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This tuna potato salad recipe is a complete meal that is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. A satisfying combination of baby potatoes, green beans, tuna, radishes and red onion all tossed together with a delicious dill buttermilk dressing.
This salad is one of my favorites when I am looking for a salad that is satisfying enough to serve as a main dish. It’s a healthy and delicious meal that can be enjoyed year round but is especially nice in the spring/summer when a lot of the ingredients are in season.
The dill buttermilk dressing really transforms this tuna potato salad into something special. I could drink the stuff…it is so good! Sometimes I make double the dressing just so that I have extra to drizzle over my salad.
Ready to make this quick and easy meal salad? Let’s do it…
Ingredients Needed
You will need the following ingredients to make this salad…
- Potatoes: Use small potatoes of some sort. Baby potatoes, fingerling potatoes, kipfler potatoes or warba potatoes are all great options.
- Green Beans: Trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Tuna: Two cans of solid tuna, drained and broken into chunks with a fork.
- Radishes: Chopped radishes add some crunchy texture.
- Onion: I like to use either red onion or sweet onion.
- Dill Buttermilk Dressing: This delicious dressing is simply a mixture of buttermilk, greek yogurt, fresh lemon juice, onion powder, fresh dill and some salt and cayenne pepper.
Detailed ingredient list and directions located in the recipe card below.
What type of canned tuna to use?
I highly recommend using “solid” or “chunked” tuna instead of flaked. It just makes the salad look nicer and more rustic when there are chunks of tuna distributed throughout instead of tons of tiny little flakes. Other than that, the type of tuna you use comes down to personal preference. My preference is to use solid skipjack tuna that has been packed in water.
The reason why I tend to purchase skipjack tuna is because it is a smaller tuna and therefore has significantly lower levels of mercury versus albacore or yellowfin. Here are two sustainably sourced options: US | Canada.
How To Make This Tuna Potato Salad
Ready to make this delicious, hearty main dish salad? It’s so good! Simply…
- Cook the potatoes: Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, salt the water (tbsp of salt) and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until potatoes are just fork tender (approx. 10-12 min). Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, slice into halves or quarters.
- Blanch the green beans: Return the water to a boil and add the green beans. Cook until tender crisp (about 2-3 minutes). Remove beans with a slotted spoon and place into an ice bath or colander under cold running water for a minute to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or shake together in a jar.
- Toss everything together: Place the potatoes, green beans, tuna, radishes and red onion in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
A few tips…
- To speed things up, prep your ingredients and make the dressing while the potatoes are cooking.
- Make sure the potatoes are cooled down to room temperature before mixing the salad. I like to pop the potatoes into the fridge immediately after they are done cooking so that they cool down faster. However, you can also just let them come to room temperature on the counter if you have more time.
Can You Make It Ahead?
All of the components can be prepped ahead of time and stored separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Boil the potatoes, blanch the green beans, chop up the radishes and onions and make the dressing ahead of time and store each individually. Once you are ready to eat the salad, simply take everything out of the fridge, grab your tuna and toss everything gently to combine.
I don’t recommend mixing the dressing into the salad ahead of time though since it will completely absorb and the crunchier veggies will lose their texture. This salad is best served immediately once it has been mixed.
Possible Variations
This salad can easily be customized in a number of ways. Here are a few ideas…
- Use different veggies: You could swap the green beans for asparagus. Or just use any veggies that you like or happen to have on hand – cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, etc would all work nicely.
- Add lots of fresh herbs: If your herb garden is flourishing then this is a great salad to add some to. Chopped parsley, chives and extra dill would all be nice.
- Switch to salmon: You could swap the tuna for canned or grilled salmon.
- Add hard boiled eggs: Turn it into more of a Nicoise-style salad by adding some quartered or halved hard boiled eggs.
More Meal Salads
Here are a few more salads that can be served as a satisfying main dish for lunch or dinner…
Did you try this tuna potato salad recipe? Let me know in the comments!
Tuna Potato Salad With Dill Buttermilk Dressing
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 25 min
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad, Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: American
Description
This tuna potato salad recipe is a complete meal that is perfect for lunch or a light dinner. A satisfying combination of baby potatoes, green beans, tuna, radishes and red onion all tossed together with the most delicious dill buttermilk dressing.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 pound or 454 grams baby potatoes or any other small potatoes like fingerling, kipfler, warba, etc.
- 1/2 pound or 227 grams green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 5-oz / 142 g cans of tuna, drained
- 4 radishes, chopped
- 1/2 red onion or sweet onion, finely chopped
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (usually from 1/2 lemon)
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt (or to taste)
- pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes: Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, salt the water and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just fork tender (approx. 10-12 min). Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Once cooled to room temperature, slice into halves or quarters.
- Blanch the green beans: Return the water to a boil and add the green beans. Cook until tender crisp (about 2-3 min). Remove green beans with a slotted spoon and immediately place into an ice bath or colander under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Once cold, drain and set aside.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or shake together in a jar.
- Toss everything together: Place the potatoes, green beans, tuna, radishes and onion in a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Notes
- I like to use solid skipjack tuna that has been packed in water in this recipe. Skipjack is a smaller tuna and therefore has significantly lower levels of mercury vs. albacore or yellowfin. Here are two sustainably sourced options: US | Canada
- Save time by prepping the ingredients and making the dressing while the potatoes are cooking.
- Cool down the potatoes faster by placing in the fridge or running under cold water once done cooking.
- Making It Ahead: Once dressed, this salad is best served immediately or all the dressing gets absorbed and the veggies lose their crunch. However, you can still prep ahead by making each of the components and storing separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Once ready to eat, simply combine the ingredients, pour over the dressing and toss gently.
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I am always looking for tuna recipes, especially ones that are hearty enough for a meal! I cannot wait to make this one!
Enjoy!
Tuna salad sandwiches are a go to in our house, but this salad looks is it up a notch!
It is a great salad for tuna lovers!
Totally adding some eggs for that nicoise style! I never would have though to add potato with a tuna salad. Great idea!
Yes! Eggs are delicious in this and the extra protein makes it extra filling.
This recipe reads delicious Vanessa! Love the buttermilk dressing. we are huge fans of dill and would love to make this!
Thanks for the kind comment! If you love dill then you will love this dressing!
Perfect timing! I was planning to make potato salad this weekend was it’s been so long since I last made it I wondered what went in it! I know seems silly but I haven’t had it in so many years but I’m now craving it.
Don’t you just love when recipes appear just as you are craving something similar…it’s a sign!
What a combination! I love all the flavours in this salad and I bet they are dynamite when served all together.
Thanks! This is definitely a flavourful salad – enjoy!
this looks great! love the added veggies!
Thanks for the comment! Enjoy!
This is great!!! Looks and sounds delicious!
Thanks Anecia!