How 10 Celebrity Chefs Upgrade Classic Tuna Salad

A homemade tuna salad is a fresh, nutritious, and delicious way to enjoy lunch or a light dinner, being easy to pack with color, crunch, and protein. While there are some classic methods and ingredients we often see repeated with this dish, there's really no right way to make it. Whether you're opting for a creamy dressing or a light vinaigrette, reaching for convenient canned tuna or a fresh tuna steak, you can make your salad as fuss-free or fancy as you desire. And, one of the best ways to find tuna salad inspo is by looking at the work of your favorite celebrity chef.

Plenty of well-known chefs have their own takes on tuna salad, while the techniques and flavor combos used in each of their recipes vary greatly. Some amp up the umami richness with anchovies and aromatics, while others throw spicy or zesty elements into the mix. Texture is important too, with crunchy toppings being the go-to for some chefs. Alternatively, there's the option to make things heartier with the addition of beans or roasted veg. So, let's explore some chef-approved versions of this much-loved dish, and perhaps discover a new way to jazz up your next salad creation.

Jamie Oliver's tuna salad looks like something you'd be happy to receive at a gourmet restaurant. It's wonderfully colorful and packed with bright flavors to match. His version calls for fresh tuna steaks, which are cooked in a grill pan to give them a delicious charred outer layer, while keeping the inside nice and pink. The salad begins with a layer of quartered cherry tomatoes that get tossed with olives, basil, lemon juice, and charred asparagus spears. This creates a gorgeous contrast of colors and textures. Tuna is pan-fried to perfection, and it's then torn or sliced into strips and arranged atop the salad base. 

What really makes this salad a standout, however, is the creamy basil dressing. This sees natural yogurt combined with lemon juice, crushed basil leaves, salt, and pepper. It's a seemingly simple mixture, but it totally transforms the salad, injecting it with plenty of zesty, herbaceous flavor. Spooned over the other elements, it complements the richness of the meat and freshness of the salad beautifully. Topping everything with extra basil leaves is recommended, too!

If vibrant Italian flavors are your thing, Giada de Laurentiis' take on tuna salad is a must-try. She uses a perfectly balanced combination of fresh, hearty, and tangy ingredients, creating an ultra-satisfying yet nutrient-packed final dish.

Step one is whipping up the dressing, which consists of chopped capers, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Then, drained cannellini beans are lightly mashed in, ensuring they're thoroughly coated in the briny, citrusy mixture. Laurentiis uses jarred tuna in her recipe, but specifies that this should be a variety packed in olive oil. Opting for oil-packed rather than water-packed tuna tends to yield a richer, more flavorful result, especially in salads.

With the tuna flaked into the dressed beans, next come the selection of crisp salad veggies. Rather than the usual lettuce or cucumbers, Laurentiis prefers a medley of endive, treviso, argula, and shaved fennel, all complemented with a scattering of fresh parsley leaves. Together, these additions create a well-rounded flavor profile, with notes of earthiness, bitterness, nuttiness, and sweetness. If you don't have these veggies on hand, you can absolutely substitute with alternatives such as sliced tomatoes, red onions, and olives. They all fit in beautifully alongside the beans and tuna.

Tuna and wasabi are two ingredients we often see paired together in sushi dishes, so combining them in a salad makes perfect sense. And, that's exactly what Ina Garten likes to do. Made with fresh tuna steaks, Garten's version of tuna salad features an Asian-inspired wasabi vinaigrette and another sushi staple – creamy Hass avocados.

To make this bold salad, you'll first brush the tuna steaks with a little oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Then, they're ready for searing in a hot pan. This should only take around two minutes, with a flip halfway through cooking. While the tuna steaks rest, you can prep the vinaigrette. Grab some olive oil, lime zest and juice, wasabi powder, soy sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir everything together, and toss the dressing with the diced avocado and tuna, plus an aromatic medley of green and red onions. The result is a delightfully punchy, meaty salad, that makes for an excellent alternative to the more typical mild, mayo-based versions of the dish.

When choosing a wasabi powder, be sure to look for a version that contains real wasabi root. Many products labelled as wasabi are actually made from horseradish or mustard, with dyes mimicking the natural green hue of wasabi. Fake wasabi tends to have a more intense, artificial flavor, while genuine wasabi tastes cleaner, sweeter, and less intense.

In Gordon Ramsay's recipe for a classic French tuna niçoise, the dressing is transformed with one simple but flavor-packed add-in. Typically, a niçoise salad is made with a garlicky vinaigrette dressing, which is drizzled over the potato, egg, tuna, and veggie base. Anchovy fillets are also a common addition. These are usually layered with other ingredients, but Ramsay prefers to blend them into the dressing, for a more evenly distributed hit of umami goodness.

The anchovy dressing is made by first mashing anchovy fillets with black olives and garlic in a mortar and pestle to create a paste. Then, you'll add lemon juice, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar to create a rich, briny, and deeply savory mixture that's ready to take the tuna niçoise to the next level. Ramsay obviously opts for nothing less than fresh tuna steak here and keeps things classic with salad components, reaching for fine green beans, baby potatoes, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and jammy soft-boiled eggs.

Bringing a little extra crunch to your salad plate is the perfect way to make things more interesting, and this can easily be done with the addition of croutons. In Mary Berry's take on tuna niçoise, she tops everything off with a scattering of homemade pan-fried croutons. As well as adding some welcomed textural contrast, these also help to make the dish that bit more filling if you're serving it as a standalone meal.

