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This Mexican tuna salad is the one my mom made, always with a bowl of pickled jalapeños on the side, so I decided to put the brine right in the dressing! Flaked tuna, tomato, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and diced avocado in a creamy dressing, ready in 15 minutes and so good on saltines.
Mexican tuna salad has been all over my social media feed lately, and every time it pops up I think the same thing: my family has been eating this forever!
My mom made it constantly. She’d set out a sleeve of saltines, the bowl of tuna salad, and a little dish of pickled jalapeños and carrots so we could add a few on top of each cracker as we ate. That briny, salty, spicy bite is my favorite part, so instead of keeping it on the side I started pouring the jalapeño brine right into the dressing.
Everything else is simple. Tuna, tomato, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro, tossed in a creamy dressing made with mayo, sour cream, and Mexican crema. Stir in the avocado at the very end and lunch is done in 15 minutes, with 26 grams of protein per serving.
I still eat mine on saltines, but it’s just as good piled onto a tostada shell with a few dashes of hot sauce. Valentina is my personal favorite. If you’d rather skip the mayo, my avocado tuna salad does the same job.
What Is Mexican Tuna Salad?
In Mexico this is called ensalada de atún, and it turns up at lunch, at parties, and any time nobody feels like turning on the stove. It starts the same way as the American version, with canned tuna and mayo, then goes in a completely different direction with tomato, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, and lime.
You’ll also find a lot of Mexican tuna salad recipes online built on corn and black beans. Those are good, but they’re a Tex-Mex version. The one I grew up eating keeps the vegetables fresh and raw, leans on pickled jalapeño brine for the tang, and finishes with avocado.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what goes into it and why. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Albacore tuna in water: The flavor is mild and the chunks stay firm instead of turning to mush when you flake them. Any canned tuna works, and if yours is packed in oil, drain it well first.
- Roma tomato: Scoop out the seeds and pulp before dicing. That’s where the water is, and skipping it is the difference between a creamy tuna salad and a soupy one.
- Jalapeño: I take out the seeds and ribs so you get the pepper flavor without much heat. Leave them in if you want it spicy.
- Red onion and cilantro: The onion adds a sharp, bright bite, and white onion works if you want it milder. Leave the cilantro out if you’re not a fan.
- Mayo, sour cream, and Mexican crema: The creamy base. The crema is my own addition and I haven’t seen another recipe use it, but it makes the dressing richer than mayo alone. You can use more sour cream if you don’t have any.
- Pickled jalapeño brine: This is the whole reason this tastes like my mom’s! Spoon the liquid straight out of the jar, and chop up a few of the pickled jalapeños to throw in if you want some heat.
- Lime juice: Fresh squeezed, not bottled, gives the best flavor. It cuts the cream so the salad tastes bright instead of heavy.
- Avocado: Fold it in at the very end so the pieces stay whole instead of getting mashed into the dressing.
How to Make Mexican Tuna Salad
Add the tuna, tomato, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro to a large bowl.
Whisk the dressing in a separate small bowl: mayo, sour cream, Mexican crema, lime juice, pickled jalapeño brine, salt, and pepper, until smooth.
Pour the dressing over everything and gently stir until coated.
Fold in the diced avocado last, gently, so the pieces stay whole. Serve right away with saltines, tortilla chips, or tostadas.
Recipe Tips
- Drain the tuna really well. Pour it into a strainer and let it sit while you chop the vegetables. Wet tuna is the fastest way to end up with a watery salad.
- Flake it finer than you think you need to. If there are still big chunks, the dressing sits on top instead of coating everything, and you get bland bites next to heavy ones.
- Put out a bowl of pickled jalapeños and carrots on the side. This is how my mom always served it, and adding a couple on top of each saltine as you eat is so much better than mixing them all in.
- Eat it right away if you can. I never chill mine on purpose, but if you’re not eating it immediately, just cover it and keep it in the fridge until you are.
Variations
Here are a few ways to change it up:
- Add more crunch with diced bell pepper, cucumber, celery, or a handful of shredded lettuce folded in right before serving.
- Take it Tex-Mex with a half cup each of black beans and corn. That’s the version you see all over the internet, and it’s good, it’s just a different salad.
- Swap the protein. Canned chicken or canned salmon should work here, with everything else staying the same.
- Lighten up the dressing. Plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and crema should work if you want it tangier and less rich.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular tuna salad is mostly tuna, mayo, celery, and pickles. This Mexican tuna salad recipe keeps the creamy base but builds the flavor on tomato, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, lime, and pickled jalapeño brine, then finishes with avocado.
You can, but the avocado can brown after a while. Leave it out and fold it in right before you eat, or if it’s already mixed in, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface so no air gets to it.
Albacore in water is what I use, because the flavor is mild and the pieces hold their shape. Chunk light, skipjack, and yellowfin all work, and tuna packed in oil is fine as long as you drain it well.
It’s mostly lean protein and fresh vegetables, and each serving has about 25 grams of protein. Use Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and crema if you want to cut the fat. You can also use light mayo and light sour cream.
How to Serve
Saltines are how I grew up eating this and they’re still my favorite. A cracker, a scoop of tuna salad, a slice of pickled jalapeño on top. So delicious!
Here are the other ways it gets eaten at my house:
- Piled onto tostada shells with a few dashes of hot sauce, which is the classic way in Mexico.
- Scooped up with homemade tortilla chips or air fryer tortilla chips when I want to treat it like a dip.
- In lettuce cups or spooned over a bed of greens for something lighter.
- Stuffed into bolillo bread or telera bread for a sandwich, or spread on a toasted roll and served open faced like molletes.
How to Store
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s safe for up to 4 days, but I’d eat it within two. The tomato keeps releasing water and the avocado goes brown and soft after the first day. Press a piece of plastic wrap right onto the surface before you put the lid on and the avocado will hold its color a lot longer.
- Don’t freeze it. The mayo separates when it thaws and the tomato turns to mush.
Mexican Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 2 (5-ounce) cans albacore white tuna in water, drained
- 1 Roma tomato, seeds and pulp removed, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and, finely diced
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (full-fat or light)
- ¼ cup sour cream (full-fat or light)
- ¼ cup Mexican crema
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ a lime)
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the drained tuna and gently flake it with a fork. Add the tomato, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, Mexican crema, lime juice, pickled jalapeño brine, salt, and black pepper.
- Pour the dressing into the large bowl and toss until everything is well coated. Gently fold in the diced avocados.
- Serve immediately with crackers, tortilla chips, tostadas, or lettuce cups.
Notes
- Storage. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s safe for up to 4 days, but it’s best within 2 because the tomato releases water and the avocado browns. Press plastic wrap onto the surface before sealing to slow the browning.
- Drain the tuna well. Pour it into a sieve and let it sit while you chop the vegetables. If it’s wet going in, the salad will be watery.
- The tomato seeds and pulp. Scooping them out is what keeps the dressing creamy instead of thin. Roma holds up better here than a beefsteak or vine tomato.
- Pickled jalapeño brine. Just the liquid from a jar of pickled jalapeños. Chop up a few of the actual jalapeños and add those too if you want more heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
