This healthy tuna lentil salad is one of my go-to lunches when I want something high in protein and high in fibre, and that also happens to be around 500 calories. Plus, it’s delicious and you can swap out vegetables depending on what you have available.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video |💡Variations |📝 Go To Full Recipe | 💪 More High-Protein Dishes
If you’re looking for a quick and easy meal that is high in protein and high in fibre, this tuna lentil salad is something I can highly recommend. I often make it for lunch because it only takes 10-15 minutes and I almost always have some canned tuna and lentils in the pantry.
It’s a great recipe for anyone trying to lose weight or get more protein in their diet. It’s only around 500 calories yet very satiating due to protein and fibre. Plus, it’s flavourful which is a must in my kitchen! I hope you enjoy it.
🐟 For more canned tuna recipes, check these out: tunacado sandwich, delicious tuna melt, low-carb tuna cabbage patties, or my sweet potato & tuna salad.
What You’ll Need
Some key ingredients you need to make this lentil tuna salad. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Canned tuna – tuna in brine or water is best for this recipe; you can use canned salmon as well, although the calorie count will be slightly higher due to higher fish fat content, which is also very healthy fat. If you have leftover cooked tuna, feel free to use that.
- Tuna dressing – you can use pre-made tartare sauce or whip a quick sauce with mayonnaise, yoghurt, lemon juice, gherkins/pickles and baby capers (if you have some). Even plain mayo will work here.
- Lentils – I used canned cooked lentils, brown type, but you can cook a batch of lentils yourself and store them in the fridge or freezer in portions. If you use canned lentils, make sure to rinse them under water and strain.
- For the salad – you can freestyle here a little bit but I usually start with a base of lettuce or spinach, and add non-starchy vegetables like radish, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, bell peppers (capsicum) and so on. If you want to add extra fats, throw in some chopped avocado or roasted potatoes for extra carbs.
How To Make Tuna Lentil Salad
Find the full recipe card below. Here are some step-by-step photos to guide you along.
- Drain and combine the tuna with the tartare sauce ingredients (mayo, yoghurt, chopped pickles, lemon juice and mix).
- Prepare the remaining salad ingredients and add to a large bowl in layers. Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Top the salad with creamy tuna mixture. Add a few extra chopped green onions and black pepper on top. Enjoy!
Watch The Video
Variations
- Swap legumes: To maintain the added fibre and protein, you can also use black beans or chickpeas instead of lentils. Cooked barley or quinoa are other good fibre/protein options.
- Cooked chicken: Not a fan of canned tuna, feel free to use diced cooked chicken, such as leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Curry-flavoured: Incorporate curry powder into the tuna mixture and add some fresh coriander/cilantro to the mix. You can use some store-bought Asian salad dressing for the salad.
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Ingredients
For the tuna mixture
- 90 grams of canned tuna 3 oz, drained (about 75-80 grams drained weight)
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Greek yoghurt I used light/low-fat version
- 1 tablespoon chopped gherkins/pickles
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tsp baby capers in brine, chopped, optional
For the salad
- 0.75 cup cooked lentils brown (about 2/3 of a cup)
- 2 cups chopped lettuce
- 4 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/3 medium red bell pepper diced
- 2 radishes sliced
- 1 green onion chopped
- A pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Drain and combine the tuna with the tartare sauce ingredients (mayo, yoghurt, chopped pickles, lemon juice and mix).
- Prepare the remaining salad ingredients and add to a large bowl in layers. Drizzle with olive oil and Balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Top the salad with a creamy tuna mixture. Add a few extra chopped green onions and black pepper on top. Enjoy!
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