Cranberry Pecan Tuna Salad is a perfectly balanced salad filled with delicious Island Trollers albacore tuna, tart and sweet dried cranberries, crunchy toasted pecans, fresh fruity grapes. This salad comes together quickly and is so delicious!
I’ve partnered with Island Trollers to bring this fresh tuna salad to you, but as always, all opinions are all my own.
Want to read about how I first got started with Island Trollers? Take a look here at my Tuna Chowder post and recipe.
Be sure to try some of my other Island Trollers Tuna recipes. You’re sure to love the Albacore tuna tower and Tuna egg and cheese crepes.
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Lunch salad
It’s perfect for a special brunch, luncheon, baby shower, bridal shower, or just because.
This is based off of one of my most popular recipes for Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad.
I have also made a vegetarian version of that with my Cranberry Pecan Broccoli Salad.
So, I thought I’d try and make a tuna salad based off of the same recipe.
And, of my gosh was this Cranberry Pecan Tuna Salad good!
Island Trollers
In my opinion, Island Trollers is the best canned tuna there is. It’s fresh. It’s delicious.
Once you open the can, the tuna itself looks like they took a large piece of fresh tuna and put it in the can. Well, it turns out that the tuna looks so amazing because it’s “raw packed and cooked only once. This is sushi grade albacore in a can, the finest you will find anywhere in the world!”
Don’t drain that tuna
If you’re making this recipe with Island Trollers Albacore Tuna (which I HIGHLY recommend), don’t drain off those tasty juices from the can. Those are the juices from the fish itself, not just plain ol’ water or oil.
Those juices are loaded with Omega 3s. So, it might feel a little weird not to drain the tuna, but don’t do it.
Once you open the can, and break the chucks of tuna apart, the juices are absorbed back into the tuna.
Surprisingly good tuna salad
I’ll be honest; I wasn’t sure how tuna and cranberries would go together. But not only do they go together, they are amazingly delicious together!
The other ingredient that I questioned was the pecans. I mean, tuna and pecans? But they are great. It’s the perfect balance of savory, sweet, salty, and crunchy.
This salad is super easy to make too
Just chop the onions – you’ll want them pretty small. Soak them in water to get rid of the harsh strong onion flavor. Toss in the tuna, dried cranberries, halved grapes, and dressing in. Then drain off the onions and mix it all up.
And, it’s so much fun to be able to serve something a little different for a special lunch.
Recipe notes
I like the combination of sour cream and mayonnaise in tuna salads, egg salads, and potato salads. Mayonnaise by itself is so heavy to me. So the sour cream lightens it up a bit. The sour cream isn’t quite as salty as mayo, so by itself it tastes a little flat. But together, I think they add just the right flavors.
Serve this salad on a plate as a lovely light course. Or, serve it in a sandwich – try whole wheat bread or croissants. Or, serve it with crackers (this is my favorite way to eat tuna salad).
Check out some of my other Island Trollers recipes
I have so many delicious tuna recipes that you’ll love. Try Island Albacore Tuna Poke, Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich, and Guacamole and Tuna Stuffed Avocado for starters!
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Cranberry Pecan Tuna Salad Recipe
Cranberry Pecan Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- 2 cans Island Trollers Albacore Tuna 7.5 ounce tuna, undrained
- 1 cup green grapes cut in half
- 2/3 cup toasted pecans coarsely chopped and cooled
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayo
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Soak chopped red onion in cold water while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Place tuna and all the juices from the cans in a medium bowl, and break the chunks of tuna apart with a fork. The tuna will absorb the liquid.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the tuna, and toss to mix so everything is covered with dressing.
- Serve immediately, or cover tightly and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
I really love the flavor combination! Looks so delish!
I buy wild caught albacore tuna, but I haven’t had Island Trollers. I just checked out their site and love that they have mini cans and so many other options too. Delicious tuna salad, Debi. Perfect to pack up and bring to work.
This Tuna Salad is the perfect combination of savory, sweet, and salty,
I love putting pecans in my tuna salad and I have always loved the cranberry/pecan duo, but for some reason, I have never put cranberries in my tuna salad. This really works. Love it. Thank you for your recipe!