Avocado Tuna Salad (Paleo, Keto, Whole30)

Name: Avocado Tuna Salad (Paleo, Keto, Whole30)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 avocado; 1 lemon (juiced, to taste); 1 tablespoon chopped onion (to taste); 5 ounces cooked or canned wild tuna; sea salt (to taste); fresh ground pepper (to taste)

March 30, 2020 Updated: March 30, 2020 by Lisa Wells / 60 Comments

This no mayo avocado tuna salad recipe is an easy healthy lunch or snack that's ready in 5 minutes with just 4 ingredients. And it's a gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, Whole30, and keto tuna salad recipe. This quick meal is packed with protein and so delicious!

I love this avocado tuna salad. It makes a great quick and easy healthy snack or lunch. And it's another way to eat one of my favorite foods—avocados. This recipe uses just four essential ingredients, but it reminds me of the old school tuna salad I used to eat as a kid. For me, it's true comfort food.

And it's really simple to put together. Best of all, it requires NO cooking, so it’s perfect if you’re in a hurry or don’t feel like heating up the stove. It also requires no mayonnaise! This healthy tuna salad without mayo gets its creaminess from the avocado instead.

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Ingredients for no mayo tuna salad

Avocados are in season throughout most of the year. Choose a ripe avocado that’s firm but with a little “give.” You can check for ripeness by pulling the small piece of stem. If the stem comes off easily, the avocado is ripe. If it holds firm, then it’s not ready quite yet. The spot where the stem meets the avocado should appear green underneath. If the stem falls off easily and the spot underneath is brown, the avocado is overripe and may be brown inside.

When it comes to selecting the fish, you can use whatever tuna you have—leftover tuna from last night's dinner works great in this recipe. In fact, home-cooked tuna may be even better than canned! Of course, most of us opt for the canned variety out of convenience. Be sure to select a good quality canned tuna. White albacore tuna has a firm, meaty texture, a light white color and mild flavor. Chunk light tuna is made from smaller varieties of tuna fish and has smaller flakes and a stronger flavor.

With a recipe this simple, choosing the best tuna and avocado will make a huge difference. When there are only four components to a dish, you want to choose the best items you can find—this means perfectly ripe avocados and high-quality tuna. You won't even miss the mayo!

How to Make a Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocado

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit (carefully) and scoop out the middle of both halves leaving a shell of avocado flesh. You want to have about half of the avocado in the mixing bowl to use for the salad. Add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, stir in a bit of finely chopped onion to taste, and mash all the ingredients together. Once the other ingredients are combined, gently mix in the tuna to finish this easy tuna salad.

The key to making this recipe truly great is tasting it as you make it. Because avocados and lemons vary in size, it's important to taste as you go along to make sure you have the right balance of creaminess and acidity in the tuna salad. Add a little more avocado or lemon juice if needed to strike the right balance.

I love how perfectly simple this recipe is—yet you can easily customize it to suit your taste by adding dill pickle, red onion, fresh herbs, or even hot peppers for a little kick. You could even use lime juice instead of lemon. Just add whatever else you like in your tuna salad.

When you’ve got your perfect tuna salad blend, you simply scoop into the avocado cups and enjoy. You get a few bonus bites of avocado left in the shell (who can complain about more avocado?!).

This stuffed avocado boat is a simple, classic meal. It’s low carb, high in protein and full of healthy fat, so it will keep everyone full and satisfied for hours. It’s an easy, simple lunch solution and a great quick meal or snack to make any time.

To round this main dish out, you could pair it with a delicious soup. Avocado stuffed with tuna salad along with a quick tomato soup or broccoli soup makes a perfect fast meal.