Quick answer: This tuna salad has about 27 grams of protein and 275 calories per serving, and takes about 15 minutes with no cooking. Unlike the yogurt-based version, there’s no dairy at all here — chickpeas, olive oil, capers and parsley carry the whole bowl instead, Niçoise-style. Serves 4. Sodium sits at a moderate ~465 mg per serving.
Where Tuna Salad Without Mayo leans on Greek yogurt, this one skips dairy entirely. Chickpeas add both bulk and protein, and olive oil, lemon and capers do the work a creamy dressing would otherwise do.
Why This Recipe Has About 27 Grams of Protein
| Source | Per serving |
| Canned tuna, drained (110 g) | 21.3 g |
| Chickpeas, rinsed (60 g) | 4.8 g |
| Everything else | 0.9 g |
| Total | 27.0 g |
A larger tuna portion than most other recipes here, since there’s no second animal-protein source to lean on.
A Note on Sodium
About 465 mg per serving, roughly 20% of the WHO’s 2,300 mg daily limit.
- Canned tuna: ~275 mg
- Chickpeas (rinsed): ~66 mg
- Capers: ~114 mg
- Everything else: ~10 mg
What helps: rinsing the capers briefly before using them cuts some of this without losing their flavor entirely.
What You Need
Makes 4 servings
- 4 cans (5 oz / 142 g each) light tuna in water, drained (about 440 g drained total)
- 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 240 g)
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup (30 g) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Black pepper, to taste
How to Make It
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly.
- Drain the tuna and flake it into a bowl.
- Combine with chickpeas, red onion, tomatoes, parsley and capers.
- Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper. Toss gently.
Tips
Don’t skip the parsley quantity. It reads as a lot for the size of the bowl, but it’s what keeps this from tasting like plain canned fish.
Let it sit 5 minutes before serving so the chickpeas pick up some of the dressing.
Substitutions
Chickpeas: white beans work the same way. Capers: chopped green olives, similarly salty.
Storage
Up to 3 days refrigerated, sealed. Improves slightly on day two as the chickpeas absorb more dressing.
Tuna Salad Recipe Without Mayo
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly.
- Drain the tuna and flake it into a bowl.
- Combine with chickpeas, onion, tomatoes, parsley and capers.
- Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and pepper.
Notes
- Rinsing the capers briefly lowers the sodium slightly.
- Keeps 3 days refrigerated.
Nutrition
Per serving (recipe makes 4):
| Calories | 275 |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Sodium | 465 mg |
Verified against the Tuna nutrition workbook, calculated ingredient-by-ingredient from USDA FoodData Central reference values.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the other no-mayo tuna salad?
That one uses Greek yogurt and is dairy-based; this one is entirely dairy-free, built on chickpeas, olive oil and capers instead.
Can I use white beans instead of chickpeas?
Yes, directly — the flavor and protein contribution are very similar.
Why does this have more sodium than the yogurt version?
Capers are brined and carry a lot of sodium for their size — there’s no equivalent ingredient in the yogurt-based recipe.
Can I make this ahead?
Yes, and it holds up well for up to 3 days, improving slightly by day two.
More High Protein Tuna Recipes
Part of the growing Tuna collection, alongside Tuna Salad Without Mayo (the yogurt-based version).
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