I love a tuna melt.

College: they were my late night food of choice. Pregnancy: I craved them constantly.

Noticing a theme here?

In college, I struggled with disordered eating and not allowing all foods. And so, a simple food that I loved – but that was considered “off limits” – was what I gravitated towards for late night eats.

During pregnancy, it’s recommended to limit tuna to about 1-2 times per week. And so what did I crave often? You get the picture.

I talk about it a lot, but allowance is so important in building a healthy relationship with food.

Without it, we aren’t truly able to listen to our bodies or understand our cravings. Instead, we hyper focus on what’s not allowed. Those foods go on a pedestal and become all that we want.

Alternatively, when all foods are allowed, you’re able to take a step back and really understand what it is that your body wants.

Instead of “I can’t have a tuna melt but I want one so badly,” the internal dialogue becomes “I can have anything I want right now, what sounds good?”

And that shift is everything.

It takes into account an intuitive eating concept called body and food congruence. It’s one of my favorite concepts!

It’s the idea that we should aim to align what we want to eat with what sounds good in our bodies and how we want to feel.

For example, on a cold day when you’re really hungry, you might crave something warm and hearty. Or if you’re hanging out at the pool on a hot summer day and just want a taste of something sweet, an ice cream might fit the bill.

For me, now that all foods are definitely allowed, I still love a tuna melt on the reg. They’re the perfect meal! Carbs, protein, and fat (aka they’re filling and satisfying) and they’re always so good.

Why You’ll Love This Crispy Veggie Tuna Melt

IMO, veggie tuna is elite. Yes, tuna salad on its own is good, but once you add the different flavors and textures from various vegetables, you’re in a whole other ball game.

This version is loaded with shredded carrots, diced celery, diced red onion, relish, and of course, dill. You can’t have tuna without dill!

To tie everything together, it uses a mix of mayo, dijon mustard, and lemon. And don’t forget the salt!

All of these flavors together make something truly incredible.

Then as tuna melts go, melted cheese is added on top. I love a tuna melt with fresh tomato slices on top of that too. But you do you 🙂

Lastly, the bread is key. To me, sourdough + a tuna melt is a match made in heaven. The key is to lightly butter the bread and broil it on each side before adding the tuna.

This gives you bread that’s crispy – not soggy – and the perfect crunch in each bite.

How To Make the Crispy Veggie Tuna Melt

Prepare the tuna

Add the tuna to a bowl and break it into small pieces using a fork.

Add the red onion, celery, carrots, sweet relish, and dill to the bowl. Add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

Mix ingredients

Mix until well combined. Set aside.

Broil bread and add tuna

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the oven to broil. Spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of all the bread slices. Broil for 2-5 minutes until golden, watching closely so that it doesn’t burn.

Flip the bread and broil for another few minutes until golden.

Add the tuna to 2 pieces of bread (if making 2 sandwiches, see notes for making 1 sandwich at a time).

Add cheese

Add 2 tablespoons of cheese on top of each slice of bread with tuna.

Melt cheese

Place in the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

Add tomato

Add tomato slices on top, followed the remaining slice of bread. Cut the sandwich in half.

Cut sandwich

Add tomato slices on top, followed the remaining slice of bread. Cut the sandwich in half.

What To Serve With Crispy Veggie Tuna Melt

Spicy Edamame Dip: Want to level up your tuna melt? Add this Spicy Edamame Dip on top. Or have it on the side with crunchy carrots to dip. Dream lunch!
Crispy Parmesan Smashed Brussels Sprouts: One of my favorite restaurants in NYC has a tuna melt on their menu that you can get with crispy Brussels on the side. Don’t knock it til you try it – this is such a delicious lunch.
Smashed Cucumber Salad with Marinated Feta: Add a salad with your tuna melt with the ultimate filling lunch. This Smashed Cucumber Salad is so good!
Strawberry Burrata Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts: Another salad to go with your tuna melt. In the summer, it doesn’t get better than this Strawberry Burrata Salad.
Crispy Carrot Fries: These Crispy Carrot Fries are one of my favorite ways to eat carrots. They’re the perfect addition to any sandwich.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Tuna: Canned tuna is the best. Easy, inexpensive, and convenient. I typically buy wild albacore tuna.
Red onion: Red onion is a must for flavor. If needed, it can replaced with diced shallot.
Celery: Celery and tuna just go together. Unless you really don’t like celery, don’t skip it.
Carrots: While carrots aren’t necessarily traditional in tuna salad, they add a fun texture and sweetness to this veggie version.
Relish: Relish is the secret sauce of this tuna sauce. It adds so much flavor. Look for a small jar of relish – it’ll last a while!
Fresh dill: To me, dill and tuna just go together. A little fresh dill goes a long way, although if you don’t have fresh, you can use dried dill too – you’ll just need less of it.
Mayonnaise: Most tuna salad recipes are loaded with mayo. This one uses mayo, but also adds flavor by adding other things too.
Dijon mustard: Just a little Dijon goes a long way and adds a lot of flavor to this tuna salad. I love a grainy version.
Lemon: A small squeeze of lemon adds freshness to this tuna salad.
Bread: I recommended sourdough bread, but any bread will do!
Butter: A little goes a long way – make sure to add a little butter to both sides of the bread before broiling so that the bread gets nice and crispy.
Mozzarella cheese: I used pre-shredded mozzarella cheese. You can also use cheddar if you prefer.