Step Aside, Tuna: Turn These 12 Fish Into Your New Favorite Salad

If you like quick, easy, and cheap dishes that actually taste good, then you might just be the kind of person who makes tuna salad on repeat. Whether you're using canned tuna or your leftover tuna steak from the night before, a good tuna salad requires very few ingredients to come together in just a matter of minutes. But it's not necessarily good to eat tuna on too regular a basis, since it contains high levels of mercury, which may cause health problems. Plus, after a few days of tuna salads, you may want to switch things up anyway by experimenting with different ingredients. You should also keep in mind that tuna isn't always a sustainable choice, meaning that it may not be ideal to eat it too often.

That's exactly why you should consider other types of fish for your next salad. The following types of fish can be used in a similar way to tuna in salads, creating healthy, high-protein, and delicious dishes that you can eat on bread, with crackers, or on top of greens. Of course, they all offer different flavors, so you may want to switch up the accompanying ingredients depending on what type of fish you're using. But any one of these varieties of fish is guaranteed to make the seafood-based salad of your dreams. It's time to expand your ideas of what a fish salad can be and experiment with the world of seafood that's waiting for you out there. So step aside, tuna: These fish might just make your next favorite salad.

Salmon is one of the most widely consumed fish in the United States, so it should come as no surprise that it's number one on our list for fish salads. Sure, it may be a bit pricier than tuna, but it's also richer and fattier, offering your salad more flavor (and perhaps requiring less mayo). And since it's easy to find canned salmon at most grocery stores, it's quite easy to swap in salmon for a typically tuna-focused salad. Of course, you don't have to use the canned stuff if you really want to focus on fresh ingredients — you can easily bake or grill tuna before incorporating it into the fish salad recipe of your choice.

Salmon has quite a mild flavor, without the intense fishiness that you'll find in some types of fish, which means that it's not likely to compete with many of the other ingredients in your salad. We like to keep things simple with a preparation that's similar to a classic tuna salad, with mayonnaise, celery, and onions. However, you can opt for a fresher flavor profile as well, focusing on an oil-based sauce and lots of crunchy veggies. Either way, this may just be the upgrade your fish salad needs.

Bacalao, also known as salted cod, may not be the most common type of fish you'll see at an average American supermarket, but if you can get your hands on some at a specialty seafood market, you're in for a real treat. Cod itself isn't a particularly flavorful fish on its own — rather, it's known for its mildness along with a beautifully flaky texture that means it breaks apart easily: perfect for a salad. Salted cod, on the other hand, is saltier, of course, but also richer in flavor and more complex, offering a dynamic base to your seafood salad.It's a great alternative to tuna when you really want to up the savory flavor ante in your dish.

Although you can use mayonnaise in this type of salad, we like to skip it in favor of a lighter form of fat. Avocado works particularly well, since it lends a lovely creaminess to your salad, but you could also use olive oil for a simple dressing. Then, load up on the other ingredients. Boiled eggs can make a nice addition here, as can fresh tomatoes, which counteract the saltiness of the fish by providing a slight sweetness. Sure, it may not exactly look like a classic tuna salad, but it may just be the unexpected switch-up you needed.

Tuna is an ideal type of fish for those who don't really love intensely flavorful, distinctive-tasting seafood. We get it — fish with a more intense flavor isn't for everyone, which may just be why tuna is so popular. However, if you do like funkier types of seafood, then there are many more delicious options out there for you to explore. Herring might just be one of them. This type of fish is especially oily, with a pungent flavor that's sure to please all the salty, savory food lovers out there. You can find it prepared in a variety of ways. Smoked herring, for example, has a smokiness that can really bolster the flavor of otherwise light, refreshing salads, while pickled herring boasts a bright acidity that can balance out a fatty dressing.

