The BEST Pickled Tuna Salad

I have always loved a good tuna sandwich. Sandwiches themselves are always a go to for me, especially on busy days. Tuna is so versatile and easy to throw together that it’s a staple at my house. We always have a couple cans of tuna on hand for when we need a quick snack or meal. If you’re looking to have yourself the best pickled tuna salad sandwich then keep reading!

Lucky Finds!

Many, many years ago…about 15 to be exact, I went into a random cheese shop that smelled awful. Where I’m from we’d say it smelled like patas, which means feet. In my experience, if the cheese shop smells like this then it probably has some delicious cheese. Well, their cheese was incredible. I bought a few different types along with some sliced meats, crackers, and a couple bottles of wine. This was a one stop shop and they had everything I needed for appetizers.

As I was waiting for my items to be packaged up, I started looking around the store. I was on my lunch break so decided to also purchase a small container of tuna salad they had. Well, let me tell you, it was incredible! I went back there at least once a week to buy it and always had it on some fresh bread they’d made. I looked forward to having this pickled tuna salad so much!

It wasn’t very soon after that I left that job to pursue another opportunity, leaving my delicious tuna salad lunches behind. Although it’s not too far from where I live, it’s still a little bit of a drive and getting out there can be a pain in the neck. So, I decided I would try making my own. A couple trial runs later and viola! The recipe was as close to theirs as I could possibly get it. Now I keep these things on hand all the time so whenever I’m wanting the best pickled tuna salad sandwich, I can have it!

The Key is in the Pickles

Most of the pickled tuna salad recipes out there use dill pickles. I love dill pickles but to make this recipe even better you’re gonna need cornichons. Cornichons are the key to making this recipe spectacular. So if you like pickles, then this pickled tuna salad is for YOU! Sometimes these pickles are tough to find but I always have good luck at Trader Joe’s. I’ve been able to find it at my local grocery story on occasion too but Trader Joe’s never fails me.

Typically I use a full serving of the cornichons when I make the tuna salad. I take about six of the cornichons, slice them up, and throw them into the tuna along with about 20 mL of the juice from the pickles. Since I use the juice I don’t have to add as much mayonnaise to make it less dry. It adds flavor, moisture, and makes mixing everything easier.

I like for my tuna salad to have a lot of crunch and volume so I add a few more ingredients. These are what you might typically find in regular tuna salad recipes but feel free to omit if you don’t like them. Like I said, the key to this tuna salad is in the cornichons. For this particular recipe I add red onions, celery, mayonnaise, and a little bit of mustard.

Ready for the recipe?! Me too!

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