Tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers, and za’atar is a fresh and healthy take on the ubiquitous tuna salad that we’ve all experienced, and a great way to incorporate inexpensive canned fish into your diet. Fresher flavors and healthy ingredients make it a pleasure to eat in any way you like. We’re partial to a scoop atop a cool bed of lettuce.
Adapted from Chloe, Olivia, and Nicholas Tsakiris | Sea Salt and Honey | Harper Design, 2021
We’ve made the Mediterranean lifestyle—with its emphasis on the sea, sun, family, friends, and, crucially, the food that celebrates all these things—the center of our lives.
Our family has always been obsessed with food. Our lives actually revolve around it. We also all share a passion for hosting friends in our homes and showing love by feeding them. Recipes like our tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers, and za’atar fit that ethos perfectly..–Chloe, Olivia, and Nicholas Tsakiris
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Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt FAQs
How should you serve this salad?
Any way you typically enjoy a tuna salad. Pile it atop multigrain bread and serve it as an open-face sandwich, or scoop it into lettuce leaves, or enjoy it with crackers.
How should tuna salad be stored?
Tuna salad should be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 3 days.
What can I substitute for Greek yogurt?
If you don’t have any Greek yogurt, you can make this healthy tuna salad with regular yogurt. For a creamier version, try swapping in sour cream or creme fraîche.
In this recipe
Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt, Capers, and Za’atar
Ingredients
- One (5-ounce) can tuna in oil drained (or leftover grilled tuna)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon capers drained if brined or rinsed if salted
- 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade za’atar
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Bread or crackers for serving
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir together. Serve, sandwiched between slices of bread or piled atop crackers.
Notes
Tuna Melt Variation
To turn this into a tuna melt, turn the oven on to broil. Slice bread of your choice, brush both sides of the slices with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Place a hefty scoop of the tuna salad on each slice of bread. Top with the cheese of your choice (feta and halloumi are good options). Broil until the cheese begins to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot.Show Nutrition
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This healthy tuna salad with capers is one of those recipes that completely exceeded expectations! It’s ridiculously easy and made with pantry ingredients, yet has complex, interesting flavor. All while managing to seem “fancy” enough to serve to guests for lunch.
My cousin and I enjoyed this delightful tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers and za’atar so much that I am making it again for lunch today. No mayo makes it so much easier to serve al fresco on a hot summer day.
The flavors add a subtle, yet distinct punch, and are easily customizable to suit your particular taste. Olives would be a lovely addition, too!
I am always pleased to read and to try a truly creative slant on a kitchen staple. This Mediterranean/Middle Eastern adaptation of traditional tuna salad was just terrific; easy enough to prepare, yet innovative enough to really bring it to another level.
Spoiler alert: there is NO MAYONNAISE. None! Often to the traditional, we’ve added herbs, citrus, and various veggies, but mayo has always been present. Not this time. The za’atar and yogurt were spot on.
I served it with a lovely green salad, crumbled feta cheese, and fresh garden basil. Tonight, tuna melts on whole grain bread with Jersey tomatoes and fresh corn.
This preparation of tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers, and za’atar was a terrific departure and a bit fancy in flavor. I loved it.
This tuna salad with Greek yogurt recipe is definitely a keeper. It was tasty and easy to make. I put the tuna on a slice of bread that was brushed with garlic oil, topped it with halloumi cheese, and broiled it for 7 minutes. Delicious!
If you have been raised on tuna salad as a lunch item most of your life, you probably think you know every way to make it by adulthood. But this recipe for tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers, and za’atar takes a turn that is beyond our borders, and it takes me straight to a summer memory in my teens, where a fish sandwich in a roll or bun was a beach treat at the seaside pools my host family took me to as an exchange student. Bonus–no sand required.
The oil-packed tuna is one part, the briny capers reinforcing the sea, the brightness of the vinegar standing in for my usual Dijon and lemon treatment, and the creamy but tart texture of Greek-style yogurt finishes the job along with the za’atar. No one will miss mayonnaise in this preparation.
This is lunch in 10 minutes for two people, including time to slice and toast a baguette or slice up ripe tomatoes if the summer ones are ready–thumbs up winning combination for both of us.
The za’atar recipe makes about 1/2 a cup, but don’t worry–you’ll be finding it handy on everything from avocado toast to pasta (and this must be the third batch I have made this year).
Always on the hunt for a new tuna salad recipe variant to brighten up lunchtime, I was very pleased with this recipe for tuna salad with Greek yogurt, capers, and za’atar. No mincing vegetables and herbs, it relies on pantry staples I always have on hand and takes less than 5 minutes to assemble. Maybe longer if you try the tuna melt variation, which I highly recommend.
We topped toasted bread with the tuna, sprinkled with chunks of freshly crumbled feta, and broiled until golden. Will make a recurring meal at our table.
I was so excited to try this recipe because I love tuna fish and I’ve never had za’atar. It was such a bright and fresh take on classic tuna salad. I omitted the additional olive oil as my tuna was plenty oily from the can. Otherwise, made the recipe as directed and served with chopped tomatoes.
Will definitely be adding this tuna salad with capers into my meal rotation – it’s the perfect simple lunch for a super-hot summer day.
Originally published July 31, 2021
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
I like to try different versions of tuna salad. And I love your other recipe for tuna salad sandwiches. I made this today, and after tasting, I decided to add 2 Tablespoons of muffuletta olive salad. Not sure it goes with the Mediterranean vibe but it gave it a bit of “zing.” This would be great with fresh garden tomatoes.
P.S. I’m a big fan of this website ever since David spoke with our cookbook club.
Peggy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this. It really was a winner. And please say hello to the rest of the group.