Dress Up Canned Tuna By Mixing It With 2 Condiments That Give It A Zing

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Canned tuna might seem like a boring snack, but with the right combination of spices and seasonings, it can transform into something quite amazing. Whether you prefer solid white albacore or yellowfin, or opt for your tuna in water or olive oil, there are two key ingredients we highly suggest adding to your tuna to take it up a notch in both flavor and texture: hot sauce and lime juice. 

Here us out: Hot sauce offers a hot, spicy zing that gets soaked up by the neutral-flavored fish, while the lime gives it a citrusy finish. Both ingredients mixed in a bowl create a marinade for all types of seafood, but especially for a refreshing, craveworthy Mexican-style tuna salad. Mix in some chopped onion, tomato, and jalapeño, and you've got yourself the ideal blend of crunch, acidity, and irresistible heat. Eat it as is or enjoy on top of toast, crackers, or with some plaintain chips.

Redditors think this almost tastes like an instant ceviche. Although it doesn't have quite the same texture as chunks of fresh fish, it still has the refreshing marinade, vibrant flavors, and balanced bite. And if you're not sure what hot sauce to use? We like red pepper or chipotle Tobasco sauce, which ranked well in our review of every Tobasco sauce flavor. Or try Frank's Hot Sauce, Cholula Classic Hot Sauce, or Louisiana Hot Sauce — a few of the absolute best all-purpose hot sauces on store shelves.

There are plenty of ways to elevate this dish. If you want to go the Mexican-style tuna salad route, with hot sauce and lime juice, add pieces of corn, avocado, and cojita cheese to make it heartier and more flavorful. Sprinkle with cumin or Adobo seasoning for saltiness. Or if you prefer mayonnaise mixed with your canned tuna, try this Reddit user's go-to: "Teaspoon or two of soy sauce, small squirt of Kewpie mayo, sriracha hot sauce." You can add sriracha chili paste and sesame seed oil for more heat and richness. You can even turn it into a more Asian-inspired dish by adding sriracha, Crunchy Chili Onion Sauce from Trader Joe's, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and scallions to the mix.

If you're craving a spicy sandwich, add the hot sauce and lime combo to your canned tuna, then mix it with three simple ingredients for 10 times the flavor: lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cumin. Spread it between two pieces of toasted bread, add some more hot sauce or pepperoncini slices in between, and you'll get the spicy element you're hoping for.