Tuna Salad Without Mayo

Quick answer: This tuna salad has about 27 grams of protein and roughly 140 calories per serving of filling (not counting bread), and takes 15 minutes with no cooking. It’s the plainest, most classic version in the collection — canned tuna, plain Greek yogurt, celery, red onion and lemon. Serves 4. Sodium is comparatively low, about 380 mg per serving.

This is the simplest tuna salad on the site — no dairy blends, no spice, nothing Mediterranean. Just the classic combination with Greek yogurt standing in for mayonnaise.

Why This Recipe Has About 27 Grams of Protein

Two ingredients, no third protein source needed — a larger tuna portion than the cottage-cheese versions in this collection does the heavy lifting here.

A Note on Sodium

About 380 mg per serving, roughly 17% of the WHO’s 2,300 mg daily limit — the lowest-sodium recipe in the Tuna cluster so far, since Greek yogurt itself carries very little sodium.

• Canned tuna: ~275 mg
• Dijon mustard: ~83 mg
• Plain Greek yogurt: ~22 mg

What You Need

Makes 4 servings (filling only — nutrition figures don’t include bread)

• 4 cans (5 oz / 142 g each) light tuna in water, drained (about 440 g drained total)
• 1 cup (240 g) plain Greek yogurt
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 2 tbsp red onion, minced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• Black pepper, to taste

How to Make It

1. Drain the tuna thoroughly and flake it into a bowl.
2. Combine with Greek yogurt, celery, red onion, Dijon and lemon juice.
3. Fold in the dill, season with pepper.

Tips

Use full-fat or 2% Greek yogurt, not fat-free. Fat-free versions turn watery once mixed with lemon juice.

Let it sit 10 minutes before serving. The celery and onion soften slightly and the flavors come together.

Substitutions

Yogurt: cottage cheese blended smooth, though the texture and protein shift slightly. Tuna: canned salmon works directly.

Storage

Up to 3 days refrigerated, sealed.

PFadmin

Tuna Salad Without Mayo

A classic tuna salad without mayo, made with Greek yogurt, celery and lemon. About 27g protein per serving.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Calories: 140

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 440 g 4 cans, 5 oz each light tuna in water, drained
• 240 g 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 stalks celery finely diced
• 2 tbsp red onion minced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon juiced
• 2 tbsp fresh dill chopped
• Black pepper to taste

Method

 

1. Drain the tuna and flake it into a bowl.
2. Combine with Greek yogurt, celery, onion, Dijon and lemon juice.
3. Fold in dill and season with pepper.

Notes

• Lowest-sodium tuna salad in the collection.
• Nutrition figures are for the filling only, not bread.

Nutrition

Per serving of filling (recipe makes 4):

Preliminary calculation from USDA FoodData Central reference values, not yet verified against a finished Tuna nutrition workbook. Figures exclude bread or crackers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from the other no-mayo tuna salads on the site?

This is the plainest version — just yogurt, celery, onion and lemon. The Mediterranean version uses olive oil, chickpeas and capers instead of any dairy.

Why is the sodium so much lower here than in other tuna salads?

Plain Greek yogurt carries very little sodium compared to cottage cheese, feta or soy sauce, which are the main sodium sources elsewhere in this collection.

Can I use low-fat yogurt?

Full-fat or 2% holds together better; fat-free tends to turn watery once it meets the lemon juice.

What should I serve this with?

Bread, lettuce wraps or crackers — none of which are included in the nutrition figures above.

More High Protein Tuna Recipes

Part of the growing Tuna collection, alongside Tuna Salad Recipe Without Mayo (the Mediterranean, dairy-free version).

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