Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Tuna

Chopped greens and veggies piled high with a lightly dressed tuna salad inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean.

I recently discovered tuna salad sans the mayonnaise.

I’d like to take a moment to thank the genius who decided to leave out the cholesterol-infused, artery-clogging sauce. You made the world a better place.

If I absolutely have to use mayo, I’ll replace half of it with some plain Greek yogurt. You get the creaminess from the mayo without all of the calories. Everybody wins!

I love tuna salad, but I wanted to create a recipe that didn’t require mayonnaise. I wanted the dish to be light, healthy, and guilt-free.

You can leave the mayo in the fridge for this Mediterranean chopped salad with tuna, because you’re not going to need it. Don’t you feel free?

When I purchase canned tuna, I always buy solid white albacore that has been packaged in water. For this recipe, I used Bumble Bee canned tuna. Their tuna is high in protein, lean, and full of essential vitamins and minerals. They offer a variety of options that make eating healthy easy and uncomplicated. I love their tuna pouches. You can slip one in your lunch box in the morning and sprinkle it over your salad for a quick, healthy meal at work.

What makes this salad so special is the roasted chickpeas. Did you know that the word “chickpea” is one word? I kept wanting to separate the two words, but spell check kept insisting that I spelled it wrong. So, I did what any other computer-using human being would do… I Google-d it. Sure enough, it’s one word.

That’s your spelling lesson for the day, folks. Thanks for stopping by!

Back to the salad.

I roasted chickpeas for the first time the other day. I’m officially a believer in the roasted bean. They’re highly addictive, extremely delicious, and, best of all, they’re healthy.

Most of the chickpeas never made it to the salad. Every time I walked past the pan, I’d pop a handful in my mouth.

This salad is full of freshly chopped veggies, crisp romaine lettuce, spicy pepperoncini peppers, kalamata olives, and lots of crumbled feta cheese. The tuna is lightly dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and capers.

You’ll notice that I didn’t include a vinaigrette or dressing recipe to go with this salad. Well, that’s because this salad tastes great on its own. The tuna and other elements of the salad provide plenty of flavor, so you won’t even miss the dressing. If you find yourself wanting a drizzle of something, a small sprinkle of red wine vinaigrette would be an excellent choice.

This recipe makes 1 very large salad for one. It’s the perfect lunch or dinner salad. If you’re not that hungry, you could always share.

Print Recipe

Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Tuna

Chopped greens and veggies piled high with a lightly dressed tuna salad inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean.

Yield: 1 large salad

Total Time: 10 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

Tuna:

• 1 (5-ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon capers
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Salad: 

• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon diced red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped cucumber
• 1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 6 kalamata olives, rougly chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• 3 pepperoncini peppers

Directions:

Tuna:

1. Add tuna to a small bowl. Using a fork, break the tuna into large chunks.
2. Fold in olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and salt and pepper.

Salad: 

1. In a large bowl, add all of the salad ingredients. Toss to combine.
2. Transfer the salad to a plate and top with prepared tuna.

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