Tuna and white bean salad
15 min · 33 g protein · 328 cals / serving
The Tuscan pantry lunch: flaked tuna and creamy cannellini beans tossed with crunchy celery, red onion, capers and a big handful of parsley in a sharp lemon and olive oil dressing, piled over peppery arugula. No mayonnaise and no cooking, ready in ten minutes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
Dressing
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic, grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 cans (5 oz each) canned tuna, drained
- 2 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced, leaves kept
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
To serve
- 5 cups arugula
- 1 1/4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Steps
- Put the sliced red onion in a large bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of the salt. Leave it 5 minutes; the lemon softens its bite and turns it pink.
- Whisk the lemon zest, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, the rest of the salt and the pepper into the onion and lemon juice.
- Add the beans, celery, capers and parsley and toss. Break the tuna into large flakes over the top and fold it in gently, so it stays in chunks.
- Divide the arugula and tomatoes between plates and spoon the tuna and beans over them, with all the dressing from the bottom of the bowl.
Good to know
Tuna in oil or water?
Italians use good tuna packed in olive oil, which is richer and silkier. Drain it well and use it if you prefer; it adds calories: about 64 instead of 73. Water-packed tuna with the olive oil in the dressing is the leaner version here.
Can I make it ahead?
The tuna and bean mixture keeps two days in the fridge and tastes better after an hour. Keep the arugula separate so it does not wilt.
Other beans?
Chickpeas or butter beans both work well in place of the cannellini; with chickpeas it scores about 70 instead of 73.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 82
- Protein
- (42%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (35%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 226 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1312 kcal goes into the pot and 1640 g of ingredients comes out as about 1600 g of food: 82 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.