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Spicy Tuna Melt

May 17, 2022 by Gina +

One of my favorite sandwiches has always been a tuna melt. From simple versions to fancy ones, I just love a good tuna melt. When I want something hardy, healthy, and nostalgic, it’s something I also love to make at home. Recently I decided to add some jalapeno into the mix and loved the result. I like to add hot sauce to lots of my savory meals so a spicy tuna melt just makes sense to me.

Jump to Recipe

The jalapeno is the kick I’m looking for in this spicy tuna melt, but you can definitely leave it out if you are not a fan of the spicy food. It will still be just as delicious. Nonnegotiables for me though are good bread, my favorite being sourdough, and good cheese. I prefer sourdough because it’s sturdy (I like to load the tuna on) and because sourdough goes through a fermentation process, it is more gentle on the gut. As for the cheese, I use white cheddar, but use your favorite! I also like to kick it up at the end with some chips crushed on top because you need that crunch right?!

So here’s the thing. A good tuna sandwhich doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, I typically just like tuna wiht a bit of mayo, maybe so dijion too. But for this one, I’m adding it all. Veggies for crunch and flavor. Dijion and jalapeno for a kick. And cheddar to add a cheesy, melty top. I keep this open faced with just one slice of bread. If you prefer a toast top instead of just cheese, go ahead and add it! Just toast the bread in your toaster oven, over the stove, or in the toaster. Top with tuna then cheese, then quickly broil to melt the cheese.

Ingredients needed for the Spicy Tuna Salad

  • Toast – I love sourdough for this
  • 2 cans of 3oz tuna
  • Mayo – love this one
  • Jalapeno
  • Celery
  • Red onion
  • Dijion
  • White cheddar Cheese – or whatever you prefer
  • Salt & pepper

How to make a Spicy Tuna Melt

  • Start by making the tuna. Mix the tuna, mayo, jalapeno, celery, red onion, dijion, and a little salt and pepper.
  • While you’re making the tuna, get your bread nicely toasted.
  • Spread the tuna over the toast. The mix should be enough for 2 toasts.
  • Top with cheddar cheese.
  • Broil for a couple minutes to melt the cheese.

Why we love this recipe…

  • A quick and healthy lunch or dinner.
  • Tuna is protein packed! Plus we add celery and onion for a little more nutitional boost.
  • The tuna is easy to double for more tuna melts later in the week. Great for meal planning and prepping.

More recipes you will like…

Mexican Street Corn Salad
Buffalo Vegan Chick’n Salad
Tomato, Cucumber, Feta Salad

Tips for A Spicy Tuna Melt

  • Tuna is super customizable. Add whatever ingredients you love if what I include isn’t your thing.
  • I like using dourdough because it’s a hardy toast and good for the gut.
  • I lik to double the recipe so my husband and me can have a couple melts. Makes meal planning easier.
  • For a little more crunch, add some chips on top! The best move in my opinion

Spicy Tuna Melt

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 minutes mins
Servings: 2 Melts
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 3oz cans of drained tuna
  • 2 slices sourdough or bread of choice
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced red onion
  • 1 diced jalapeno seeds removed if you don't like it spicy
  • 1/4 cup mayo add more if you like it creamier
  • 1 tbsp dijion mustard
  • squeeze of lemon juice from a half lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Sliced cheddar I like white cheddar but use whatever cheese you like!

Method
 

  1. Start by toasting the bread and preheat the broiler.
  2. Stir together the tuna , celery, onion, jalapeno, mayo, mustard, lemon, and a little salt and pepper.
  3. When the bread is toasted, spread the tuna over each slice. Top with cheese. Broil for a couple minutes until cheese is melted.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

You might also like:

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Filed Under: Dinners, Lifestyle, Recipes Tagged With: melt, sourdough, spicy, tuna

Trackbacks

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    […] Mashed White Bean & Herb Toast Miso Mushroom Avocado Toast Spicy Tuna Melt […]

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I love knowing the recipe has already been thoroughly tested, so I can make dinner without wondering if itโ€™s going to turn out. It makes weeknight cooking feel so much easier.
If youโ€™re looking for more dependable, family-friendly dinner ideas, this recipe is available on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and website. Iโ€™ve linked everything in my bio so itโ€™s easy to find.
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large carb-balanced burrito-sized tortilla
1 egg
Shredded cheese
2 slices bacon
1/2 avocado, mashed
1 hash brown

Instructions:
Cook the bacon and chop it up. Mash the avocado and season with salt, mix in the bacon, and spread it on the tortilla. Cook the egg with a little shredded cheese, letting it cook mostly through, then fold it. Top the avocado with the hash brown, then add the folded egg. Fold the tortilla into a burrito and crisp it in a pan.
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If you love taco night but want something a little lighter and higher protein, this oneโ€™s for you. Folded burritos baked in a ring in the cast iron โ€” easy weeknight dinner and meal-prep friendly

serves 6
1 lb lean 93/7 ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 onion
3.5 oz shredded cheddar + 2 tbsp for the meat mix
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (swap for sour cream if you want)
1 can fat-free refried beans
6 low-cal carb-balanced tortillas (70 cal each) @missionfoodsus 
Queso