Some traditional herring salads from countries like Germany and Poland call for ingredients like eggs, raw onions, potatoes, and apples, which makes for a crunchy, funky, and absolutely filling salad that's ideal when you want a heartier dish. However, you can get creative with your herring salad using the ingredients you already have in your fridge if you enjoy the flavor of herring in the first place.

If you're like a lot of people, when you think of canned fish, your mind goes to tuna first. It's an understandable association, but it's one that can be limiting. After all, if you're always grabbing canned tuna at the grocery store, you might miss out on the deliciousness that is canned mackerel. It can also be quite inexpensive, which makes it a great option for those more budget-minded fish salad makers. And although this fish is generally considered mild, just like tuna, a lot of brands do have an extra punch of savory flavor that can really take your fish salad to the next level.

You can use mackerel in much the same way you'd use tuna in a fish salad recipe. Mayonnaise makes a particularly good base for this fish, but you can add some zest to the dressing with lemon juice, vinegar, or mustard to counteract the fattiness of the fish. Then, add in the crunchy veg of your choice — celery, scallions, and parsley are all solid options. Layer it on thick to create a sandwich that's bursting at your seams, and you may just create your new lunch obsession.

Sprats aren't the easiest type of fish to find in every part of the United States, but they're worth seeking out when you want to expand your seafood salad horizons. If you like sardines, you're likely to enjoy sprats as well. They have a similar salty, pungent flavor to sardines, but some claim that they're a bit lighter or less intense than sardines are. Generally, you'll find these tiny fish tinned or canned, which makes them shelf-stable and easy to keep on hand whenever you get a craving for fish salad. Although you can easily break them up into tiny pieces to create a salad that's similar to what you'd expect from a classic tuna salad, they're also small enough to eat whole on top of a green or veggie-based salad. Plus, since they're so flavorful, you don't need to use a lot of them to harness their salty, savory intensity.

For an especially bold salad, pair them with other briny ingredients, like olives and capers. You can also create a nice juxtaposition of flavors and textures by pairing them with fresh greens, like iceberg lettuce or parsley.

For those who love tuna salad but are worried about mercury consumption, sardines are absolutely worth checking out. Not only do they provide a ton of health benefits, but they're also lower in mercury than many other types of fish. This may mean that you can incorporate them into your diet on a more regular basis, in the form of a tasty, fresh salad or otherwise. We think that sardines pair exceptionally well with fresh veggies, herbs, and even beans to create a fish salad that will seem like a major step up from the same old, same old tuna salad you make all the time.

Sardines, with their salty oiliness, often boast a lot more flavor than tuna or even salmon do, which means that they provide both bulk and flavor to the dish. And when you use canned sardines, you can even use a bit of the oil in the tin to create the most flavorful possible dressing for the salad if you want to veer away from a more mayo-based format. Just don't forget to brighten the salad up with something light and acidic, like pickles or pepperoncini.

Trout is absolutely one of our favorite fish out there. For the uninitiated, it's often compared to salmon, although it has a milder, arguably less fatty flavor profile that makes it approachable even to the seafood-hesitant among us. And although you can probably get your hands on some of the fresh stuff if you're lucky enough to live close to a fishmonger, it's much easier to snag yourself some smoked, tinned trout to keep stocked in your pantry. It can be used in a wide variety of recipes, of course, but we particularly like using it for a smoked trout salad.

Although it may be smokier than most canned tuna, trout still offers that mild flavor profile that works so well with a creamy dressing. Stick with mayo, or combine it with sour cream for an even richer texture. Don't forget the celery, which is essential for providing the salad with enough crunch, or the chopped red onion, which is there to create that sharpness you need in any creamy salad. A boiled egg can add even more protein and an additional layer of texture, while chopped herbs, like chives and parsley, are included for freshness and added complexity.

Branzino probably doesn't seem like the most natural replacement for canned tuna — and to be fair, it's not — but using fresh branzino may just be the best way to elevate your fish salad to completely new heights. Branzino, a white fish known for its mild flavor and buttery texture, tastes delicious when baked or grilled, but we especially like it smoked, where it's allowed to take on a smoky richness that gives it an unexpected intensity. You'll first have to figure out how to smoke delicate fish, but once you do, you'll be ready to make one of the best fish salads of your life.

