15 Canned Salmon and Tuna Recipes You'll Actually Be Excited to Eat (2024)
Using canned tuna and salmon is a convenient way to get dinner on the table fast. Including cheesy casseroles, crab cake knock-offs, and easy sandwiches, these canned seafood recipes are ideal for mixing up your weeknight dinner routine. Stock up on canned tuna or salmon packets, and you'll be just minutes away from enjoying a heart-healthy entrée.
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Lemon-Dill Salmon Cakes
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Once these lemony, crispy cakes are coated in panko bread crumbs and pan-fried, you'll never notice it started from canned salmon. Mix together plain Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and a pinch of fresh dill for a creamy dressing to top your salmon patty salad.
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Mediterranean Tuna Salad
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Canned seafood comes in oil or water. Here, we suggest seeking out tuna in oil since the rest of the pretty, composed salad is so lean. The extra fat boosts satisfaction and vitamin absorption.
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Salmon Pot Pie
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Pot pie can be a daunting dish to bake on a weeknight. Not this fast-forward fish version! A canned salmon and veggie filling cooks to bubbly perfection and is casserole-ready in about 10 minutes. Plus, the crust is almost instant since (our little secret!) it comes from the supermarket refrigerator.
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Gluten-Free Asparagus-Tuna Casserole
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This gluten-free casserole is the ideal crowd-pleasing dish to serve in that long stretch when winter transitions into spring. Plenty of hearty potatoes and melted provolone will warm you up, while tuna in garlic oil and fresh asparagus pieces make this dish one for anyone, whether you need to be gluten-free or not.
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Tuscan Tuna Mac Casserole
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Can't decide between tuna noodle casserole or mac and cheese? No need to choose just one when you can enjoy both in this scrumptious Italian herb-seasoned pasta bake. In addition to two cans of tuna, this casserole features a cup of sliced cremini mushrooms for another hearty, meat-like ingredient.
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White Bean Tuna Salad
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Talk about a dinner winner. This healthy, herb-packed, and super affordable salad can be ready 20 minutes from starting. Canned tuna, canned white beans, and a simple homemade red wine vinaigrette make it possible.
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Salmon Patties with Parsley Mayo
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With a meaty texture and a creamy parsley-mayo topping, these burger look-alikes will convince those who typically swim clear of salmon to catch their omega-3s for the day. Serve stuffed inside a bun or between two slices of toasted bread for a seafood sandwich.
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Mediterranean Salmon Wrap
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If you're not keen on seafood salads mixed with mayo, try this light and refreshing canned salmon creation. Instead of mayonnaise, we use olive oil, lemon juice, and other Mediterranean classic pairings like Kalamata olives and diced red onion.
Mediterranean Breakfast Recipes You'll Want to Eat All Day
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Tuna-Noodle Casserole
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A classic tuna noodle casserole that's easy and made from scratch? Yes, please. The creamy, decadent sauce is made with 100 percent recognizable ingredients, including milk, butter, and freshly grated cheese.
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Muffin Pan Tuna Melts
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All the melty goodness; no griddle required! Build open-faced tuna sandwiches in muffin cups and then pop them in the oven. Serve two with a fresh salad to make these canned tuna melts a complete meal.
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Fast Nicoise Salad
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Why spend $10+ for a restaurant salad when you can build a way more budget-friendly Nicoise at home in just 20 minutes? The combo platter of pouch tuna and hard-cooked egg gives each satisfying serving 20 grams of protein.
Insanely Easy Recipes for Weeknight Dinners
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Tuna and Green Bean Bake
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Calling all kids (and kids at heart)! A handful of cheesy fish-shaped crackers give a colorful, crunchy finish in this playful green bean bake featuring canned tuna. Stick to light condensed soup and milk for less sodium and fat.
19 Great Green Bean Recipes
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Avocado Ranch Tuna Melts
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Ranch and tuna may seem like a weird combination, but don't knock it until you try it. Creamy avocado (another source of omega-3) serves as the base to make this a heart-healthy light lunch.
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Salmon-Stuffed Zucchini
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Stuffing zucchini is one of the best ways to enjoy the summer squash as a meal. Try using recipe-ready lemon pepper packets of salmon for a burst of citrus flavor in this light, yet filling dinner recipe.
