My parents handed over the task of making school lunches to my brother and me at a relatively early point in our educational careers. If my memory serves me correctly, I was only seven or eight. Since I was already too much of a food snob to make my lunch the night before and end up with slightly staler or soggier sandwiches, I ate years and years of the two sandwich varieties that I could pack most quickly in the mornings: peanut butter or turkey and mustard.
There is, however, another reason that I stuck with peanut butter and turkey/mustard: once I reached middle school, I became morbidly afraid of packing anything that might offend my classmates’ noses and/or induce ridicule. So egg salad was out; tuna salad was out. Kids can be mean, you know?
So even though I’ve always loved egg salad and tuna salad sandwiches, I seldom ate them at school. My foods-to-be-avoided-in-public list only grew more extensive over time: when I first worked in an office where I would sometimes eat at my desk, I nixed crunchy foods as well as smelly ones, since I didn’t want to distract or annoy other people with my chewing. So chips were out; apples were out.
This year, however, I’ve been lucky enough to have a schedule that allows me to eat lunch at home, where I can eat food that is as smelly, loud, and messy as I want! Enter Greek tuna salad. What makes this Greek tuna salad Greek? Well, first of all, it has Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise. Second, instead of tuna salad’s traditional celery chunks, this version uses diced cucumber for crunch. Third, fourth, and fifth, there are sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and dill. In fact, take away the tuna and Greek yogurt, and you’re well on your way to having a Greek salad!
In all honesty, there’s no real reason you shouldn’t have this Greek tuna salad for lunch, even if you don’t have the luxury of eating at home. Sure, it’s a little smelly (as anything involving tuna is), but as long as you’re in a properly ventilated area (i.e. not a plane. I repeat, NOT A PLANE. It is never nice to eat tuna on a plane.), your friends and co-workers shouldn’t mind. In fact, they may even ask you for the recipe, because let me tell you, this Greek tuna salad is no ordinary tuna salad!
Have there ever been any foods you avoided in public, for fear of your schoolmates’ or colleagues’ reaction? What’s the smelliest thing someone has eaten while near you on a plane/train/etc.?
- 1 (5-ounce) can tuna, drained
- 1/4 cup chopped cucumber (about 1 Persian cucumber)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons oil-based salad dressing (Italian, Greek, or similar)
- 1/2 avocado, mashed
- salt and pepper
- Combine the tuna, cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and dried dill in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, milk, and salad dressing. Add to the tuna mixture and still until combined.
- Stir the mashed avocado into the tuna mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Makes enough tuna salad for 2-3 sandwiches. If you are making sandwiches, I recommend slicing the remaining avocado half to put on top of the tuna salad.
- You can also substitute fresh tomatoes in place of sun-dried tomatoes. If you choose to do so, I recommend using up to 1/4 cup, since the flavor of fresh tomatoes is far less concentrated than that of sun-dried tomatoes.
Such a wonderful combinations of flavors!
Thanks, Mimi 🙂
I can totally relate to you lunchtime woes! I still refrain from bringing fish into work for fear of offending my coworkers! I must say that your sandwich sounds delicious though…anything with feta, dill, and sun dried tomatoes gets a thumbs up in my book 🙂
You are a most considerate coworker! Perhaps you can still try this at home on a weekend 😉
This sandwich looks so yummy and satisfying! My son would sympathize with you–he loves tuna, but cannot take it to school. I will have to try making him this sandwich on a weekend, when he can eat lunch at home–I think he would love it. 🙂 Thanks for sharing it!
Yes, definitely – a weekend lunch! Yet another reason to look forward to the weekend, huh? Judgment-free lunches!
Mmm… this sounds amazing and love the pictures! I am such a fan of greek yogurt and tuna, my tuna salad is boring compared to this, love the addition of avocado and greek yogurt
Thanks, Rahul! I’m glad you like the photos, since I’ve found it difficult to photograph sandwiches in the past. And you should definitely try adding mashed avocado to tuna salad, if nothing else – I highly recommend it!
This looks super tasty! What a great combination of flavors. I love the idea of using Greek yogurt instead of Mayo. Will definitely be trying this one.
Thanks, Eileen! Let me know what you think if you try it 🙂
Love this, Mara! I always put greek yogurt in my tuna salad. Perfect timing for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 😉
I actually saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 the day after I first tested this recipe! Apparently I’ve had all things Greek on my mind…
Are you kidding? You should TOTALLY eat this on a plane, at least once, one day, just for fun. With a side of cooked cabbage, and a nice slice of really pungent cheese. It would be hysterical. This sandwich looks fantastic! I love tuna salad, and in fact, just last week, I made up a tuna salad that is very similar to this. Not Greek, exactly, but with feta and horseradish. I loved it. I’ll look forward to trying this one!
