I like to think that tuna melt sandwiches mean the tuna will be the star of the show. However, I find that the bread and cheese transform it into something spectacular. Because of this, I have done my research on what makes an unforgettable tuna melt. In other words, I have got you covered with plenty of variations for the bread, cheese, and cooking style. So don’t be shy and have some fun with this tuna melt recipe!
If you love the convenience of canned tuna recipes, be sure to try Chickpea Tuna Pita Sandwich or Chickpea Salad with Tuna.
Ingredients – What’s in a Tuna Melt?
I find the best tuna melt recipe starts with quality ingredients. The recipe starts with making a classic tuna salad, which is used to layer with cheese in between two pieces of bread before baking it in the oven or cooking it on the stovetop. Here is what you will need to make the tuna salad, along with the bread, cheese, and toppings:
Tuna Salad Ingredients
- Tuna: Look for 5-ounce cans of high-quality wild-caught Albacore tuna packed in water. If you are concerned about mercury, go for skipjack tuna (sometimes labeled light tuna), which has lower mercury levels than larger albacore or yellowfin tuna.
- Celery stalk
- Pickles: Go for your favorite pickles, such as Kosher, dill pickles, or bread and butter pickles. Or swap out the pickles for pickle relish instead.
- Hard-Boiled Egg: I follow this recipe on how to make hard-boiled eggs, which works every time.
- Parsley: Fresh herbs, like parsley, give it a refreshing bite. Experiment with other herbs, like tarragon or dill, or give it a final sprinkle of fresh chives.
- Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise brings the tuna salad together. Feel free to use vegan mayo or swap out half the mayo for plain Greek yogurt for a nice protein boost or sour cream for some tang.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will provide the best flavor.
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
Tuna Sandwich Ingredients
- Buns / Bread Slices: I used Brioche Buns for their buttery richness, but plain, sesame seed, or poppy seed hamburger buns will also do. If you want to go more on the traditional hot tuna melt, you can use ½-inch slices of white bread. However, sourdough bread, whole grain bread, ciabatta, or even English muffins would also work.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese makes a classic tuna fish melt, which is why most people say that it’s the best cheese for a tuna melt. However, you can also use provolone, mozzarella, Swiss cheese, or Havarti in this sandwich recipe. If you want to take things up a notch, feel free to experiment with different types of cheese, like pepper jack, Monterey jack, Gruyere, fontina, or smoked gouda. You can use slices of cheese from the deli counter or grate a whole block of cheese when you get home.
- Cucumber: Fresh cucumber slices offer a nice crunch and color.
- Avocado: Peel, seed, and slice a fresh avocado just before serving to add some healthy fats and extra richness.
- Tomato Slices: Use ripe tomatoes for the best flavor, such as Roma, tomatoes on the vine, or heirloom tomatoes. Once sliced, lay them out on paper towels to absorb excess moisture so your tuna and tomato sandwich doesn’t get too soggy.
- Salad Greens: Salad greens, baby arugula, or chopped romaine lettuce offer a nice crunch and contrast to the creamy tuna salad.
- Cornichons: Optional, but I love the extra gourmet touch of cornichons as garnish if you so choose.
Optional Add-Ins:
- Onion: Finely dice half of a red onion or some green onion to add to the tuna salad for an extra savory bite.
- Dijon Mustard: Add 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the tuna salad mixture.
- Spicy Peppers: Give the tuna salad a little kick with a pinch of cayenne pepper or a seeded and diced jalapeno or Fresno chile.
- Butter / Olive Oil: When I do not have buns on hand and decide to go for sliced sandwich bread, I love to slather one side of the bread with butter or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil for extra richness (keep reading to learn more!).
How to Make a Tuna Melt Sandwich in the Oven?
This recipe for tuna melt sandwich starts with homemade tuna salad. Once you have that prepped and ready, the rest is so easy. Follow these step-by-step directions to make the tuna fish sandwich in the oven:
- Make the tuna salad: In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, celery, pickles, hard-boiled egg, parsley, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Prep the sandwiches: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place all 4 buns open-face on the baking tray. Top each bottom bun with 1 slice of cheese, followed by ½ cup of the tuna filling. Place another slice of cheese on the top bun.
