Tuna Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated March 29, 2018
Credit: Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
These terrific recipes include grilled niçoise tuna steaks and mustard-seared tuna with shallot cream.
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Asian Tuna Tartare

Credit: © Chris Chen
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This tuna tartare is loaded with flavorful Asian spices and ingredients.

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Tuna Niçoise Burgers

Credit: STEPHANIE FOLEY
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This tuna burger offers the flavors of a Niçoise salad, on a bun.

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Tuna, Green Bean And Potato Salad

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A recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, from the 2007 Classic in Aspen.

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Seared Tuna with Kimchi and Scallion Pancakes

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Christopher Lee's simple grilled tuna and crispy-chewy scallion pancakes are terrific, but what makes the dish so sensational is his kimchi, a version of the traditional Korean pickled-vegetable condiment. Unconventionally sweetened with honey and orange juice, it's utterly original and completely delicious.

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Oregon Tuna Melts

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Approaching tuna-melt perfection, Tommy Habetz's sandwiches have the ideal tuna-to-cheese ratio. His smart idea: using balsamic vinaigrette in place of mayonnaise.

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Spice-Crusted Tuna with Thai Snow Pea Salad

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Hearty-healthy tuna is a high-protein source of omega-3 fatty acids. Andrew Murray pairs it with a vibrant salad made with crisp snow peas, a good source of B vitamins and vitamin C.

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Fresh Tuna and Butter Lettuce Wraps with Yuzu Ponzu

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A recipe from Emeril Lagasse, from the 2007 Classic in Aspen.

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Grilled Niçoise Tuna Steaks

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Salade Niçoise is one of the great summer dishes of Southern France. It's the centerpiece of a party that's all about sunny Mediterranean style, from the wine to the plates to the tea towels.

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Fresh Tuna Salad with Avocado

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Nan McEvoy created this salad after falling in love with the incredible olive oil-poached tuna prepared by her friend Paul Bertolli, the former chef at Oliveto's in nearby Oakland. McEvoy uses albacore tuna here, but any fresh tuna will do. In addition to spooning the salad into avocado halves, she also uses it as a sandwich filling and a topping for crostini.

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Butter Bean, Tuna and Celery Salad

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Big, creamy butter beans give a tuna and celery salad terrific heartiness. The salad would also be delicious spooned over slices of warm grilled country bread.

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Grilled Tuna with Smoked-Almond Romesco Sauce

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Nick Fauchald adds fabulous smoky flavors to the Catalan sauce romesco by swapping in smoked almonds for the usual plain kind and adding a touch of pimentón de la Vera (powdered, smoked Spanish red peppers).

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Tuna Ceviche with Avocado and Cilantro

Credit: ANTONIS ACHILLEOS
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With only a few ingredients, Rick Bayless's salpimentado (salt-and-pepper) ceviche is typical of what one would find at stands around the southern tip of Baja. Cooks often make it with sierra, a large and meaty Mexican fish, but tuna works just as well.

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Samoan-Style Tuna-and-Cucumber Salad

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"In Samoa, insanely good tuna is cheap and plentiful; a 20-pound fish might go for $5," says Andrew Zimmern. "Samoans season raw tuna with coconut milk, lime and fermented sea cucumber intestine, called se'e. At home I skip the se'e in favor of fish sauce to give the dish a salty balance."

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Seared Tuna Steaks with Citrusy Soy Sauce

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A former Greek philosophy professor, Abe Schoener of The Scholium Project in Suisun Valley, California, has a cult following for his experimental methods. One of Schoener's famous wines is The Prince in His Caves, a Sauvignon Blanc he ferments on its skins, then ages in oak. Wine director John Locke of Soif in Santa Cruz, California, thinks the luscious, funky wine is best with funky flavors, like in the citrusy soy sauce here.

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Crispy Tuna with Tuna-Caper Sauce

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Lidia Bastianich buys spectacular whole bluefin, then someone in her restaurant kitchen cuts it to her specifications. This recipe is already incredibly simple; just be sure to buy sushi-grade tuna fillets.

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Mustard-Seared Tuna with Shallot Cream

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At Ten Minutes by Tractor, chef Stuart Bell's French-inflected dishes showcase the Mornington winery's stellar Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Here, Dijon mustard gives a nod to Burgundy, while the eggplant-olive relish references Provence.

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Sesame-Crusted Tuna with Ginger Cream

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Hosea Rosenberg created this quickly seared tuna recipe in 2001, when he was head chef at Boulder's Dandelion restaurant. It immediately became his dad's favorite dish. He spikes the ginger cream with Sriracha, the spicy red Thai chile sauce.

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Tuna and Red Pepper Mousse Toasts

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The mousse can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Tabbouleh with Tuna

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It seems that every Middle Eastern household has its own version of tabbouleh. Some people prefer the salad made with mostly herbs and greens; others include tomatoes; and some add spices like Aleppo pepper, sumac, and allspice. Our version, made with a little tuna, becomes a main course. Serve it as is or stuffed into pitas.

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Atún Encebollado 
(Tuna Smothered in Onions)


Credit: Abby Hocking / Food & Wine
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Despite its 3,000-year history of catching wild bluefin tuna, Spain’s tuna culture has largely been limited to canned and salted tuna products. This luscious dish, a staple of southern Spain, is one of the exceptions.

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