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 made this for lunch twice this week! I didn’t have kewpie mayo so I used light mayo and subbed the celery for pickled jalapeños. I made a basic tuna sandwich with it and it was SO EFFING GOOD. I’ll be making this all the time now. My tuna game has been forever changed.
Love it!
This was amazing! I hate canned tuna and am always looking for ways to make it good. This is exceptional.
I had to make my own Kewpie Mayo from a recipe I found on serious eats and frankly had to sub a few items… I’d say straight Mayo with rice vinegar and Miso would recreate what I came up with.
The Kewpie Mayo on its own was super unique and tasty but it didn’t stand up to the white Miso at all… Which is odd because it’s a spicier stinger flavor than American Mayo.
Anyhow I just ate 3 cans of tuna and wanted to offer a big thanks and kudos for a great creation.
I made this today and used red pepper instead of celery. Delicious! Didn’t know miso would taste great with kewpie mayo! Will definitely make this again in the future :)
I don’t like Mayo either so I usually add half mayo and half mustard for tuna salad and it went really well with the miso. I didn’t have celery so I added some radish for crunch and served it with avocados. SO GOOD! Thanks for the awesome recipe. I’m a huge fan of your blog :)
This sound so good. I have never used miso paste for any meals that aren’t soups. I’ll have to try it soon!
Will try this basic “sea chicken”* mix in onigirazu, asnpart of a bento box lunch.
* Japanese call tuna salad of this type, “sea chicken.” It is a huge fave in Japan especially among the young and konbini crowd (konbini are convenience stores).
As near as I can determine, the name stems from the American marketing of “Chicken of the Sea,” brand canned tuna!
This turned out amazing!!! i was a little suspicious about the miso at first as it could be quite salty by itself, but WOW, that was the best part! it adds so much umami to the usual basic “tuna salad sandwich”.
I just want to say thank you x 10000 for all the recipes you’ve shared on this blog. I go through your recipe archive everyday to figure out what to make for the next meal because all the recipes are right up our alley – eg. we especially love all your Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese recipes!! Before i found your blog, i could barely cook… and a year later (and with covid forcing us to cook at home everyday), my husband can’t stop bragging to his friends how well i can cook now… and i feel like i owe this credit to you guys!!
ady,
this is the sweetest comment ever :) you made our day!