- Bake: Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Assemble: Layer each bottom bun (the one with the tuna mixture) with sliced cucumber, avocado, tomato, and a handful of salad greens. Top with the top bun. Garnish with a cornichon (if desired) and enjoy!
How to Make Tuna Melt on the Stove?
Alternatively, you can make this tuna salad melt in a large skillet on the stove. It is really not much different than making a grilled cheese sandwich. I find this works best if you are using white sandwich bread or English muffins. If you decide to go for the stovetop method, here’s how I like to do it:
- Butter Bread: Butter one side of 8 slices of bread or the outside of 4 English muffins.
- Assemble: Flip the bread or English muffins over, and place 1 slice of cheese on each unbuttered side. Add ½ cup of the tuna mixture to 4 slices of bread or the 4 bottom halves of the English muffins. Top with avocado and tomato, followed by the top slice of bread or English muffin (buttered side out).
- Toast: Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Place 2 tuna melts in the skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown on the first side, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and continue with the remaining 2 tuna melt sandwiches.
- Cool and serve: Let them cool for a few minutes and serve.
How to Make Ahead and Store?
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is making the tuna salad. So if you want to get ahead, I recommend prepping the tuna salad in advance. With that out of the way, the tuna melts come together in less than 15 minutes. Here are my best make-ahead and storage tips:
- Make Ahead: Prepare the tuna salad and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The tuna and veggies will leach out a bit of water the longer it sits in the fridge, so give it a good stir just before using.
- Storage: The recipe makes 4 sandwiches, so if you are only serving 1-2 people, I recommend storing leftover tuna salad and toppings in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Assemble and bake the sandwiches just before serving.
With that being said, if you end up with leftovers of this melted tuna sandwich, you can store them in an airtight container after they come to room temperature. Keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a low heat (300 degrees F.) oven until heated through.
How to Serve
Think of this as a tuna cheese sandwich with all the fix-ins. Because of this, I like to serve it a bit more casually, either as a light lunch or simple dinner, with any of the following:
- Soup: Make it more of a comforting meal with tomato soup – what a classic tuna melt combination.
- Bean Salads: Add some more plant-based protein with Five Bean Salad or Texas Bean Salad.
- Potato Salads: Make it more of a heartier meal by serving alongside Red Potato Salad or Potato Salad with Capers.
- Coleslaw: Add some crunch with Greek Yogurt Coleslaw or No Mayo Coleslaw.
- Seasonal Salads: Give it a refreshing touch with Avocado and Mango Salad, Mexican Corn Salad, Yogurt Cucumber Salad, or a green salad, like Spring Mix Salad.
- Deli-Style: Keep it simple with some crunchy pickle spears and potato chips, just like your corner deli!
Expert Tips
While the recipe for this easy tuna melt sandwich recipe is pretty straightforward, there are a few things that I learned during my recipe testing. So, here are a few tips to help you get the best results when making this recipe:
- Drain the tuna well: Make sure to drain the cans of water-packed tuna before mixing to prevent too much water in the tuna salad, which could make it soggy.
- Preheat the oven or skillet: Whether you are using the oven or a skillet, make sure it is properly preheated before you start cooking.
- Medium to low heat is key: Keep it low and slow. Bake at the recommended 350 degrees F or cook over medium to medium-low heat on the stove to melt the cheese without burning the bread.
- Give it a gentle press: If using the stovetop method, feel free to gently press down on the sandwich with a spatula to give the bread a nice sear. Be careful not to push so hard that all the filling spills out the sides.
- Serve open-faced sandwiches: If you want to cut down on the carbs or prefer to eat an open-face tuna melt with a fork and knife, assemble open-faced tuna melts by simply omitting the top slice of bread.
FAQs
A tuna melt is a hot sandwich that combines tuna salad with melty cheese between two slices of griddled bread. Additional toppings, such as avocado, tomato, and lettuce, can be included.
