If you love the convenience of canned tuna recipes, be sure to try Chickpea Tuna Pita Sandwich or Chickpea Salad with Tuna.
Ingredients – What’s in a Tuna Melt?
I find the best tuna melt recipe starts with quality ingredients. The recipe starts with making a classic tuna salad, which is used to layer with cheese in between two pieces of bread before baking it in the oven or cooking it on the stovetop. Here is what you will need to make the tuna salad, along with the bread, cheese, and toppings:
Tuna Salad Ingredients
Tuna: Look for 5-ounce cans of high-quality wild-caught Albacore tuna packed in water. If you are concerned about mercury, go for skipjack tuna (sometimes labeled light tuna), which has lower mercury levels than larger albacore or yellowfin tuna. Celery stalk Pickles: Go for your favorite pickles, such as Kosher, dill pickles, or bread and butter pickles. Or swap out the pickles for pickle relish instead. Hard-Boiled Egg: I follow this recipe on how to make hard-boiled eggs, which works every time. Parsley: Fresh herbs, like parsley, give it a refreshing bite. Experiment with other herbs, like tarragon or dill, or give it a final sprinkle of fresh chives. Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise brings the tuna salad together. Feel free to use vegan mayo or swap out half the mayo for plain Greek yogurt for a nice protein boost or sour cream for some tang. Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will provide the best flavor. Kosher Salt Black Pepper
Tuna Sandwich Ingredients
Buns / Bread Slices: I used Brioche Buns for their buttery richness, but plain, sesame seed, or poppy seed hamburger buns will also do. If you want to go more on the traditional hot tuna melt, you can use ½-inch slices of white bread. However, sourdough bread, whole grain bread, ciabatta, or even English muffins would also work. Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese makes a classic tuna fish melt, which is why most people say that it’s the best cheese for a tuna melt. However, you can also use provolone, mozzarella, Swiss cheese, or Havarti in this sandwich recipe. If you want to take things up a notch, feel free to experiment with different types of cheese, like pepper jack, Monterey jack, Gruyere, fontina, or smoked gouda. You can use slices of cheese from the deli counter or grate a whole block of cheese when you get home. Cucumber: Fresh cucumber slices offer a nice crunch and color. Avocado: Peel, seed, and slice a fresh avocado just before serving to add some healthy fats and extra richness. Tomato Slices: Use ripe tomatoes for the best flavor, such as Roma, tomatoes on the vine, or heirloom tomatoes. Once sliced, lay them out on paper towels to absorb excess moisture so your tuna and tomato sandwich doesn’t get too soggy. Salad Greens: Salad greens, baby arugula, or chopped romaine lettuce offer a nice crunch and contrast to the creamy tuna salad. Cornichons: Optional, but I love the extra gourmet touch of cornichons as garnish if you so choose.
How to Make a Tuna Melt Sandwich in the Oven?
This recipe for tuna melt sandwich starts with homemade tuna salad. Once you have that prepped and ready, the rest is so easy. Follow these step-by-step directions to make the tuna fish sandwich in the oven:
How to Make Ahead and Store?
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is making the tuna salad. So if you want to get ahead, I recommend prepping the tuna salad in advance. With that out of the way, the tuna melts come together in less than 15 minutes. Here are my best make-ahead and storage tips:
Make Ahead: Prepare the tuna salad and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The tuna and veggies will leach out a bit of water the longer it sits in the fridge, so give it a good stir just before using. Storage: The recipe makes 4 sandwiches, so if you are only serving 1-2 people, I recommend storing leftover tuna salad and toppings in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Assemble and bake the sandwiches just before serving.
With that being said, if you end up with leftovers of this melted tuna sandwich, you can store them in an airtight container after they come to room temperature. Keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a low heat (300 degrees F.) oven until heated through.
How to Serve
Think of this as a tuna cheese sandwich with all the fix-ins. Because of this, I like to serve it a bit more casually, either as a light lunch or simple dinner, with any of the following:
Soup: Make it more of a comforting meal with tomato soup – what a classic tuna melt combination. Bean Salads: Add some more plant-based protein with Five Bean Salad or Texas Bean Salad. Potato Salads: Make it more of a heartier meal by serving alongside Red Potato Salad or Potato Salad with Capers. Coleslaw: Add some crunch with Greek Yogurt Coleslaw or No Mayo Coleslaw. Seasonal Salads: Give it a refreshing touch with Avocado and Mango Salad, Mexican Corn Salad, Yogurt Cucumber Salad, or a green salad, like Spring Mix Salad. Deli-Style: Keep it simple with some crunchy pickle spears and potato chips, just like your corner deli!
Other Seafood Recipes You Might Like
Skinny Shrimp Scampi Breaded Fish Recipe Ahi Tuna Salad Shrimp Scampi with No Wine Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce Salmon Nicoise Salad
If you try this Tuna Melt Sandwich recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It is a great help to others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
Drain the tuna well: Make sure to drain the cans of water-packed tuna before mixing to prevent too much water in the tuna salad, which could make it soggy. Preheat the oven or skillet: Whether you are using the oven or a skillet, make sure it is properly preheated before you start cooking. Medium to low heat is key: Keep it low and slow. Bake at the recommended 350 degrees F or cook over medium to medium-low heat on the stove to melt the cheese without burning the bread. Give it a gentle press: If using the stovetop method, feel free to gently press down on the sandwich with a spatula to give the bread a nice sear. Be careful not to push so hard that all the filling spills out the sides. Serve open-faced sandwiches: If you want to cut down on the carbs or prefer to eat an open-face tuna melt with a fork and knife, assemble open-faced tuna melts by simply omitting the top slice of bread.