How to make it:
Brown the beef, add taco seasoning, let it simmer
Stir in Greek yogurt + 2 tbsp shredded cheese
Cut a slit from center to edge of each tortilla
Layer beans on one section, meat on another, nacho cheese on the last
Fold into a triangle
Arrange in a ring in your cast iron skillet
Top with shredded cheese 
Bake at 375ยฐF for 15 minutes

We top with sour cream, shredded lettuce, salsa, and guacamole 

Save this for your next easy weeknight dinner ๐Ÿ™Œ
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Hereโ€™s how I make it:

A big handful of cherry tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt + pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Good Culture cottage cheese @good_culture 
Toasted sourdough for serving

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and add the cherry tomatoes. Let them cook until blistered and starting to burst, then give them a light mash.

Add the white beans, season really well with salt and pepper and finish with a squeeze of lemon. Let everything warm together for a few minutes.

Spoon into a bowl, add plenty of cottage cheese on top and serve with toasted or crusty sourdough for scooping.

So simple. SO good.
Save this one for tomato season. ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿค
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If youโ€™re looking for new weeknight dinner ideas that actually work, this recipe is a great place to start. You can find it on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and websiteโ€”Iโ€™ve linked it in my bio to make it easy to find.

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Tall golden tops, soft centers, melty chocolate, crunchy sugar on topโ€”and the brown butter makes them SO good. Serve them warm. You can even freeze the rest for later.

Comment โ€œMUFFINโ€ and Iโ€™ll send you the recipe!
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This Skillet-Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach and Beans recipe from @testkitchen is the kind of weeknight dinner youโ€™ll want to keep. Itโ€™s simple, flavorful, and comes together in under 45 minutes, which is exactly what I need on busy evenings.
I love knowing the recipe has already been thoroughly tested, so I can make dinner without wondering if itโ€™s going to turn out. It makes weeknight cooking feel so much easier.
If youโ€™re looking for more dependable, family-friendly dinner ideas, this recipe is available on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and website. Iโ€™ve linked everything in my bio so itโ€™s easy to find.
Save this for your next busy weeknight, and let me know if you give it a try!

Comment โ€˜recipeโ€™ and I will send you the link to try out Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen.
This breakfast burrito is one of my favorite ways This breakfast burrito is one of my favorite ways to start the day. Crispy bacon, mashed avocado, a folded cheesy egg, and a hash brown all wrapped up in a carb-balanced tortilla and crisped in the pan. Itโ€™s simple, itโ€™s filling, and delish! 

large carb-balanced burrito-sized tortilla
1 egg
Shredded cheese
2 slices bacon
1/2 avocado, mashed
1 hash brown

Instructions:
Cook the bacon and chop it up. Mash the avocado and season with salt, mix in the bacon, and spread it on the tortilla. Cook the egg with a little shredded cheese, letting it cook mostly through, then fold it. Top the avocado with the hash brown, then add the folded egg. Fold the tortilla into a burrito and crisp it in a pan.
High-Protein Burrito Bake If you love taco night High-Protein Burrito Bake 

If you love taco night but want something a little lighter and higher protein, this oneโ€™s for you. Folded burritos baked in a ring in the cast iron โ€” easy weeknight dinner and meal-prep friendly

serves 6
1 lb lean 93/7 ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 onion
3.5 oz shredded cheddar + 2 tbsp for the meat mix
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (swap for sour cream if you want)
1 can fat-free refried beans
6 low-cal carb-balanced tortillas (70 cal each) @missionfoodsus 
Queso

How to make it:
Brown the beef, add taco seasoning, let it simmer
Stir in Greek yogurt + 2 tbsp shredded cheese
Cut a slit from center to edge of each tortilla
Layer beans on one section, meat on another, nacho cheese on the last
Fold into a triangle
Arrange in a ring in your cast iron skillet
Top with shredded cheese 
Bake at 375ยฐF for 15 minutes

We top with sour cream, shredded lettuce, salsa, and guacamole 

Save this for your next easy weeknight dinner ๐Ÿ™Œ
One of my favorite ways to eat summer tomatoes ๐Ÿ… One of my favorite ways to eat summer tomatoes ๐Ÿ…

Blistered cherry tomatoes, creamy white beans, cottage cheese and plenty of crusty sourdough. Itโ€™s simple, hearty, satisfying and has plenty of protein without feeling like a โ€œhigh-proteinโ€ meal.

Hereโ€™s how I make it:

A big handful of cherry tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt + pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Good Culture cottage cheese @good_culture 
Toasted sourdough for serving

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and add the cherry tomatoes. Let them cook until blistered and starting to burst, then give them a light mash.

Add the white beans, season really well with salt and pepper and finish with a squeeze of lemon. Let everything warm together for a few minutes.

Spoon into a bowl, add plenty of cottage cheese on top and serve with toasted or crusty sourdough for scooping.

