Sweet Potato Tuna Salad (No Mayo)
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Published Jun 15, 2021, Updated Aug 02, 2023
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With this sweet potato tuna salad recipe the sweet potatoes, hummus and mustard make the tuna salad so creamy you don’t need any mayo. Loaded with protein, gluten-free and dairy-free.
I’ve shared tons of protein salads on my website and for good reason! They’re great for meal prep because they’re super simple to make and they can be eaten in a variety of ways so you won’t get tired of it!
My go-to tuna salad has been a staple in our meal prep routine forever but I recently made this version with a special ingredient you don’t normally see in tuna salad… baked sweet potato chunks.
Most weeks I am meal prepping sweet potatoes and since they’re a great whole-food source of carbs, I like to include them in just about any recipe – especially salads!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- tuna – look for canned tuna that is unsalted and packed in water. I really like the Wild Planet brand.
- baked sweet potato – I’m sharing my fool proof method to perfectly baked sweet potatoes below, but feel free to check out the linked blog post for more tips as well.
- cherry or grape tomatoes – for a juicy flavor explosion with each bite.
- celery – I love the crunch celery adds to this salad.
- scallion – add a mild zip thanks to the green onion.
- hummus – we’re using hummus in place of mayo for a protein-packed, lightened-up version!
- dijon mustard – just a little for added flavor.
- sea salt and black pepper – to taste, to bring all of the flavors of the salad together!
How to Bake Sweet Potatoes
Want to know how to make perfect sweet potatoes, every time? Here is a comprehensive tutorial on perfectly baked sweet potatoes but I’ll give you the cliff notes as well.
Prep your potato – rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes. Use a clean kitchen towel or paper towel to pat dry. Use a fork to polk holes in each potato – I usually do 4-8 holes depending on how big the potato is.
Add oil and salt – Rub a little bit of oil on each potato and sprinkle with salt. You can totally skip the oil and sea salt if you want. The skin won’t be as crisp, but the baked sweet potatoes will still be delicious.
Bake – Place the potatoes in a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 400ºF for 60-80 minutes, depending on how big your potatoes are. Flip the potatoes over about halfway through cooking. They’re ready when the flesh is soft. You can test it with a knife!
How to Serve Sweet Potato Tuna Salad
I love how diverse tuna salad is! Here are some serving suggestions:
- With crackers for a snack or an appetizer. Try pairing it with my almond flour crackers.
- On bread or in a wrap for a sandwich. I like using homemade sourdough or Dave’s Killer bread and adding some extra greens on top as well.
- Over a bed of greens for a meal-sized salad. I do this all the time and call it salad on salad.
How to Store Leftover Tuna Salad
Tuna salad stores really well! Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
More Tuna Recipes to Try:
- Tuna Salad
- Lentil Tuna Salad
- Simple Lemony Tuna Salad Packable Lunch
- Open-Faced BBQ Hummus Tuna Sandwich
- Tuna Curry Bowl with Cauliflower Rice
- Spaghetti Squash Tuna Noodle Casserole Boats
- Tuna Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Healthy Tuna Noodle Casserole
The Most Popular Protein Salads:
- Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad
- Vegan “Chicken” Salad
- Curry Chicken Salad
- Almond Butter Chicken Salad
- Curried Chickpea Salad
- Turkey Salad
- Rotisserie Chicken Salad
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
No Mayo Sweet Potato Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 1 5-6 oz can unsalted tuna, packed in water
- ½ cup baked sweet potato, cooled and chopped into chunks
- ¼ cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- 1 finely chopped scallion, green part only
- 2-3 Tablespoons hummus, I used garlic
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bake sweet potato – Make sure you bake your sweet potato first (or ahead of time) so it's cool enough to handle and chop into chunks.
- Drain tuna – Drain tuna and place in a small bowl. Use a fork to break the chunks into small pieces.
- Mix remaining ingredients – Add sweet potato chunks, tomatoes, celery and scallion and mix together. Add the hummus and mustard, to moisten the tuna to your preference. I used about 2.5 Tablespoons of hummus.
- Season – Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Serve – I enjoyed the tuna salad on top of a salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers and mushrooms but you could easily place it between two slices of whole grain bread (like Ezekiel bread) to make a healthy tuna sandwich.
Notes
- Bake your sweet potato in advance: Don’t forget to bake your sweet potato ahead of time so it’s cool enough to handle and chop for the salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow. I loved this so much. Didn’t change a dang thing. I wanted more and am looking forward to my second portion today. Never would have thought of putting sweet potato in something like this. You’re so creative. I think the suggestion of putting it on a simple salad is a great one and I’ll try it some time. I had this last night with a wheat roll I made. Thanks!
Ahh yay! I am excited to hear that you are loving this recipe, Amy. Thank you so much for giving it a try and for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I truly appreciate it!
Just made this salad. It was DELICIOUS! It’s so healthy, yet so creamy! Instead of keeping all the ingredients separate, I decided to go the opposite way. I made it into a smash so I could put it on wraps. And it was gooood!
Thanks for this new recipe! I was trying to find a way to incorporate sweet potatoes and tuna together. And this was a great way to combine both! 😀
Ah yay! I love this so much. I am excited to hear that you are loving this recipe, Paul. Thanks you for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it.
Very good! I roasted the sweet potato in chunks and doubled the cherry tomatoes. Perfect,
Yay! Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Deb. Thanks for leaving a review, I appreciate it.
Thank you for the inspiration! A great salad variation.
Yogurt also works instead of hummus or mayo.
Sarah
http://www.dietofcommonsense.com
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed this tuna salad, Sarah. Thanks so much for the review!
If you bake the sweet potatoes this way, won’t they be too soft to stay in whole chunks in the salad? Why don’t you roast the chunks in the oven? This salad sounds so good and I’d like to try it soon. Could you use mayo in place of the hummus? I love hummus but it doesn’t love me. LOL
You can roast the potato in chunks if you prefer! And yes, you can use mayo instead of hummus. Let me know if you try this recipe and how it turns out for you!
Thanks for reposting this recipe – I used to make it all the time for lunch, but kind of forgot about it. It’s so good! The hummus and sweet potato combination is unusual but so delicious!
Isn’t it so good?! I’m pumped you’re a fan of it! Thanks for the review, Allison. I appreciate it. 🙂