A crunchy, tangy sardine salad with canned sardines, crisp veggies and a spicy mayo dressing. Ready in 15 minutes, no cooking required.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Ukrainian-Inspired Recipes
At A Glance
- ⏱ Ready In: 15 minutes (no cooking)
- 🍽 Serves: 4 as a side or starter, 2 as a light lunch (makes about 3 cups)
- 🌱 Diet: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, High-Protein, Low-Carb, Nut-Free
- 💪 Nutrition Highlights: High in Omega-3s, protein, and calcium (from the soft sardine bones)
- 🥕 Main Ingredients: Canned sardines, celery, red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes
- 🔥 Flavor Profile: Tangy, briny, gently spiced, with plenty of fresh crunch
- 🧊 Meal-Prep Friendly: Keeps 2–3 days in the fridge, doesn’t freeze well
- Best Served With: Toast, crackers, a bed of greens, a wrap, or tossed through pasta or grains
Growing up in Ukraine, I remember eating a chopped herring salad called forshmak, which is popular with Jewish communities across Eastern Europe — and in our house, it was made with both herring and sardines. This sardine salad is my own take on that dish — mashed sardines mixed with crunchy celery, cucumber, red pepper and red onion, plus sun-dried tomatoes for a sweet, savory depth and a spicy mayo dressing that pulls it all together.
The texture is genuinely the best part — soft mashed fish against crisp raw veggies, with little bursts of sun-dried tomato throughout. It’s one of the easiest ways I know to make canned sardines taste good, no cooking required, and it works just as well spread on toast as it does spooned over a green salad. This is the recipe I hand to anyone who says they don’t like sardines — it usually changes their mind.
👩🍳 You might also like these recipes: sardine pate (another recipe for picky sardine eaters!), canned salmon salad, ensalada rusa (Spanish potato salad with tuna), sweet potato & tuna salad, Niçoise salad with sardines & sun-dried tomato dressing, or check out this article on how to eat sardines & why you should start today.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this easy sardine salad recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Canned sardines — wild, packed in spring water; drain well before using. Canned mackerel or salmon works as swaps if that’s what you have.
- Celery — adds crunch and a savory, slightly peppery bite.
- Red bell pepper (capsicum) — sweetness, color and a hit of vitamin C.
- Cucumber — keeps the salad fresh and light.
- Red onion — sharp bite; soak in cold water for 10 minutes first if you want it milder.
- Sun-dried tomatoes — the flavor secret here. They bring a sweet, tangy, umami depth that balances out the fishiness of the sardines.
- Light mayonnaise — the creamy base that binds everything together. Regular mayo works too for a richer version.
- Frank’s hot sauce — a little tang and gentle heat, not overpowering. You can use any other hot sauce here.
- Lemon juice — brightness.
- Salt — go easy at first, since sardines vary in saltiness depending on the brand and whether they’re packed with added salt.
- Chives — optional garnish, mild and fresh; green onions also work.
How To Make Sardine Salad
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here’s the quick rundown of how to make this forshmack-inspired sardine salad.
- Drain the sardines thoroughly and add them to a medium bowl. Mash with a fork, including the small bones — they’re soft and packed with calcium, so no need to remove them.
- Add the diced celery, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Stir in the mayonnaise, hot sauce, lemon juice, and a little salt.
- Mix well, then taste and adjust the salt.
- Top with chopped chives, if using.
Recipe Tips
- Mash the sardines first, before adding the vegetables, so you get an even texture all the way through.
- Taste before you add salt — some brands of sardines come with added salt already, so you may not need much (or any).
- For a milder onion bite, soak the diced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes before adding it in.
- No sun-dried tomatoes on hand? Semi-dried tomatoes work too, just slightly drier in texture.
- Storage: keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days. It doesn’t freeze well, since both the mayo and fresh veggies lose their texture.
- Turn it into a full meal by serving it over rice, quinoa, or pasta, or stuffed into an avocado half.
Serving Suggestions
I love piling this onto toasted sourdough or crackers for a fast lunch, but it’s just as good over a bed of lettuce with avocado and a boiled egg, or served as a chunky dip with veggie sticks. For something more substantial, toss it through cooked pasta for a sardine pasta salad, or spoon it over quinoa or roasted (or air-fried) potatoes.
💬 If you’ve tried this sardine salad or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and or sign up to my Newsletter to see more of my delicious food.
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Ingredients
- 2 cans wild sardines 3.7 oz / 106 grams each, in spring water, drained (about 5.3 oz / 150 grams drained weight)
- ½ cup 1 rib finely diced celery
- ½ cup ½ pepper finely diced red bell pepper (capsicum)
- ½ cup about ½ medium diced cucumber
- ⅓ cup about ¼ onion finely diced red onion
- ⅓ cup drained diced sun-dried tomatoes 2 oz / 55 grams
- 2½ tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Frank’s hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- Chopped chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Drain the sardines thoroughly and add them to a medium bowl. Using a fork, mash the sardines, including all the little bones.
- Add the diced celery, red pepper, cucumber, red onion, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Stir in the mayonnaise, hot sauce, lemon juice, and salt (start light — depends on whether your sardines had added salt).
- Mix through well and top with chopped chives, if using.
- Spread on toasted sourdough or crackers, serve on a bed of lettuce with avocado and boiled egg, or enjoy as a chunky dip.
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Hey there, Unfortunately I can’t remove your from receiving notifications myself. There should be some kind of link in the email notification that you receive about unsubscribing. Have a look and let me know if you find a way. I will research on my end as well.
Looks delicious and healthy, I love how you use and combine sardines to your salad. Thank you for sharing this one.
Now I am ggoing to do my breakfast, afterward having my breakfast coming over again to rdad other news.
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This is very yummy and such a great lunch. I’ve made about 10-15 of your recipes now and have enjoyed them all. Thank you for posting them.
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I just had this for lunch today. Only thing different is added a couple small stalks celery and oh my what a tasty lunch it was. Thanks for giving me new ways to fix an old favorite…sardines!
Good to know that combo works for others. I know sardines is not the most popular of foods but I think mixing it up with yummy flavours makes it much more edible 🙂
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I will definitely try this one later. I am planning to experiment on a TUNA instead of sardines. We’ll see how it turns out. Thanks, Irena! =)
This was absolutely delish! I am impartial to sardines, but the addition of sun-dried tomato, red onion and mayo makes them super tasty:)
My hubby loved it too. Makes a nice change from my usual tuna salad. Loving all your recipes! Keep em coming. Thank you….