The Perfect Tuna Melt

My daughter is obsessed with tuna. I will buy 10-20 cans when it goes on sale, put some at the tip top of the pantry, and somehow they always disappear by time I go to make this delicious, supreme Tuna Melt sandwich.

THIS TIME, I hid some in an undisclosed location (a locked safe. HA!) and was able to make this perfect Tuna Melt.

It’s ooey-gooey and packed full of delicious flavor, and perfect for the nights when you just want to put something on the table super quick or for that lunch date with your friends.

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The Perfect Tuna Melt

This perfect Tuna Melt sandwich is so amazingly DELICIOUS and super easy-to-make recipe! It’s definitely not your classic Tuna melt, but once you take a bite, it’ll be in your weekly rotation!!

Related: The Perfect Sourdough Melt

Ingredients

• Tuna – here’s my favorite option as it’s healthier than regular Tuna. They also carry that brand at Costco!
• Onion – some people omit this ingredient, so it is optional
• Celery – gives the Tuna Melt that little crunch it needs
• Garlic – adds a kick of flavor
• Parsley – gives the tuna sandwich a “fresh” flavor
• Mayonnaise – binds the tuna together
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – helps you not use too much mayo
• Mozzarella – the best, most gooey cheese
• Bread – my favorite is sourdough, but you can use anything on hand
• Butter – makes the bread crisp up better (for a healthier version, use clarified butter)
• Salt and Pepper – for flavor

Serving

Serves four. Though…if you have hungry eaters like I do, it could make 3 easy Tuna Melt sandwich recipes. 😊

Step-by-Step Directions

Step 1: Drain water from tuna and put the tuna into a medium bowl.

Step 2: Chop onion, celery, and parsley. Mince garlic and add ingredients to tuna.

Step 3: Add mayonnaise, olive oil (for a lighter version, omit olive oil), and mozzarella cheese. Combine all ingredients until well incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Note: I try to add in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil a little bit because it’s healthier than mayonnaise, but you have to add mayonnaise because just using the olive oil alone and no mayonnaise would be gross. 😊 If you want to just use mayo, totally fine, but again for me, I try to use a little olive oil to make it a tad healthier. 😊 

Step 4: Place a non-stick skillet on the stove (medium heat) and add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. When the skillet is hot, take a slice of bread and generously spread butter on one side. 

Adding butter AND extra virgin olive oil helps the cooking process. The olive oil helps the crust not burn as fast so that you get a golden brown exterior, not burnt. 😊 The butter adds the flavor and helps it toast up better. It’s a great trick to use when toasting bread on the stove top to use BOTH (the flavors play well together and comes out super yummy!) 

If you want it a little crispier on the outside, you can also use a cast iron skillet instead of a non-stick skillet. Here’s the cast iron skillet I have. 

Step 5: Place the bread (buttered side down) in the hot skillet. Be sure to keep the temp at a consistent heat (and don’t cook too fast).

Step 6: Using a spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of tuna mixture on bread while it is browning.

Step 7: Butter another slice of bread with butter and place non-buttered side on top of tuna.

Step 8: Using a spatula, check to see if the bread is grilled and toasted brown. If so, turn the tuna melt over and grill the other side until it’s golden brown. Bon appétit!

As an alternative, you could use a toastie maker or a George Foreman type grill instead to cook this easy Tuna Melt lunch idea!

 

Tuna Melt Variations…

Don’t have bread on hand? No problem, substitute with English muffins.

Want less carbs? No problem, substitute with tomatoes instead. Cut the tomatoes in half and use as bread. Yum! Grill and just use the olive oil (omit butter) for that option. 

Adding different ingredients – the fun thing about cooking is that you can adjust everything to your own liking. You can add things like capers or even pickles, roasted red peppers, horseradish, dijon mustard, bacon bits, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Whatever your favorite ingredients are, add them in! 

Switch up the cheese – use mozzarella for a more creamy flavor that won’t overpower the tuna, but you could also use American cheese for a more classic tuna melt sandwich, swiss (for a more nutty flavor), or pepper jack cheese for more of a bite.

Open-Faced Tuna Melt – Use one side of the bread or an English muffin as an open-faced sandwich and the other side (top), put a couple tomato slices and voila, you have a perfect open-faced tuna melt on English muffin.  

Open-faced Tuna sandwich with avocado – Avocados seem to be all the rage right now. It makes a meal seem more gourmet! Do the same recipe as the above, except exchange the tomato slices for avocado. 😊  

Another really great idea for Tuna that I like to do for quick lunches for friends, because it’s a great protein. Grab two Albacore Tunas in the pouch (water). Add chopped celery (1-2 stalks), chopped pickles (1-2 spears), and a small can of olives. Add a teaspoon of mustard and 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise.  Salt and pepper to taste. Use that tuna salad mixture on saltine crackers or bread (sourdough bread or whole wheat bread slices).

Make it healthier – Use healthier tuna. Here’s what I started using most recently, Wild Planet Albacore Wild Tuna. You can get it on Amazon there at the link. I buy it at my local co-op for $4.99. I know it’s spendy but I encourage you to do a taste test. Buy an Albacore Tuna pouch in water at your local store or canned tuna, whatever you want. Open both your kind of tuna and the Wild Planet Tuna. Taste the Wild Planet Tuna FIRST, THEN taste your tuna. After tasting your tuna, your mouth will definitely tell the difference. You’ll taste a metallic taste. Wild Planet’s you won’t. You will, like me, never go back to any other tuna again! 😊  

Other ideas to make this recipe healthier:

• Use more tuna, less cheese.
• Don’t butter the bread, just use extra virgin olive oil. 

Sides

You can serve your Tuna Melt with anything you like, but here are a few good ideas:

• French Fries
• Potato Wedges
• Potato Salad
• Olives
• Coleslaw
• Tomato Soup

Metal Detox

No matter what you do, no matter what you eat, our bodies love to collect metal toxins.

If it’s something that concerns you, not to worry, put a couple drops of therapeutic grade Cilantro essential oil (something I use every single day!) on the bottom of your feet.

Cilantro is known for binding to the metals in our bodies and helps clear them from our system. I like to use a couple drops every day, whether I’m eating Tuna or not because metal is seriously everywhere. 

Pro Tip

Your first inclination will be to load up the sandwich with lots of tuna, but you want to think about the ratio of cheese to tuna filling. Less tuna, you get a more balanced sandwich. Too much tuna filling, you lose the cheese flavor. Think about those ratios as you prepare it. 

Ingredients