Recipe for Tuna on Rye with Pickled Onions and Avocado

Prep Time: 25 mins | 1 Serving

Tuna salad on rye is right up there with the reuben and Cel-Ray soda in terms of beloved Jewish deli classics, and there are some aspects of it that should never change: dill, diced celery, pickle relish, and plenty of mayonnaise. But swapping pickled red onion for the raw red onion often mixed into the tuna salad adds another layer of flavor and an appetizing pop of color. (Hey, we eat with our eyes, too!) This recipe makes more pickled onions than you’ll use for one sandwich, so keep the rest in the fridge for up to 1 month, using them on everything from salads to tacos, and yes, all the tuna salad sandwiches your heart desires.

Bumble Bee Seafood

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Tuna on Rye with Pickled Onions and Avocado

Prep Time: 25 mins | 1 Serving

Tuna salad on rye is right up there with the reuben and Cel-Ray soda in terms of beloved Jewish deli classics, and there are some aspects of it that should never change: dill, diced celery, pickle relish, and plenty of mayonnaise. But swapping pickled red onion for the raw red onion often mixed into the tuna salad adds another layer of flavor and an appetizing pop of color. (Hey, we eat with our eyes, too!) This recipe makes more pickled onions than you’ll use for one sandwich, so keep the rest in the fridge for up to 1 month, using them on everything from salads to tacos, and yes, all the tuna salad sandwiches your heart desires.

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Ingredients

For the Pickled Onions:

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

For the Tuna Salad:

  • One 5oz can Bumble BeeⓇ Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water, drained
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup finely diced celery
  • 2 teaspoons dill pickle relish
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
  • 1 teaspoon stone-ground or spicy brown mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ garlic clove, minced or pressed
  • Fine sea salt or table salt to taste

To Serve:

  • 2 slices Jewish rye sandwich bread, lightly toasted
  • 1 leaf butter lettuce, romaine, or green leaf lettuce
  • ½ small firm-ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
  • 2 kosher dill pickle spears

Directions

To a heatproof container or jar, add the onions. In a small saucepan combine vinegar, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour over the onions and use a fork to press onions down so they are submerged beneath the brine. Let sit until cooled to room temperature. If desired, you may make these pickled onions up to 1 week in advance. Store them tightly covered and refrigerated.

In a medium bowl stir together tuna, mayonnaise, celery, relish, dill, mustard, pepper, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the pickle brine from the red onions. Taste and add salt if needed.

Lay 1 piece rye bread on a cutting board and top with lettuce. Pile the tuna salad on top. Top generously with pickled onions, then avocado slices, and set the second piece of bread on top. Serve with pickle spears on the side.