which includes chiles, orange peel and sesame seeds, so while you can sub in whatever chile powder you have on hand, you may also want to sprinkle in some sesame seeds if you don't have togarashi.

Tuna Tostada

Pico de gallo with a tuna twist? We're listening. This bright, crunchy recipe starts with 2 cans of chunk light tuna in water. TikTok user @itsmenattyy tosses the drained tuna together with lime juice, diced onion, diced tomato and chopped cilantro.

Pile the mixture onto a corn tostada with salt and seasonings of your choice, and you've got a summery, fresh meal on your hands.

Tuna Ceviche

OK, so maybe ceviche is supposed to be made with raw fish. But are you really going to turn down this spicy, citrusy pantry meal with plating that will make you feel like a contestant on Chopped?

This recipe from TikTok user @skinnytaste combines drained tuna with chopped red onion, lime juice, cilantro, diced tomato, olive oil and your favorite hot sauce. After lining the now-empty tuna tin with plastic wrap, you press the mixture into the can, and then invert it onto the plate for a cleanly plated look. Top it off with sliced avocado, salt, lime juice and more cilantro, and you're Instagram-ready.