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Skip the boring tuna salad and make this Avocado Tuna Salad packed with fresh cilantro, avocado and ranch. Whip this simple salad up in just 5 minutes. Tuna will never be the same again!
Love tuna but hate mayo? This Avocado Ranch Tuna Salad is for you then.
There are quite a few who are not mayonnaise fans can still enjoy a delicious tuna salad thanks to avocado!
I also have a not-so-tuna salad for my vegetarian friends–I have made this Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad for several parties and get rave reviews from even my biggest meat eaters. Serve it up on crackers and everyone’s happy!
And don’t forget this avocado egg salad for another great avocado recipe!
If you are a mayo fan, try this Strawberry Pecan Chicken Salad as well! And if you are interested in all things salad, check out our list of favorite salad recipes!
Why You Will Love This Avocado Ranch Tuna Salad:
- Simple to whip up–only about 5 minutes! Doesn’t take long to make this flavorful tuna avocado salad recipe. Mash the avocados and toss all the ingredients together.
- Packed with protein. A classic tuna salad on its own is one thing, but adding avocado adds even more protein! All of those healthy fats too–this recipe is a winner!
- It’s so delicious! No reason to make the same old tuna salad. The addition of avocado adds a level of creaminess to start but the ranch and cilantro take it to the next level of flavor. Simple ingredients to make your tuna incredible.
What You Will Need:
- tuna: most canned tuna comes in 5 oz. so two cans will do for this recipe. You can really use any packaged tuna, just make sure it’s packed in water. I prefer solid white albacore tuna but your favorite will work!
- avocado: you want very ripe avocados–make sure they are really soft. The avocado should be easily mashed, as you would if making guacamole.
- ranch dressing: you can use your favorite. Heck, maybe you have a homemade ranch dressing around, bonus!
- cilantro: freshly chopped for the best flavor
- red onion: you can most certainly skip the onion if desired, my husband is not a fan so I omit it often.
- lemon juice: This will really help if you are not planning on eating the tuna salad right away. Lemon will help keep the avocado from browning too much.
- garlic powder: I just add a dash or two since there is already plenty of seasoning in the ranch dressing. Add a bit more if desired.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Add the avocado to a medium bowl and mash well. You can make this as smooth or chunky as you like.
- Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Adjust seasoning and then chill for about 15 minutes or until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Keep your avocado tuna salad from browning. If you want to keep the avocado in this tuna salad from browning, add plastic wrap over the tuna and press it into it before putting the lid on the airtight container. This will help keep it from browning much before serving.
- Chill your avocado tuna salad for the most flavor. It isn’t 100% necessary to chill this tuna salad before digging in, however if you can, I encourage it. The flavor is so much better if you give the flavors some time to really meld.
- Vary the flavor with lime juice instead of lemon juice. Since we are working with cilantro, perhaps a bit of lime juice versus the lemon juice is worth a try??
Possible Add-Ins:
- a teaspoon of dijon mustard for some extra tang
- chopped hard-boiled eggs
- chop up some green or red bell pepper
- add some extra protein and tang with a big scoop of plain Greek yogurt
Ways to Serve this Avocado Tuna Salad:
- over a big bed of greens with an extra drizzle of ranch dressing
- as a sandwich–toast up some of your favorite sandwich bread and pile the tuna salad high
- as a tuna melt–can’t beat this classic lunch!
- in zucchini boats
- tucked into warm pita
- on crackers
Other Salads to Try:
- AVOCADO AND WHITE BEAN LETTUCE WRAPS
- VEGAN CHICKPEA “TUNA” SALAD
- SPINACH MANDARIN SALAD WITH HONEY BALSAMIC DRESSING
- STRAWBERRY POPPY SEED CHICKEN SALAD
- SIMPLE CAPRESE FARRO SALAD
- BLACK BEAN CAULIFLOWER RICE SALAD
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Avocado Ranch Tuna Salad
Skip the boring tuna salad and make this avocado tuna salad packed with fresh cilantro, avocado and ranch. Tuna will never be the same again!
Ingredients
- 10 oz tuna in water
- 2 small avocados, ripe
- 1/4 c chopped red onion
- 2 T Ranch dressing
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 c chopped cilantro, (I use a heaping 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Dash of garlic powder (optional)
Instructions
- Remove seeds and scoop avocado into a medium bowl and mash.
- Add in ranch, onion, cilantro, lemon juice and spices and mix well. If you prefer a touch more of garlic (depends on how strong the garlic tastes in your ranch dressing) add that as well.
- Chill for about 15 minutes before serving.
- Store in refrigerator in airtight container for 1-2 days. To keep the avocado from browning, put plastic wrap over the tuna and press it into the tuna and then add the lid on your container.
Notes
- Keep your avocado tuna salad from browning. If you want to keep the avocado in this tuna salad from browning, add plastic wrap over the tuna and press it into it before putting the lid on the airtight container. This will help keep it from browning much before serving.
- Chill your avocado tuna salad for the most flavor. It isn’t 100% necessary to chill this tuna salad before digging in, however if you can, I encourage it. The flavor is so much better if you give the flavors some time to really meld.
- Vary the flavor with lime juice instead of lemon juice. Since we are working with cilantro, perhaps a bit of lime juice versus the lemon juice is worth a try??
Nutrition
Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 267mg, Potassium: 629mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 292IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question?Leave a comment below!
My kids (age 6 and 4) are not tuna lovers or even use to tuna, but they loved this recipe! I made it with honey wheat toast and some fresh romaine lettuce in the sandwich and they said they loved it! Will add it to their regular weekly lunches! 🙂
Oh wow—kid approval for the WIN!!!
I realized I had no Mayo but had ranch and found this recipe it’s so good, I added capers and lime juice.
Thanks for the reminder—haven’t made it this one in a while. Glad you loved it!
I found this recipe yesterday and decided to try it. It turned out really good. I used probably a little more than a quarter cup of cilantro and you cam taste in in the mix. This is something that I will be makimg more often.
Great to hear! I feel like if there is cilantro in something I’m always game!!
omg first of all how percent is this blog i love it so much i can’t get enough . avocado is my best thing anything that has avocado is my favourite so i would love this for sure. need to learn more from your website and blogs to mine better http://lucyakaos.blog
Thanks so very much Lucy!
Oh wow this sounds so good! And with the avocado and ranch, I might be able to get my kids to eat some tuna for once!
Oh that is a big deal!
I usually eat something very similar to this (less the ranch and bread) on crackers. But your version sounds delicious! I believe I will be giving this a try sometime this week!
Yes, crackers are a win. I love pretzels to dip as well.
I love tuna and avocado so much!!
It’s the best combo!
So important when infants start eating solid foods, sounds like you are on the right track, plus this tuna salad sounds devine, I am not a fan of mayo so this is right up my alley
Thanks Albert!!! And yes, the avocado is a game changer.
This recipe looks so yummy! I would have never thought to combine avocado and tuna in that way. Brilliant!
It’s a game changer Hillary! Thanks!