I love making a tuna salad any day, but I love making it with a little bit more salad than tuna. A bit more veg means it’s a bit more filling, a bit more nutrition, and still very easy to assemble. This snow pea tuna salad sandwich is exactly that, and I think snow peas are the perfect combination for a tuna salad! They are flat, crisp, easy to slice and slightly sweet while still being refreshing, making them a great partner for a briny, dressed tuna salad.
My tuna salad formula is light and simple, making it something you can memorize and riff on. Also, don’t feel pressure to make this into a sandwich, it can be served on rice, served as a tartine, or truly with any carb you have on hand (farro? Bulgur? Bring it on!).
Table of contents
Why snow peas?
While you can make this salad with many ingredients (or even completely riff and use this salad here!), I love a snow pea for a few reasons.
Reason #1 – Their size and shape. They are a flatter, thinner pea, which makes it so that they are easy to slice and they don’t fall out of your sandwich while you’re snacking.
Reason #2 – Their flavor, of course! They have a subtle sweetness that is less than a sugar snap pea, but they still have all the crisp, fresh flavor of spring. They stand up so well to a tuna salad.
Reason #3 – They hold up to the dressing well. Even after being in the fridge for a bit, snow peas stay light and crisp in this creamy dressing.
The ingredients you will need for this tuna salad sandwich
My tuna salad formula is simple but goooood. Here is what you will need:
- 8 ounces snow peas, or sugar snap peas
- 1/4 medium red onion, 2 ounces
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, 0.3 ounces
- 1/4 cup fresh chives, 0.4 ounces
- 2 pickled basque peppers, or any pickled pepper will work!
- 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayo
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, about 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 6 ounces jarred tuna packed in oil, but drained
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices your choice of bread
How to store this snow pea tuna salad
This makes two servings, and it is perfect to have to eat one day and then store for the next.
To store this tuna salad, just mix everything together. Don’t worry about it going mushy, everything holds quite nicely!
After the salad is done, portion whatever amount you’d like into an air-tight container. I like deli containers like this.
From there, keep it in the fridge and it will keep for up to 4 days! This does not freeze well, so I recommend eating it only after fridge storage.
What are other ways to serve and eat this spring tuna salad recipe?
The great thing about a *salad with heft* is you can serve it in so many ways. Here are my favorites:
With rice – with warm white rice?? It’s my absolute favorite. There’s something about the cool salad with crisp textures up against soft white rice that just does it for me. It would also be amazing with brown rice, hot or cold, which you could easily turn into a wrap.
With chickpeas – want more protein? Chickpeas are how to do it. A whole can mixes in beautifully with this salad, and then you have a high-protein, lower-carb meal waiting for you.
In a pita – stuff a warm pita with this salad and maybe add some avocado – it sounds delicious to me.
As a grain bowl – Cook and cool some grains so that you get their resistant starches (I’m thinking farro, quinoa, couscous, anything!) and pile this in the middle. A perfect lunch or snack!
And that is it for this Snow Pea Tuna Salad Sandwich!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Snow Pea Tuna Salad
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 rasp-style grater
Ingredients
- 8 ounces snow peas or sugar snap peas
- 1/4 medium red onion 2 ounces
- 1/4 cup fresh dill 0.3 ounces
- 1/4 cup fresh chives 0.4 ounces
- 2 pickled basque peppers or any pickled pepper will work!
- 2 tablespoons Kewpie mayo see Note
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 6 ounces jarred tuna packed in oil but drained
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices your choice of bread
Instructions
- Slice the tips off your snow peas and slice them diagonally into three pieces, about 1 centimeter thick, but no thicker. Set aside.
- Finely chop the red onion (the finer the dice, the better the dressing will be, just trust me). Set aside.
- Chop up the dill, chives and basque peppers.
- In a large bowl, add 2 tablespoons of Kewpie mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of stone ground mustard. Zest in 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and squeeze in 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (about the whole lemon). Add the chopped red onion, dill, chives and peppers.
- Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 teaspoon of granulated sugar and mix. It will be a thick dressing, but that's a good thing.
- Add the snow peas to the bowl with the dressing and mix, then flake in your jarred tuna. Mix and taste and season with more salt and ground pepper as preferred.
- Toast your bread, then evenly portion the salad into two sandwiches. You can also serve this with rice (my favorite) or any grain you love!
I used sugar snap peas because the snow peas I had on hand had already gone bad. I loved the added crunch it gave to the salad, so all was well. I omitted the ground mustard and Basque peppers; the salad was still delicious! I’m happy to add this recipe to my culinary repertoire.
Loved it! Didn’t have a lemon so I used a lime instead and no pickled peppers but it was still super delicious! Thank you, would’ve never thought of putting snow peas in my tuna salad!!
Amazing recipe! I had sugar snap peas, and instead of Basque peppers, I did a mix of pickled jalapeños and banana peppers, and it was delicious! Love this recipe – highly recommend!