So simple. SO good.
Save this one for tomato season. ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿค
Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips #ad Thi Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips  #ad
This Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips from @testkitchen is one of those dinners that feels a little special without taking all evening to make.

I love recipes that are simple enough for a weeknight but still feel like a meal everyone is excited to sit down for. This one comes together in under 45 minutes, and I know I can count on it because Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen recipes are so well tested.

If youโ€™re looking for new weeknight dinner ideas that actually work, this recipe is a great place to start. You can find it on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and websiteโ€”Iโ€™ve linked it in my bio to make it easy to find.

Save this one for the next time youโ€™re wondering what to make for dinner!
Jumbo Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins Tall go Jumbo Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tall golden tops, soft centers, melty chocolate, crunchy sugar on topโ€”and the brown butter makes them SO good. Serve them warm. You can even freeze the rest for later.

Comment โ€œMUFFINโ€ and Iโ€™ll send you the recipe!
Easy Skillet-Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach Easy Skillet-Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach & Beans  #ad
This Skillet-Roasted Chicken with Garlicky Spinach and Beans recipe from @testkitchen is the kind of weeknight dinner youโ€™ll want to keep. Itโ€™s simple, flavorful, and comes together in under 45 minutes, which is exactly what I need on busy evenings.
I love knowing the recipe has already been thoroughly tested, so I can make dinner without wondering if itโ€™s going to turn out. It makes weeknight cooking feel so much easier.
If youโ€™re looking for more dependable, family-friendly dinner ideas, this recipe is available on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and website. Iโ€™ve linked everything in my bio so itโ€™s easy to find.
Save this for your next busy weeknight, and let me know if you give it a try!

Comment โ€˜recipeโ€™ and I will send you the link to try out Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen.
This breakfast burrito is one of my favorite ways This breakfast burrito is one of my favorite ways to start the day. Crispy bacon, mashed avocado, a folded cheesy egg, and a hash brown all wrapped up in a carb-balanced tortilla and crisped in the pan. Itโ€™s simple, itโ€™s filling, and delish! 

large carb-balanced burrito-sized tortilla
1 egg
Shredded cheese
2 slices bacon
1/2 avocado, mashed
1 hash brown

Instructions:
Cook the bacon and chop it up. Mash the avocado and season with salt, mix in the bacon, and spread it on the tortilla. Cook the egg with a little shredded cheese, letting it cook mostly through, then fold it. Top the avocado with the hash brown, then add the folded egg. Fold the tortilla into a burrito and crisp it in a pan.
High-Protein Burrito Bake If you love taco night High-Protein Burrito Bake 

If you love taco night but want something a little lighter and higher protein, this oneโ€™s for you. Folded burritos baked in a ring in the cast iron โ€” easy weeknight dinner and meal-prep friendly

serves 6
1 lb lean 93/7 ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 onion
3.5 oz shredded cheddar + 2 tbsp for the meat mix
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (swap for sour cream if you want)
1 can fat-free refried beans
6 low-cal carb-balanced tortillas (70 cal each) @missionfoodsus 
Queso

How to make it:
Brown the beef, add taco seasoning, let it simmer
Stir in Greek yogurt + 2 tbsp shredded cheese
Cut a slit from center to edge of each tortilla
Layer beans on one section, meat on another, nacho cheese on the last
Fold into a triangle
Arrange in a ring in your cast iron skillet
Top with shredded cheese 
Bake at 375ยฐF for 15 minutes

We top with sour cream, shredded lettuce, salsa, and guacamole 

Save this for your next easy weeknight dinner ๐Ÿ™Œ
One of my favorite ways to eat summer tomatoes ๐Ÿ… One of my favorite ways to eat summer tomatoes ๐Ÿ…

Blistered cherry tomatoes, creamy white beans, cottage cheese and plenty of crusty sourdough. Itโ€™s simple, hearty, satisfying and has plenty of protein without feeling like a โ€œhigh-proteinโ€ meal.

Hereโ€™s how I make it:

A big handful of cherry tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt + pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Good Culture cottage cheese @good_culture 
Toasted sourdough for serving

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a skillet and add the cherry tomatoes. Let them cook until blistered and starting to burst, then give them a light mash.

Add the white beans, season really well with salt and pepper and finish with a squeeze of lemon. Let everything warm together for a few minutes.

Spoon into a bowl, add plenty of cottage cheese on top and serve with toasted or crusty sourdough for scooping.

So simple. SO good.
Save this one for tomato season. ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿค
Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips #ad Thi Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips  #ad
This Creamy Summer Squash Orzo with Steak Tips from @testkitchen is one of those dinners that feels a little special without taking all evening to make.

I love recipes that are simple enough for a weeknight but still feel like a meal everyone is excited to sit down for. This one comes together in under 45 minutes, and I know I can count on it because Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen recipes are so well tested.

If youโ€™re looking for new weeknight dinner ideas that actually work, this recipe is a great place to start. You can find it on the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen app and websiteโ€”Iโ€™ve linked it in my bio to make it easy to find.

Save this one for the next time youโ€™re wondering what to make for dinner!

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