14 Unique Tuna Recipes For Any Occasion

If you like tuna but fancy trying doing something different with it – you’ve certainly come to the right place!

14 Unique Tuna Recipes For Any Occasion

A tuna mayonnaise sandwich might be nice, or a tuna mayonnaise jacket potato now and again. But sometimes it’s nice to change things up a bit.

You’d be surprised to learn just how much you can dress tuna up. You could even use it for fancy dining.

In this article, I’m going to present you with a shortlist of 14 of the best, and most unique tuna recipes on the net, complete with links for each recipe.

Whether you want to see just what else you can do with a couple of tins of tuna, or whether you like to go to your local fishmonger and serve tuna steaks to your guests, we’ve got something for you here.

And without further ado, here goes…

Grilled Tuna Steaks With Asian Sesame Crust Recipe From The Spruce Eats

This delectable recipe features fresh tuna steaks and a delightfully tangy soy and ginger sauce, and it comes topped with sesame seeds, which if you ask me, are particularly moreish.

It can be ready in a mere 36 minutes, including 20 minutes of marinating time, so it’s certainly quick and easy enough to put together on a busy weeknight, but it’s also special enough to serve to dinner guests.

It goes great with green veggies, or you could serve it with fluffy rice if you prefer.

Tuna-Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe From Country Living

This twist on the classic stuffed pepper is really quite something.

It requires very few ingredients, and all you have to do is slice open some large beef tomatoes, toss the other ingredients together, and spoon them into the open tomato.

As such, it takes next to no time to make. Super simple.

The recipe is really fresh and flavourful, featuring the likes of capers, celery, and red wine vinegar. And you can prep the stuffing in advance if you prefer.

It says to serve with parsley, but personally I prefer fresh basil or rocket.

Spicy Tuna And Avocado Sushi Burger Recipe From The Spruce Eats

Gourmet burgers are all the rage these days, and it simply does not get much more gourmet than this!

It has so much more depth of flavour than a traditional beef burger.

It’s rather unusual, with a non-traditional bun made with leftover sushi rice, and healthy, creamy avocado among the toppings.

You may have to go online to source all the ingredients, and it does take quite some time to make, but trust me – it’s 100% worth it!

Air Fried Tuna Croquettes Recipe From Skinny Taste

This is such a tasty and unique way to dress up tinned tuna. And it’s super simple to make, too.

All you have to do is mix and mash all the ingredients together, roll it into croquette shapes, coat each croquette in breadcrumbs, and stick them in the Air Fryer until golden and crisp.

And they’re full of flavour, too, with ingredients such as russet potatoes, red onion, fresh dill, and Dijon mustard.

It comes best served with lemon wedges for squeezing together with some tangy tartar sauce.

Tuna Stuffed Avocado Recipe From Kalyn’s Kitchen

WOW, this recipe tastes so creamy, yet so fresh at the same time.

And it’s super simple and easy to make, perfect for a busy weeknight when you haven’t got much time to cook.

All you have to do is slice up 1 large avocado per person and scoop it out, mix and mash the other ingredients with the creamy insides of the avocado, and spoon it in.

The ingredients go particularly well together, like the lime juice, cilantro and red onion. And you can get away with using tinned tuna.

I love it served with extra wedges of lime!

Tuna, Spring Onion & Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe From BBC Good Food

This delightful tuna based snack is the perfect recipe for a buffet, where everyone picks the items they want from a range of options.

And it pleases even the pickiest of eaters, perfect when there are kids eating.

The ingredients are easy to get hold of, and the spring onions, sweetcorn and lemon really add to the flavour. 

And if you wanted to boost the flavour further still, you could drizzle the fritters with optional chilli sauce!

Moroccan-Spiced Tuna Recipe From BBC Good Food

If you like your tuna steaks with a little heat, but not too much, then this recipe could be something worth considering.

It features such spices as paprika, ground cumin, and chilli powder, in equal parts, as well as fresh coriander, shredded garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive oil, and lemon juice.

