Tuna Melt Recipe

Tasty and super easy this Tuna Melt Recipe has flavorful ingredients that are amped up to make it a delicious sandwich. Perfect for lunch or dinner, this one is a keeper!

I’ve had a long standing love with Tuna Melts! I have been making them since I was a kid and over the years they have evolved into more adult like sandwiches for me.

Lunch or dinner this is a great recipe for any of those meals. They are light enough to have for lunch but also filling enough to have for dinner, so it is a win-win whenever you want to eat them.

Full of fun flavors, they are super customizable to fit your flavor profile. Topped with melty cheese and tomatoes, I feel like it is a great combination that we just can’t get enough of.

I am super lucky that my kids also love tuna, so these sandwiches go over really well with them, obviously with some modification but most people modify recipes to their tastes all the time.

I worked on making my favorite over the years and this had become the overall winner of it. Everything, all the flavors just work together in unison and tastes just great.

It really is hard to stop at one, but as my motto goes – everything in moderation! But if you want a delicious sandwich for one of your meals this Tuna Melt Recipe is the one you need.

Some of my other favorite sandwich recipes we have on our site include: Cuban Sandwich, Instant Pot Chicken Caesar Sandwiches and The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• Done in 20 minutes, it is quick and easy.
• You can double this recipe to serve more people.
• Modify the flavors to your liking!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):

Tuna
Mayonnaise 
Red onion
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Celery
Green onion
Cheddar cheese
Tomato
Bread
Salted butter

HOW TO MAKE A TUNA MELT RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:

1. Drain the tuna well and place it into a medium bowl. Using a fork, break up the chunk.  
2. Into the same bowl with the tuna, add the mayonnaise, onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper, celery, green onion, and green onion and mix until combined, set aside.
3. Heat a skillet to medium-low heat.
4. Spread butter on one slice of bread. Place this piece of bread, butter side down, into the skillet. Add about ½ cup of the tuna mixture and spread it to the edges of the bread.
5. Add 2 slices of the tomato and 1 slice of the cheese.
6. Butter one side of another piece of bread and place this piece of bread (butter side up) on top of the cheese
7. Carefully flip the sandwich with a spatula to grill both sides.
8. Cook the sandwich in the skillet at medium-low heat until the cheese is melted, and the bread is toasted, and everything is heated through.
9. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.

CAN I MAKE THIS OPEN-FACED?

I know that a lot of people love open-faced Tuna Melts, and I would make them like that for the longest time as well. So the answer is yes, you can.

Just don’t add the top slice of bread. Make sure to keep the heat low enough so that the filling melts before the bread gets too dark and toasty. 

WHAT ELSE CAN I ADD TO THE MIXTURE?

If you want to modify this recipe to your preference, I say go for it! There is so many different ways to make the tuna salad portion. Some ingredients include:

1. Sweet Relish
2. Chopped Dill Pickles
3. Sugar
4. White Onion
5. Chopped Nuts
6. Miracle Whip
7. Diced Jalapenos
8. Avocado

There is so much that you can add to this, that you can flavor it to your liking. This is just how we have come to like it best!

WHAT IS THE BEST BREAD TO USE?

I like this sandwich with a sturdy bread like sourdough, but that isn’t your only option.

Multigrain, French, Italian, whole wheat, texas toast, country loaf, etc.

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF CHEESE?

While cheddar is my personal preference, not everyone always agrees on the same thing.

Some delicious alternatives would be white cheddar, colby jack, pepper jack, monterey jack, gouda, etc.

Whatever you think would taste good melted on this sandwich, go for it.

HOW TO STORE:

Store unused tuna mixture in an airtight container where it will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days.

The tuna mixture can be stored in the freezer as well in a freezer container where it will keep for up to a month. The texture will change when you freeze anything with mayo and may become watery, so freeze at your own discretion.

If you are storing the assembled Tuna Melt, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 2 days.

To reheat it, place sandwich in the oven at 350 degrees F to heat through.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• You can leave out the celery if you like, otherwise another great alternative we like to add is chopped pickles or pickle relish.
• You can use any kind of bread, a sturdier one works best, see my suggestions above.
• The tuna mixture can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
• Double this recipe to serve more people.
• Your cheese’s can be switched out, we like cheddar but you can use any of your favorites.
• This can be made open-faced, see above on how to do that.
• Other additions can be added to the salad portion, see some of my suggestions above.

Love you a good sandwich for lunch or dinner? Then you have come to the right place! This Tuna Melt Recipe is always a hit in our house so hopefully it will be in yours.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• The Best Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Easy Croissant Breakfast Sandwiches
• Crispy Fish Sandwich
• Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese

If you’ve tried this TUNA MELT RECIPE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

ORIGINALLY POSTED FEBRUARY, 2022