Tuna Salad
No-Cook Tuna Salad
Canned tuna is sold in almost every country on earth, needs no refrigeration until you open it, and delivers real protein for very little money. This no-cook salad turns two pantry tins into a meal you can eat from the container on a train, a bus or a hostel bunk.
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- No cook
- Servings
- 2
- Cost
- Budget
Customs friendly: Commercially canned, shelf-stable fish is accepted in most countries when declared. Buy the tins at your destination if you want zero paperwork.
Ingredients
Serves 2 · amounts shown in metric units
- Canned tuna in water, drained2 tins (about 300 g)
- Canned sweetcorn or white beans, drained150 g
- Olive oil15 ml
- Lemon juice or vinegar10 ml
- Red onion, finely diced30 g
- Dried oregano1 g
- Salt and pepperto taste
- Crackers, bread or tortillas120 g
Global ingredient guide
- Tuna → canned sardines, mackerel, salmon or chickpeas for a plant-based version.
- Sweetcorn → white beans ('cannellini', 'alubias', 'haricots blancs') or diced cucumber.
- Lemon juice → lime, white vinegar, or a squeeze from a sachet.
Preparation steps
- 1
Drain both tins well — press the lid down over the sink or a spare cup. Wet tuna salad spoils faster and travels worse.
- 2
Tip the tuna into a bowl, jar or the empty larger tin and break it up with a fork.
- 3
Add the corn or beans, olive oil, lemon juice, onion and oregano.
- 4
Season, stir once, and eat straight away, or seal and chill.
- 5
Serve on crackers, stuffed into bread, or rolled in a tortilla.
Travel tips
- Carry the tins unopened in your pack — they need no cooler at all until the moment you open them.
- Choose ring-pull tins so you never need a can opener at a border or a hostel.
- Buy oil-packed tuna if you have no dressing: drain a little off and you already have your olive oil.
- This is the single best backpacking meal for weight-to-protein value, and the tins double as mixing bowls.
Cooler storage guidance
- Unopened tins need no cooler space — keep the cooler for perishables.
- Once opened, treat it as fresh food: chill below 4°C / 40°F and eat within 24 hours.
- Never store leftovers in the open tin. Transfer to a sealed container first.
- In hot climates, mix only what you will finish in one sitting.
Food safety advice
- Discard any tin that is dented along a seam, bulging, leaking or hissing when opened.
- Opened fish left at ambient temperature for more than two hours should be thrown away.
- Rinse the can rim before opening if it has been loose in a dusty pack.
- Do not carry an opened tin — the edges are sharp and the contents will leak.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbohydrate
- 20 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 520 mg
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with local brands and substitutions.