Use mayonnaise, sour cream, or a mixture of the two to create your creamy dressing, then adorn it with all of the flavorful add-ins you could ever dream of. Shallots are a good option for those who may not want to lean completely into raw red onion territory, and herbs like dill can create a light, refreshing component that counteracts the richness of that smoky flavor. Don't forget plenty of acid, perhaps in the form of lemon juice or vinegar, to help balance out those richer flavors, either.

You're probably not going to find much canned halibut at the average grocery store in the U.S., but if you don't mind preparing fish for your salad from scratch, halibut can make an excellent base for a fish salad. Haven't experienced much halibut in your culinary journey yet? You're in for a treat. With an especially firm, fleshy texture and extremely mild flavor that can be appealing even to those who generally don't eat seafood, this is a fish that can replace tuna quite easily in any sort of typical tuna salad. Mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard can all be used for the creamy dressing, and crunchy veggie additions like cucumber, celery, and onion all make sense here, too.

But since halibut is so versatile, you can also use it in a fresher presentation of fish salad, prioritizing an oil or vinegar-based dressing and really packing in the fresh veggies. Regardless of which kind of salad you're trying to make, you can use halibut that's been baked, grilled, or even poached.

If you're from the South — or even if you've just visited — then you probably know why there's so much hype around fried catfish. It has a lovely crispness to it that houses the soft-fleshed catfish, which has a mild sweetness to it that tastes fantastic paired with a variety of sauces. But you don't have to bread or deep-fry catfish to incorporate it into a memorable recipe — just try making your own catfish salad instead. You can also make it in the oven or on the grill (which is arguably a much easier preparation), after you season it with the dried seasonings of your choice. We think Old Bay works particularly well, but you can use your own blend if you want to opt for a different flavor profile.

Once your catfish is cooked, you can incorporate it into any other fish salad recipe. Coating it in a creamy dressing is always an option, of course, but so is dressing it simply with a lighter, fresher dressing and combining it with a slew of vegetables. You might just be surprised at how tasty this fish is when it's prepared so simply.

Don't like the flavor of most fish? Then, tilapia may just be the fish you've been looking for. It's one of the mildest-tasting fish out there, which makes it ideal for those who are hesitant to incorporate more seafood into their diet but who still want to take advantage of all of its health benefits. When you want an even milder, more approachable flavor profile than tuna can provide, tilapia has you covered. No, you're probably not going to find too much canned tilapia out there, but oven baking the fish in foil gives it that nice, flaky texture you're looking for and allows it to hold onto its moisture for the most tender bite possible.

This is another super versatile fish that you can really play around with. Use it in place of tuna for a more traditional fish salad, or season it generously with the spices of your choice and opt for ingredients on the fresher end of the spectrum. Either way, this accessible and generally affordable fish is a perfect variety to have in monthly seafood rotation.

Is red snapper the kind of fish we'd go out of our way for just to make a fish salad? Perhaps not. It tends to be one of the pricier fish out there, so we generally like to prepare it on its own, in a way that really allows it to be the star of the show. But if, after cooking up a nice dinner of red snapper on the grill, you find yourself with some leftovers, it totally makes sense to turn those leftovers into the bougie fish salad of your dreams. Since red snapper is often described as tasting sweet and nutty, it can add considerable complexity to a fish salad. This is why we'd opt to pair it with fresh ingredients and keep the dressing rather light — that way, you can really pick up on those nuanced flavors. However, since it flakes well, it could also be used as a replacement for tuna in a creamier context as well.

Ultimately, like a lot of the fish on this list, red snapper can be very versatile, making it a solid pick for a salad that can include any number of ingredients. Give it a try the next time you have some leftover snapper on hand.