This tuna melt recipe is crispy on the outside and super cheesy on the inside made with creamy tuna salad packed with cream cheese, pickles, and onion.
Best Tuna Melt Sandwich
Looking for a better-than-Subway tuna melt recipe? You’ve come to the right page because this tuna melt sandwich is truly loaded with flavor and all the cheese.
In this post, we’ll teach you how to make a tuna melt which includes a yummy tuna salad, muenster cheese, and toasted sourdough bread.
Why you’ll love it!
- Easy to make
- Can make-ahead
- Ready in less than 30 minutes
Featured Ingredients
Tuna Salad
- Canned tuna: you’ll need 8-oz. canned tuna.
- Cream cheese and mayo: cream cheese and mayonnaise are what make this salad ultra-creamy.
- Veggies: the veggies really one up this tuna melt recipe! Make sure to use onion, celery, pickles, and pickle juice.
- Lawry’s seasoning: for this recipe, you’ll need Lawry’s seasoning. It adds a savory and salty flavor.
Meunster Cheese
We decided to go with muenster cheese because it’s a nice mild cheese that will get you a good cheese pull!
Sourdough Bread
You can really use any kind of bread you want, but sourdough is our favorite. It toasts up really nicely!
How to a Tuna Melt
Mix Tuna Salad
Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Lawry’s, and pickle juice to a bowl and mix to combine. Next, add the tuna, onion, celery, and pickles to the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine and set aside.
Assemble Tuna Melts
Spread ½ tablespoon of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Spread ⅓ cup of the tuna mixture onto each slice of bread. Top each slice of bread with 2 slices of muenster cheese.
Feel free to either keep the tuna melts as open-face sandwiches or top them with an additional piece of buttered bread.
Cook
Oven Directions
Place the 4 melts onto the greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes and serve immediately.
Stovetop Directions
- To make this sandwich on the stove place one slice of cheese on the bread before putting the tuna on.
- Top with another slice of cheese and the second slice of bread.
- Cook on the stove in a cast iron skillet over medium/high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.
How to Get Grilled Cheese Vibes
We love this recipe for tuna melt because it gives us ll the grilled cheese vibes! Here’s how to do it:
- Butter the bread: make sure to butter both pieces of bread so they crisp up in the pan.
- Oil the pan: if you oil the pan, you ensure that the bread will get nice and crispy!
Storage
We recommend eating your tuna melt immediately. If you want to make it ahead, we suggest storing the tuna salad on its own in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Tuna Melt
Ingredients
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 8 oz. canned tuna drained
- ¼ medium red onion minced
- 1 stalk celery minced
- ¼ cup minced dill pickles
- 4-8 slices sourdough bread
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 8 slices muenster cheese
Instructions
- If you're using the oven method, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or oil the pan with olive oil. Set aside.
- Next, mke the tuna salad. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Lawry’s, and pickle juice to a bowl and mix to combine. Next, add the tuna, onion, celery, and pickles to the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine and set aside.
- To assemble the melts, spread ½ tablespoon of butter on one side of each slice of bread. Spread ⅓ cup of the tuna mixture onto each slice of bread. Top each slice of bread with 2 slices of muenster cheese. Feel free to keep the tuna melt an open face sandwich, or top with 1 more piece of buttered bread.
- Oven Directions: Place the 4 melts onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes and serve immediately.
- Stovetop Directions: melt about 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large cast iron skilet over medium/high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
- To make the tuna salad a little drier, after draining the tuna, place it in a paper towel and squeeze out extra liquid.
- No Lawry’s, no problem. Use salt instead.
First off, I ditched the celery because, you know, it’s celery. That said, I ask you, is there anything more sad than a half-eaten tuna melt? No. No, there is not, and do you know just how many half-eaten tuna melts you’ll possess once you offer these to your family? None. You will have exactly none. There may be crumbs and a bit of melted butter on the plate, but no food will remain. These sandwiches are that good, Really.
I’ve made these a couple different ways; with canned tuna, and with a nice chunk of leftover Ahi. Make them. Make them. Eat them up, yum!