Tuna salad is a vibe. Those who love it love it and those who hate it just haven’t tasted the right tuna salad. I love it and I pretty much always have. Give me a tuna melt and I’m in HEAVEN. This miso tuna salad has been my go to forever because: miso! Miso makes everything better, it adds depth, umami and healthy probiotics.
The best tuna salad
This tuna salad is a simple mix because it’s one of my go-tos when I’m hungry but don’t have any groceries. It’s a little umami bomb and absolutely the perfect moreish no-carb snack. To a can of drained tuna, I stirred in a little bit of kewpie mayo, white miso instead of salt, celery for crunch, and green onions for bite. Crisp seaweed snacks are the best for scooping it up! It’s also amazing on super soft Japanese fluffy bread, toasted sourdough, or sourdough crackers.
How to make miso tuna salad
- Super simple: mix together the miso and Kewpie until smooth and then add tuna, diced celery, and sliced green onions. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and enjoy!
Miso tuna salad ingredients
- miso – a traditional Japanese seasoning that is pretty much found everywhere now, miso adds depth and salty umami to this tuna salad. It adds a rich savoriness and as a bonus you don’t need to season with salt.
- kewpie mayo – this is a no brainer, kewpie mayo is so delicious, more on that below!
- tuna – you can use any tuna you like, we’re going to drain it so it doesn’t matter too much. I usually go with a chunk tuna as opposed to flaked. I like tuna packed in water, usually light tuna because it’s supposed to have less mercury. If you want your tuna a bit more rich, you can always add more kewpie but you can’t control the flavor of oil packed tuna.
- celery – tuna salad isn’t tuna salad without celery to add crunch.
- green onions – sliced them up and add them for freshness and a bit of oniony bite
- pepper – freshly cracked of course!
White or red miso
For tuna salad I like to reach for a white miso, which is mellow and sweet. It’s called shiro miso or sweet miso and you can find it near the tofu at places like Whole Foods or at Asian grocery stores.
Which mayo to use
Kewpie mayo, forever and always! If you’re not a mayo fan, you have to try Kewpie mayo: the ubiquitous clear, red-topped squeeze bottle of mayo found in practically every Japanese household. It’s tangy from rice vinegar, slightly sweet, and extra creamy. It is absolutely delicious and will take this salad to the next level! Read more about kewpie here.
What else can I make with kewpie mayo?
You can use kewpie mayo anywhere you would use regular, but here are some recipes to get you started:
- Mayo ramen – for an extra rich luxe restaurant style ramen
- Ebi chili mayo – Deep fried tempura prawns with sweet and spicy Kewpie
- Japanese Egg Sando (or this one) – Japanese egg salads aren’t Japanese unless you use Kewpie. This is gonna be the best egg salad you’ll ever taste
- Japanese potato salad – It just hits different. It’s the Kewpie!
- Takoyaki – the classic takoyaki topped with Kewpie
- Deviled eggs – eggs get an upgrade with Kewpie mayonnaise
- Sushi bake – because it’s the creamiest, warmest, most satisfying casserole
I hope you try this tuna salad, it really is the best!
xoxo steph
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 2 tbsp kewpie mayo
- 1 can tuna drained
- 2 tbsp celery diced
- 2 tbsp green onions sliced
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the miso and kewpie until smooth. Add the drained tuna, celery and green onions.
- Mix throughly and season to taste. Enjoy on its own or on top of crackers, toast, or seaweed.
i love the flavor of miso, and korean seaweed can make anything taste good! will have to try this on a hot, lazy day.
If you don’t have access to kewpie mayonnaise, would regular mayonnaise work ok here, too?
yes, for sure! you might want to add a touch of rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar for a bit more of a kewpie mayo taste, but it’ll taste just as good with plain mayo.
I’m with you – I used to be a big time mayo hater but I’m slowly coming around to it. I still don’t like super mayo heavy pasta or potato salads, but when I was in Chile (where they are mayo-obsessed) I had hot dogs slathered in it and they were actually delicious! I keep meaning to buy kewpie mayo – I pretty much love any Japanese food so I’m pretty sure I’ll be a fan!
Mayo hater but miso lover. I’ll have to find a way to make this work
You can use small curd cottage cheese, instead. You will be amazed at how good it is in place of Mayo.
This sounds really great. Add a little rehydrated seaweed, some cucumber for crunch, a shallot, or???
I use Miso all the time in soups, stews, vegetables, etc. Keeps forever in fridge because it is so salty. It also comes in a lower sodium formulation which is what I use.
mayo + tune = match made in heaven!!! and the addition of miso is super cool! also, those cartoons in the header are totally adorable!!!!!!!! x
Mayo-lover over here! Definitely want to try this, though I’d probably end up putting it all between a couple slices of bread.
Great idea adding seaweed! Thank you for the recipe :) Pinned
This sounds great! I’m a little obsessed with kewpie mayonnaise haha, it’s especially good with a bit of Sriracha to make chilli mayo :)
omg I LOVE this!! You make miso magic, lady — still not over that miso + mustard genius in your beautiful green bean salad, and now miso + MAYO (my favorite thing ever, lololol #fattylife). This is so great.