Tuna melts are a classic sandwich that pair well with tomato soup, coleslaw, pickle spears, potato chips, garden salad, potato salad, and pasta salad.
Cheddar cheese is classic in a toasted tuna sandwich, but have fun and experiment with different cheeses such as provolone, mozzarella, pepper jack, Havarti, Gruyere, fontina or smoked gouda.
Other Seafood Recipes You Might Like
- Skinny Shrimp Scampi
- Breaded Fish Recipe
- Ahi Tuna Salad
- Shrimp Scampi with No Wine
- Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
- Salmon Nicoise Salad
If you try this Tuna Melt Sandwich recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It is a great help to others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
Tuna Melt Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
For The Tuna Mixture:
- 2 cans tuna, 5 oz. each (I prefer wild-caught Albacore tuna packed in water) – drained
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 2-3 small pickles, chopped
- 1 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the Sandwich:
- 4 hamburger buns*, sliced in half as you see in the photos (or your favorite toast)
- 8 slices cheddar cheese, or provolone, mozzarella or Havarti would also work
- 1 cucumber, sliced thinly
- 1 avocado, ripe sliced
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- ½ cup salad greens, or arugula
- 4 cornichon , as garnish – optional
Instructions
- To make the tuna mixture: Mix together drained tuna, celery, pickles, egg, parsley, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Taste for seasoning and add in if necessary.
- To make the sandwiches: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place 1 slice of cheese on the bottom half of a bun and top it off with ½ cup of the tuna mixture. Place another slice of cheese on the top bun. Place both of them (facing up) on the sheet pan. Repeat the same process with the rest of the buns.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese melts. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for a minute.
- To Assemble: Layer each bottom bun (the one with the tuna mixture) with sliced cucumber, avocado, tomato, and a green salad leaf. Put the top bun.
- If preferred, garnish with a cornichon (as seen in the photos) and serve.
Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes 4 sandwiches, which is good for 4 servings. The nutrition information below is per serving.
- Bread: We opted for brioche buns, but regular sliced whole wheat or white sandwich bread can also be used.
- Cheese: Sharp yellow cheddar is ideal, but white cheddar, provolone, or Havarti can also be used.
- Make Ahead: You can make the tuna salad a day in advance. When ready to serve, simply assemble the tuna melts as written in the recipe.
- Storage: You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one additional day.
- To cook it on the stovetop:
- Butter Bread: Butter one side of 8 slices of bread.
- Assemble: Flip the bread and place 1 slice of cheese on each unbuttered side. Add ½ cup of the tuna mixture to 4 slices of bread. Top with avocado and tomato, followed by the top slice of bread (buttered side out).
- Toast: Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Place 2 tuna melts in the skillet and cook until the bread is golden brown on the first side, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and continue with the remaining 2 sandwiches.
- Cool and serve: Let them cool for a few minutes and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this sandwich for my 2 sons today after soccer practice today. The sandwiches disappeared in a matter of seconds. They loved it.
Thank you for including such detailed instructions. I will make it again.
So happy to hear that they liked it. 🙂
Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment. Cheers!
I love tuna too, it´s such an amazing lean protein, I have to tell you, this is the ultimate tuna melt! I love the whole adding it to the oven thing and then adding the veggies, can´t wait to try this
It sure is the ultimate tuna melt. Ha ha.. Thanks for your kind words. Cheers!
This sandwich looks so delicious! So easy!
Thank you Karly. So happy to hear that you liked it.
I love tuna and often use it in sandwiches but never thought of making it this way. Baking it in the oven for that ooey-gooey effect makes a HUGE difference! I just made some adjustments like substituting Greek yogurt for mayo and adding pickled jalapeno instead of cornichon. I will definitely make it often!
Hey Amy,
I am so glad to hear that you liked the recipe.
It is interesting that you swap the mayo with yogurt. I do that sometimes with salad dressing recipes, but never tried it in a recipe with fish.
Thanks for letting me know, rating the recipe and leaving a comment. It is much appreciated.
Best,
Ice