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Curried Tuna Sandwich
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If you love global, aromatic curry spice, try this updated canned tuna salad recipe. The addition of coleslaw and peanuts adds a nice crunchy bite. It's an easy make-ahead recipe to keep in the fridge for when you need a quick meal.
While they're both highly nutritious, salmon comes out ahead due to its healthy omega-3 fats and vitamin D. Meanwhile, tuna is the winner if you're instead looking for more protein and fewer calories per serving.
The most healthful choices on this list that are available canned include anchovies, Atlantic mackerel, clams, crab, oysters, sardines, shrimp, and trout. Canned seafood brands offer varying levels of testing to ensure lower mercury levels.
A little bit of tuna, though should not hurt you every now and then, as I like to eat tuna, sometimes, every now and then, but I eat salmon, as is recommended, more often. I hope this answers helps, and so with that in mind, yes, you can eat salmon and tuna together, just not in excess.
Takeaway. The FDA recommends eating 8 ounces of salmon per week. So you *can* eat it every day but in smaller servings. If you're pregnant, the FDA recommends eating 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week from sources that have lower mercury levels — including salmon!
The pink tends to be milder and softer. Now, calorie wise, um, they. These ones are pretty much the same, but often. red salmon tends to be slightly higher in calories, has more Omega 3 fatty acids than the pink.
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines s Americans recommend consuming 8 to 12 ounces of seafood (or about two to three 4-ounce servings) per week to help you reap the health benefits it provides. To meet these recommendations, consumers have a variety of options to choose from, canned sardines included.
What types of fish contain very low levels of mercury? Fish that tend to contain very low levels of mercury include shellfish (for example oysters, clams, scallops, mussels), salmon, crab, shrimp, trout, herring, haddock, pollock (Boston bluefish), sole, flounder, lobster, Atlantic mackerel and lake whitefish.
While canned salmon is lauded for its rich texture and subtle sweetness, the liquid in the package may have a fish-forward scent that not everyone enjoys. Fortunately, draining and rinsing the fish reduces this scent, allowing you to focus on the sheer deliciousness of the salmon.
Drain a little of the naturally occurring juices (the oily liquid in the can comes solely from the fish itself, there is nothing added but a little salt), then add a little olive oil plus some chopped onion. That really evens the flavor out in a very delicious way.
Canned salmon is available packed in water or oil. Pick water-packed since the oil tends to leach out a considerable amount of the omega-3 fatty acids. Most canned salmon contains sodium, but low-salt varieties are available. Also, boneless and skinless types may be found, but they have less nutritional value.
A healthy, balanced diet should include at least 2 portions of fish a week, including 1 of oily fish. That's because fish and shellfish are good sources of many vitamins and minerals.
For adults, a typical serving is 4 ounces of fish, measured before cooking. Our advice is to eat 2 to 3 servings of a variety of cooked fish, or about 8 to 12 ounces, in a week.
Still, small amounts of mercury can pose a risk to young children, unborn babies and the babies of nursing mothers, so the recommended servings of even low-mercury canned light tuna and salmon are no more than 2 to 3 servings per week of 3 to 4 ounces for folks who fall into those categories.
While there's no strict daily limit per se, two to three servings of fish per week is generally recommended by the FDA, according to Hill. On the flip side, if you're eating salmon every day, she says that you could also be at risk for a lack of nutrient variety.
So technically, salmon is a tiny bit healthier than canned tuna. So if you want to get in more healthy fats as well as a bit more protein, canned salmon might have an advantage. But if you're more of a canned tuna person, all power to you—that's a great, affordable healthy option, too.
Perhaps the biggest difference between canned salmon and canned tuna comes down to their nutritional profiles. While both are good sources of protein, tuna edges salmon out slightly with 21 grams of protein per 3-ounce portion as compared to just 17 grams for the same amount of salmon.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, salmon's average mercury concentration is 0.022 parts per million (ppm).Tuna has a higher average concentration of 0.144 ppm. Health experts recommend eating about 8 ounces of seafood per week. You could easily overdo it if your daily lunch is a good ol' can of tuna.
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