Even if you love certain foods, there’s probably always an opportunity to make them even better.
For instance, it’s easy to spice up ordinary tuna salad with some of these ingredients:
Hot sauce
While some people appreciate the mildness of tuna salad, you can really take things up a notch by adding in some spicy flavors. If you love hot sauce on other foods, why not try it on tuna salad? Before you just start randomly throwing in hot sauce, think about the flavors you want to bring out. A habanero-based hot sauce can really add in some spice, while a green jalapeno-based sauce is lower in terms of heat. Vinegar-based hot sauces add more acidity to tuna salad.
Jalapenos
Speaking of jalapenos, the mild pepper can give your tuna salad a bit of a kick. While jalapenos do rank on the lower end of the hot pepper scale, they still bring at least a little heat. Finely diced pickled jalapenos tend to have less heat too, so they may be a good addition for those who want a little extra flavor, but still want their tuna salad on the mild side.
Curry powder
Curry powder is a blend of spices, which could include ground chili peppers, turmeric, cardamom, and curry leaf. Mixing some into tuna salad gives it extra color and some extra flavor.
Dijon mustard
If you’re not against adding a little mustard to your mayo-based salad, try using Dijon mustard. It has more flavor than plain yellow mustard, and less mayo means a healthier tuna salad, too. Not only is a healthy choice, but a flavorful one, as well.
Lemon zest
Finally, lemon zest can help boost the citrus flavor of tuna salad, without reaching for another lemon. It’s less acidic than lemon juice, but it’s also a little bitter. Lemon zest also helps introduce some bright yellow coloring to mealtime.