It’s super simple to make, and prep time is a mere 10 minutes. We recommend that you allow the tuna steaks to marinade between 20 minutes and 4 hours before grilling them.

Tuna Chowder With Corn And Cheese Recipe From The Spruce Eats

Now, this is what I call comfort food! It’s very hearty and nourishing, and goes just great with a crusty baguette.

It contains lots of healthy veg, including flavourful chopped onion, chopped celery, diced carrot, and diced potatoes.

It takes just under an hour in total and serves as many as 6 portions. The ingredients are easy to get hold of, and you don’t need a blender.

If you decide to serve it to dinner guests, you’ll find that it pairs very well with a dry white wine, such as a sauvignon blanc.

Tuna Lasagna Recipe From Food

Everyone loves a good old-fashioned lasagna, but have you tried one with tuna?

It’s really something else, and is very comforting and nourishing. And the tuna goes surprisingly well with the other ingredients.

You can make it with tinned tuna, you don’t need fresh tuna steaks, and it contains all the usual lasagna ingredients such as crushed garlic, onion, tinned tomatoes, lasagna sheets, and a white sauce for the uppermost layer topped off with grated Cheddar cheese.

It takes just under an hour in total and serves up to 4 people.

Italian Tuna Meatballs Recipe From BBC Good Food

With this recipe, you can take a handful of easy to source ingredients and make your very own meatballs, and serve them up with your favourite marina style sauce and enjoy it with your choice of pasta, such as spaghetti, penne, tagliatelle, shells or twists.

The tuna meatballs are quite easy to make, you simply flake the tuna, add some pine nuts, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and egg, season, and roll the mixture into balls before frying them and adding them to cooked hot pasta and marinara pasta sauce.

Lemon Garlic Tuna Cakes Recipe From Crunchy Creamy Sweet

This flavourful savoury recipe is perfect as an appetiser or as an option at a buffet.

What’s more, they’re also really easy to make to boot. And it takes a maximum of 15 minutes from start to finish.

The ingredients include the likes of tinned tuna, lemon juice and zest, shredded garlic, chopped onion, breadcrumbs, and some shredded Parmesan to make the cakes nice and crispy for biting into.

All you have to do is combine the ingredients, form them into patties, coat them with the breadcrumbs, and fry until golden brown. Easy.

Tuna Arrabbiata Pasta Gratin Recipe From BBC Good Food

This is an excellent dish to please hungry people who like a bit of spice, because it features wholemeal pasta shapes and crushed dried chilli flakes to taste. 

It also contains chopped tomatoes, shredded garlic cloves, mixed pitted olives (optional) red and yellow peppers, and a pinch of caster sugar.

And to make a nice crust on the top, there are wholemeal breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.

Asian Tuna Melt Nachos Recipe From Healthy Nibbles

Nachos may originally be a form of Mexican cuisine, but let me tell you, this recipe is the bomb!

It features a lot of the usual ingredients in nachos, including the likes of corn tortillas, grated cheddar cheese, and optional salsa and guacamole, but there are also other ingredients as well to provide a greater range of texture and flavour to the dish.

This includes the likes of drained tinned tuna, celery, red pepper, spring onion, and chopped cilantro.

Then there’s the Asian flavours, which come from the sesame oil and fish sauce. And it can be ready in just 30 minutes.

Tuna Shepherd’s Pie Recipe From Taste

Now, this is a great twist on a popular British classic.

But it’s just as comforting, and the ingredients are super easy to source, they are readily available in your local supermarket.

The ingredients include tuna, onion, tomato pasta sauce, sweetcorn, fresh basil, celery, and broccoli for the filling, and potatoes, milk, butter, and cheese for the topping.

It takes 20 minutes to prepare, 25 to cook, and the recipe serves up to 4 people.

Wrap Up

So, there you have it, 14 delicious, unique recipes, all made from a favourite store cupboard ingredient – enjoy!

Jeff Pratt
Latest posts by Jeff Pratt (see all)