Tuna Salad Without Mayo or Yogurt

If you love tuna salad but can't handle the mayo, you'll love this creamy, dairy-free tuna salad without mayo or yogurt! It has a tangy flavor and features crunchy celery and red onion. You can prep this one ahead for busy weekdays and serve it with your favorite crackers for a protein packed snack or enjoy it as a meal in these tuna lettuce wraps.

If you love this tuna recipe, you'll also want to try my air fryer tuna patties or this tuna white bean salad!

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Creamy without mayo or yogurt

I love tuna salad for lunch, either in a sandwich or wrap, or served up with some crackers and veggie sticks. But, sometimes I find mayo a little heavy, so I went in search of a mayo-free tuna salad.

I was surprised that a lot of the no mayo tuna salad recipes I found used Greek yogurt as the substitute for mayo. I wanted to make this tuna salad recipe dairy-free, but there weren't many that were mayo-free and dairy-free and still had a creamy texture.

Since I haven't found a thick dairy-free yogurt that I like yet, I used dairy-free sour cream instead. It's thick, creamy and tangy like Greek yogurt, and works perfectly in this recipe. (Dairy-free sour cream is also how I get my dairy-free onion dip so creamy)!

Ingredient notes

Below is just an overview of the ingredients. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the exact quantities used.

• Tuna - I used flaked white albacore tuna packed in water. For a chunkier version, you can also use solid white albacore tuna. I wanted to keep this recipe light, but for additional flavor, you can use a tuna that's packed in oil.
• Sour cream - To keep this recipe dairy-free, you'll want to use dairy-free sour cream. I've tried a number of different brands, and there is definitely some difference in flavor and texture. A thick sour cream, like Tofutti, works best for this recipe.
• Lemon juice - This adds extra tanginess to the sour cream. Be sure to use freshly squeezed instead of bottled lemon juice.
• Vinegar - A little apple cider vinegar also adds tanginess. You can use distilled white vinegar as well.
• Mustard - For even more flavor and texture, we are opting for whole grain dijon mustard in this recipe. It adds a sharp, peppery punch. Feel free to use regular dijon mustard if you prefer.
• Sugar - To balance all of the tangy flavor, you'll need just half a teaspoon of sugar. I used cane sugar, but you can also use granulated sugar.
• Seasonings - We're keeping it simple with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Celery - I absolutely love the crunch of celery with tuna. You'll need 3 stalks diced into small pieces.
• Red onion - For more crisp texture and flavor, diced red onion is also added to the tuna salad. Feel free to use yellow or white onion for a bolder flavor, or use chopped green onion or chives.
• Capers - These are small little buds that come from caper bushes. They are usually pickled and add a salty, savoury flavor to dishes.

Recipe substitutions and variations

• For even more flavor, add some sweet green relish or chopped dill pickles.
• Replace the red onion with chopped green onion or chives.
• Replace some of the chopped celery with finely chopped or shredded carrots.
• Add chopped red or green peppers, or for a spicy kick, some chopped jalapeños.
• Speaking of spicing it up, add some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
• For a smokey flavor, add a little smoked paprika or chili powder.
• If you don't need the recipe to be dairy-free, use regular sour cream or Greek yogurt.
• I also love this recipe with my homemade dairy-free cashew mayo instead of sour cream. Just use half a cup of the mayo and leave out the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder and onion powder from the tuna salad recipe as the cashew mayo is already well seasoned.

How to make tuna salad without mayo

Step 1: Add the sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, sugar and seasonings to a bowl and stir until combined.

Tuna salad without mayo FAQs

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