What can I make with canned tuna?
Canned Tuna is the fastest protein in most kitchens: usually under ten minutes, start to finish. The recipes below use canned tuna, and the notes after them cover the timing and heat that keep it tender rather than rubbery.
5 recipes with canned tuna
Poke Bowl
Cubed raw tuna over rice with soy and sesame.
Hawaiian15m4
Sushi Rolls
Nori-wrapped rice with fish and vegetables.
Japanese25m4Triangular Japanese Rice Balls
A traditional Japanese snack made from triangular-shaped balls of rice, often filled with tuna, salmon, or pickled plum.
Japanese50m10
Tuna Nicoise
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
France4
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil Add the pasta, stir once and cook for about 10 minutes or as directed on the packet.
Italian4
How to cook canned tuna the easy way
- 1Dry the canned tuna thoroughly and season just before it hits the heat, so the salt does not draw out moisture.
- 2Use a hot, well-oiled pan and lay it away from you. Leave it alone until the edges turn opaque.
- 3Flip once. Most fillets need 3-4 minutes on the first side and barely 1-2 on the second; shrimp cook in about 90 seconds a side.
- 4Take it off while the centre is just translucent. Carryover heat finishes it, and overcooked seafood cannot be rescued.
What goes well with canned tuna
Canned Tuna is at its best with lemon, butter, garlic, dill, chili flakes and white wine. Any two or three of those, plus canned tuna, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing canned tuna
Fresh canned tuna should be cooked the day you buy it, or the day after at the latest, stored over ice in the coldest part of the fridge. Frozen is often the better choice - thaw it overnight in the fridge, never at room temperature. Cooked leftovers keep two days.
Substituting canned tuna
If you are out of canned tuna, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Canned Tuna recipes: common questions
- What can I make with canned tuna and not much else?
- Plenty. With canned tuna plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest canned tuna recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute canned tuna?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover canned tuna?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover canned tuna without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should canned tuna be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.