Berry starts by chopping crustless slices of white bread into cubes, explaining that smaller pieces are ideal for achieving the crispiest edges. These are added to a plastic food bag with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper, before they are tossed so the oil and the spices thoroughly coat the bread. Fry the coated cubes in a hot, dry pan until golden and crisp, then set them aside while you prepare the other elements. Berry also notes that using the right dressing is the secret to a good tuna salad, and hers includes a tempting trio of wholegrain mustard, honey, and lemon. A portion of the dressing gets tossed with the freshly boiled baby potatoes to infuse them with as much flavor as possible, and the remainder is poured over the other salad components once they been arranged on the serving platter, with the croutons as the finishing touch.

While many celebrity chefs choose pan-frying fresh tuna for their salads, Bobby Flay elevates his Tuscan-inspired recipe by cooking the steaks on the grill. This gives them an amazing charred crust on the outside, while it preserves a wonderfully tender texture within, and keeps the cooking time minimal. Flay seasons his steaks with ground fennel, salt, and pepper, which adds a delicious earthy warmth to the final dish.

For the salad base, Flay incorporates a variety of herbs and veggies, including sliced fennel, mixed greens, basil, and parsley. Cannellini beans and olives bulk things out, and red onion adds a sharp bite. The chef also whips up a herby lemon, garlic, and anchovy dressing with a generous glug of Tuscan olive oil and a dash of honey. Served piled onto a platter with an extra squeeze of lemon and some grilled sliced bread, this version feels gloriously wholesome.

Mayonnaise is a key ingredient in many tuna salad recipes, but Rachael Ray doesn't deem this necessary. Rather than crafting a creamy tuna mixture, she instead dresses the canned fish with a simple combination of fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Mayo's buttery profile can mask the natural umami flavor of tuna, but olive oil and lemon work to enhance the taste of this flavor-packed fish.

Along with canned tuna packed in olive oil, Ray's go-to salad includes capers, red onion, artichoke hearts, black olives, and fresh parsley. After dressing everything with the aforementioned duo, she scoops the mixture into a partially hollowed-out loaf of Italian bread, and cuts this into individual sandwiches. This makes for a brilliantly hearty approach. The crusty bread soaks up the rich, citrusy flavors of the dressing, and it turns the dish into a more portable lunch option.

That's right, tuna salad doesn't have to be served cold, and baking the ingredients in the oven is an amazing way to make this dish a whole lot more comforting. This is the technique that British chef Nadiya Hussain employs for her niçoise bake, and it's even finished with a mouth-watering cheesy topping.

Hussain ditches the usual leafy and crunchy elements like cucumber, lettuce or arugula, since these don't lend themselves well to baking. She uses a nourishing selection of oven-friendly vegetables, including cherry tomatoes, green beans, red onion, and potatoes. To keep things quick and convenient, canned tuna is the recommendation, and this is paired with chopped anchovy fillets for a bolder umami hit. This salad is super easy to prep, too. Once the eggs and potatoes have been pre-boiled, everything is added to an oven dish and tossed in a tangy garlic-herb vinaigrette. The final addition before baking is Parmesan shavings, which bring a delicious saltiness and create an irresistible crisp, melty topping. This one is particularly fantastic when enjoyed on a chilly winter day, when you're craving the fresh flavors of summer in a cozier form.

Paul Hollywood's favorite way to enjoy tuna salad is with a zesty black olive tapenade. The idea is based on the French tuna niçoise, and initially, his approach seems relatively standard. There's a base of lettuce leaves, blanched green beans, capers, tomatoes, and baby potatoes, dressed with a lemon-Dijon dressing. This is topped the usual way: with seared tuna steaks and halved boiled eggs. But, it's the tapenade that makes this version unique. Hollywood makes this by blitzing up black olives in a food processor with anchovies, capers, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, basil, and black pepper. The resulting mixture is slightly chunky yet spreadable and loaded with savory flavor.

Rather than incorporating the tapenade into the salad, Hollywood suggests serving it on the side with some fougasse bread. This is a French flatbread that's similar to Italian focaccia, but with a crustier texture. It's a truly fitting accompaniment to this vibrant, Mediterranean-style salad.

If you love a tuna salad with a creamier finish, mayo might be your usual add-in. However, there's another way to elevate the richness of this dish, as demonstrated by renowned chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller. His method of choice is to mix canned tuna with a homemade aioli, made with fragrant confit garlic. He serves this tartine-style, between thick slices of pain de campagne.

Confit garlic is prepared by gently heating olive oil and garlic cloves in a saucepan for around 30 minutes. This leaves the oil infused with heaps of aromatic flavor, and the cloves can be strained out. To make the aioli, the garlic-infused oil is blended with egg and lemon juice, plus more garlic and oil, until lovely and thick. The next step is mixing the creamy aioli with drained tuna, fresh herbs, cornichons, shallot, capers, and lemon juice. To assemble, Keller spreads aioli onto each slice of bread, then layers up the tuna salad mixture with crunchy lettuce leaves, slices of hard-boiled egg, and radish. Topped with olives, chives, paprika, and a final splash of extra virgin olive oil, these garlicky tuna salad sandwiches look and feel undeniably sophisticated.