There is no better tuna salad than New York deli-style Tuna Salad. With a few simple ingredients, it’s so easy to make and is perfect for lunch or dinner. Whether you serve it on toast, scoop it on salads, or eat it plain, you can’t go wrong!
There is nothing quite like a New York deli; from the vast array of sandwiches to the plethora of salads, the flavors found in the New York deli are unmistakable and hard to match.
Having worked in several delis I picked up a few tricks so this tuna salad tastes exactly like one you’d get at a New York deli.
For the full New York experience, serve this tuna salad on a round roll with a side of deli macaroni salad!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Tuna. While many delis use a combo of chunk light and solid albacore, I prefer to use all solid because it’s better quality. I still get the same consistency because I use my hands to mix as you’ll see below. Water-packed tuna should be used. Save the high-end olive oil-packed yellow fin tuna for recipes like pasta al tonno.
- Relish and soy sauce. Some delis will use these, some won’t, but I’ve found these two additions really boost the flavor and body of the tuna salad.
- Mayonnaise. Delis in NY usually use a thicker Hellman’s mayo or thicker generic mayos sold at restaurant supply stores. Often referred to as decorator mayo, these thicker mayos are one of the keys to the deli flavor, however, you can definitely get away with using Hellman’s sold in the grocery store. Opt for Hellman’s over Duke’s or Miracle Whip if you want to replicate the NY flavor.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Finely dice 1/2 cup worth of onion and 1/2 cup of celery. Drain very well four 5-ounce cans of water-packed solid white albacore tuna, then place the tuna in a large bowl along with the celery and onion. Add 1 teaspoon of celery salt, 2 tablespoons of sweet relish, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and mix thoroughly. Your hands make the best mixers for tuna salad. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. (Photo #1)
- After 10 minutes, add 1 1/4 cups of mayonnaise and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Photo #2)
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Note: You can certainly eat it now, but it is way better after overnight! (Photo #3)
- The next day, strain the tuna salad of all the accumulated water and add more mayo as needed. Serve on toast, rolls, crackers, salads, or enjoy by itself! (Photo #4)
Top tips
- Let it sit. While you can definitely eat the tuna salad right away, I recommend letting it sit overnight so you can drain it of excess water. The flavor will also be so much better the next day! I recommend doing this with many of my deli salads, including the shrimp salad.
- Use your hands. I highly recommend using your hands to mix the tuna and break up all the pieces. This will ensure a smooth deli-like consistency.
- The mayo. Hellman’s mayo will give you the best authentic NY deli flavor.
More New York deli recipes
Here are a few more of my tried and true New York deli salad recipes. I hope you love them!
- Chicken salad – smooth, creamy, deli-style salad that’s great on sandwiches or by itself.
- New York deli potato salad – briny and slightly sweet with that unmistakable deli flavor.
- Coleslaw – shredded cabbage and carrots in a sweet vinegar brine with mayo.
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New York Deli Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 4 5-ounce cans solid water-packed tuna well drained
- 1/2 cup finely diced onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise plus more as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Drain the tuna cans of their water as much as possible.
- Place the tuna, celery, and onion into a large bowl and thoroughly mix in the relish, celery salt, and soy sauce and let sit for 10 minutes before adding the mayo.
- Add the mayonnaise and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, strain the tuna of all the accumulated water. Add more mayo as required and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- It is recommended to refrigerate overnight. The flavor will be much better and the tuna salad can be thoroughly drained to remove excess water.
- Pieces of white bread or crushed crackers can be used to dry up the tuna after draining and remixing the next day.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The tip about tearing the tuna is spot on. Soy sauce is great. I’m riffing this with dijon m. sundried tomato, omitting the sliced tomato, fresh dill, and switching to mozzerella cheese. Thank-you James!
PS Provalone would be great as well!
I would like to try your chicken salad and tuna salad recipes but I don’t like raw onion. Can I use onion powder or something else in your tuna salad and chicken salad recipes and, if so, how much should I use?
Hi Anne, you can definitely omit the onion. No need to replace with the onion powder.
I made this last night for a party for to night. I squeezed the water out so well that there was no liquid to remove. I shredded the tuna by hand to make sure there were no chunks before adding the other ingredients. I’m not a fan of sweet relish, so I skipped that. I only had celery seeds on hand. I did add a little Dijon and lemon juice, which I typically do when I make tuna salad. I made the mistake of not paying attention to the Costco canned tuna size (7 oz versus 5 oz), so I had to add a lot more mayo and other ingredients. I didn’t really taste the soy sauce, so maybe I didn’t add enough. Overall, a great tuna salad which I’ll make again. I’ll be serving this tonight with mini sliders.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and it is a game-changer with the soy sauce and celery salt. The last time I made it, it was packed in oil, so I reduced the mayonnaise by a half-cup.
So happy you enjoyed, Jeremy!
I tried this yesterday and it will not be the last time. Way better than my go-to tuna sallad.
I’m in Sweden so we don’t have Sweet Relish but I added “Bostongurka” and a teaspoon of MSG to boost the flavor. Amazing!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Marcus!
This was really good! My son who was disappointed were having tuna subs for dinner gave it a thumbs up. I’ll be sticking to this recipe for a long time.
So happy to hear that, BJ!
grew up eating plain tuna and mayo – hadn’t had it in years and now i can’t stop making this. Just so good
We’re happy to hear you’re making this on repeat! Thanks for the comment, Johnny!
This looks really good. I usually add hard boiled eggs, but I’m going to try it your way next time.
My go-to for tuna salad!
This is my family’s new go to tuna recipe. I’m asked for it regularly!
We’re so happy you all liked it!