Take A Break From Tuna Salad With This 1950s-Era Swap

Tuna salad has held its place in the lunch rotation for decades — creamy, salty, easy to prep, and reliably satisfying. It even regained steam when tuna salad master Matthew McConaughey shared his tuna salad recipe on a podcast. But if you're burned out on tuna (or just looking to channel a different retro kitchen flair), there's another cold deli salad from the same era that deserves your attention: bologna salad.

This common food from the 1950s isn't around much anymore, but it was once a popular picnic and sandwich filling across Midwestern lunch counters and church potlucks. Like tuna salad, it's cold, creamy, and full of nostalgic flavor — but instead of canned fish, it leans on finely ground bologna. When pulsed in a food processor with mayo, sweet relish, and onion, it morphs into a tangy, savory, and surprisingly tasty lunch option.

The appeal of bologna salad is rooted in its simplicity and stretch. Just like tuna, it was designed for frugality — meat that could be turned into many sandwiches, often spread on white bread or piled onto crackers. It's also endlessly riffable. Swap sweet relish for dill, add pimentos or mustard, go heavy on the pepper — everyone's version is a little different.

The base ingredients for the beloved 1950s-style bologna salad are humble but effective: About 1 pound of bologna, a few spoonfuls of mayo, a splash of pickle relish, and some finely chopped onion. Many versions include chopped hard-boiled egg or a few banana peppers for extra bite. Some folks even add shredded cheddar to stretch the mix even further and make it feel heartier.

To make it, chop or pulse your bologna in a food processor until it's finely minced — not a paste, but close — then stir in your mix-ins until you reach your ideal consistency. Chill it before serving, and it's ready for sandwiches, crackers, or even lettuce cups if you want to channel tuna lettuce wraps. What makes bologna salad such a solid alternative to tuna salad is the texture: It's smoother and spreadable, almost like a pâté with midcentury vibes. And for folks avoiding seafood or just craving something different, it scratches the same itch while feeling fresh (in a throwback kind of way).