Haha oh gosh, I don’t know what would be worse, sitting next to a person eating tuna, cabbage, and cheese, or sitting next to a screaming baby. At least you can use earplugs to drown out a baby!
My parents were the same way – I started making my own lunch pretty early!! I loveeee this greek spin!! Why have I never added those flavors to a tuna (or chicken!) salad like this before???
Thanks, Ashley! I wasn’t always a fan of making my own lunch, but in retrospect I’m glad that my parents made that call when they did.
Wow this sandwich looks delicious! I love all things Greek salad, YUM.
Thanks! The Greeks really do know how to make a good salad.
What a great idea to use greek yogurt in tuna salad! This sounds delicious.
Thanks, Jenna! I actually did a side-by-side comparison of one sandwich with all Greek yogurt and one with half Greek yogurt, half mayo. Perhaps it was a mental thing, but I really preferred the all Greek yogurt one!
Yum! Had tuna salad today before I saw this. Next time!
What a coincidence! You’ll have to let me know what you think if you try this version next time 🙂
Oh, this looks so good! Love the feta cheese and dill. I sometimes add pickle to my tuna sandwiches. 🙂
Oh, I LOVE pickles. I’m sure that would be a tasty addition! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Haha, tuna on a plane! That cracks me up… I also get to eat (and work) at home now for my job, so I frequently enjoy a tuna salad sandwich without offending anyone. And I am addicted to crunchy carrots so I can chew on those as loudly as I please! I am loving this Greek version with the feta and the sun-dried tomatoes and especially the cucumber slices on top – what great flavors and textures! Pinning!
Ooh, yes, carrots were definitely on the “avoid” list when I was eating in the office. I’m glad this caught your eye – let me know what you think if you try it!
Oh! I love tuna salad and this is another way to enjoy it. The sandwich looks really satisfying and so delicious! Thanks for coming, Mara. 🙂
Thanks! It’s a really nice change of pace from my usual lunches. Have a great weekend!
This looks delicious – I’ll have to show this to my kids 😉
Thanks, Ginger! I hope they’ll find it to their liking 🙂
Love this healthy and Greek version of tuna salad! Saving the recipe. Happy FF!
Thanks, Suchitra! I’m so glad this caught your eye. Have a great weekend!
Yup, I know this feeling when you avoid eating some food at public places – I’ve got quite a list I don’t take at work (I love make things complicated cause most of people just don’t bother and have whatever they want/like). But I would definitely grab this delicious sandwich. Somehow you managed to put in here almost all my favourite ingredients such as sundried tomatoes, feta, and avocado. Well done!
Thanks, Ben! I’m glad to hear that you wouldn’t be shy to take this to work. I hope you get a chance to try it!
Delicious!
Thanks, Liz!
This sandwich looks so delicious. I sure know how kids can be cruel. It is sad because it really never changes the impact that it has on the child.
Thanks! I hope you get a chance to try it. Kids really can be vicious – and I was lucky to make it through high school before cyber bullying really took off, so I can only imagine how tough it must be for kids nowadays.
Fantastic Photography lovely! xx
Thanks so much, Samantha! I really appreciate the encouragement 🙂
This sounds delicious! I love all things Greek flavored (especially feta cheese). Thank you for sharing at the Wednesday Showcase party, I will definitely be making this for lunch this week!
Thanks, Kati! I hope you enjoy this as much as we do, and thanks (as always) for hosting such a fun link party!
What a great recipe. Greek food is among my favorites!
The smell of this one still pales in comparison to some of the food smells I endure at work. I totally agree with the existence of the list-of-foods-to-avoid, but certain people on my office floor have no qualms about bringing in highly pungent food (e.g. steamed cabbage), plus leaving messes in the microwave. I might print out this blog entry and hang it in the office kitchen!
Ooh yeah, that’s a tough one. Communal microwaves can be really nasty. Good luck with that!
This looks like a lovely sandwich. I love tuna and the flavours you added look lovely
Thanks! It’s an easy way to shake up a lunch routine that has grown a bit stale 🙂
I love the sound of this sandwich. What a fab idea to use Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise and I do so love the other flavours you’ve added – I’m a big fan of Greek food 🙂
I love Greek food too but so many of the recipes are too involved for everyday meals. Luckily this one is super easy! Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
How considerate you are! Nothing/no one could ever keep me from eating the foods I love 😀 I am a huge fan of tuna salads (my childhood tuna sandwich consisted of ketchup and a fried egg (don’t knock it until you try it)) and Mediterranean flavors. I can’t wait to give this combo a try 😉
Haha I wish I could say I was just thinking of others, but it was really more about self-preservation 😉 I can’t say I’ve ever heard of combining tuna and ketchup, but as someone who has been known to put ketchup on mashed potatoes, I’m really in no position to judge!