Lemon Caper Tuna Salad Tacos
Tuna salad made with celery, red onion, capers, parsley and fresh lemon juice makes for an unconventional (but deliciously simple) taco filling. Lemon Caper Tuna Salad Tacos are as easy as it gets.
I totally went out on a limb here. Does stuffing tuna salad into shells really make it a taco? Only you can decide. Either way, these are delicious. And unique. And really fun to eat. The idea came from a friend of mine that I used to swim with. During our workouts, we used to talk nonstop about food and swap recipe ideas. I ran into her a few weeks ago at the pool and she sat down for a minute so we could catch up. Of course the conversation quickly turned to eating and she told me about a fun recipe that her husband happened to make a few weeks back. He’d made tuna salad but didn’t have any bread to make a sandwich. He did the next best thing and used a crunchy corn tortilla instead. I couldn’t help but write the idea down in my iPhone for a future Taco Tuesday.
Fast forward another few weeks when I was visiting with my uncle (who also happens to be a huge foodie) and I told him about the tuna salad taco idea. You know what he did? He laughed and said, of course it will be amazing! He’s been making tuna salad and using tortilla chips to dip for years. And you know what? My husband chimed in saying he lived off of tuna salad in taco shells all through college. So either I know the only three people in the world that have caught on to this simple idea of a tuna salad “taco” or I’m the one living under a rock. Which is it?
This will be perfect in the upcoming months when it gets too hot to turn on the grill. I’m all about boycotting the oven in the summer and this one fits the bill perfectly. I’m not a huge lover of tuna salad though for some reason I craved it during both my pregnancies. My husband is a tuna fiend and we always have it in the house. Truth be told, I have no idea what he puts in his because I never eat it. When I did crave it and eat it when I was pregnant, it couldn’t have enough lemon. I craved citrus so lemon was a MUST in the tuna salad. And because I love capers and lemon together, my little brine-y friends made into the recipe. Of course you could use your favorite tuna salad recipe but this one is a keeper!
Happy (easiest taco ever) Taco Tuesday! Have a good one, everyone!
PrintLemon Caper Tuna Salad Tacos
- Yield: 6 tacos 1x
Ingredients
- Two 6-ounce cans white meat tuna packed in water, drained
- 1/3 cup finely minced celery
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
- 1 heaping tablespoon capers
- 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1/3 cup prepared mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- pinch each of kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 6 corn tortillas
- pea sprouts for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl break up the tuna with a fork.
- Toss with the celery, onion, capers and parsley.
- In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and then stir into tuna and mix until evenly incorporated.
- Divide tuna salad into 6 corn crunchy tortilla shells and garnish with pea sprouts if desired.
9 Comments
I bet these would be delicious as soft tacos too!
These sound really good to me and crunchy too. Thank you.
What a stunning recipe!!
I want this right now!! And I just so happen to be eating tuna salad as I type. 🙂
When I was a little kid, I would only eat tuna with Ritz crackers. Couldn’t stand soft bread with the soft texture of tuna. Taco shells + tuna makes perfect sense to me!
Kelly You have taken Tuna Fish to a new level. I like all the additions you have added to the traditional recipe.
Thanks for the idea, Susie!!
What is a caper and where do I find them in the grocery aisles?
You can find them next to the canned artichoke hearts or near the pickled veggies!