This easy homemade Tuna Mousse is such a fantastic and versatile appetizer, making it perfect for your next dinner party. Canned tuna, mayonnaise, onions, lemon juice, dill, and pickled jalapenos are combined in the food processor to make a smooth, creamy, and flavorful mousse that’s immediately ready to spread on anything your heart desires.
I’ve enjoyed plenty of tuna salads in my day, but there’s just something so lovely about combining the traditional ingredients and blending them up into a smooth, salty, and luxurious dip.
Tuna Mousse is essentially Italy’s answer to an American Tuna salad - it’s an easy recipe, yet has a great depth of flavor. In Italy, Tuna Mousse is typically served during aperitivo, but you can also serve it on sandwiches or with raw veggies for dipping - it's one of my favorite easy recipes.
If you are looking for more seafood ideas check out my Lobster Cakes, Easy Crab Cakes, Traeger Grilled Salmon, or Traeger Smoked Salmon.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick And Easy: This creamy mousse comes together in just a few minutes. It's perfect for a quick lunch or snack.
- High Protein and Packed With Flavor: Canned tuna is a signature high-protein food. Blending it into a mouse is an easy way to get protein into your diet. It tastes great and requires minimal effort.
- Simple Ingredients: This tuna spread only requires a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your fridge and pantry!
Ingredients
- Canned Tuna: I recommend using Wild Planet or Safe Catch canned wild-caught tuna. Either of these brands will be your best choice. You can typically find both of these brands at your grocery store and even at Costco.
- Mayonnaise: Use an avocado oil-based mayo such as Primal Kitchen Foods or Chosen Foods.
- Onion: I recommend using a red onion, however when I photographed this, I only had yellow onions on hand, and it worked just fine.
- Lemon Juice: You will want to use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not the stuff from the bottle. If you don't have lemon juice, you can add a splash of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar to provide a touch of acid. Feel free to also use lemon zest as well.
- Dill: I used dried, but if you have fresh dill that would be ideal.
- Pickled Jalapenos: I love pickled jalapenos; they add a touch of heat and acidity, but are far more mild than fresh jalapenos. They add just enough kick and pizazz to make it extra interesting. If you don’t like heat, just leave them out.
- Sea Salt: You just need a pinch of salt, but you can certainly adjust to taste.
- Pepper
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Extra Rich And Creamy: To make this extra rich and creamy, you can try mixing in a small amount of heavy cream, unsalted butter, and parmesan cheese.
- Less Spicy: If you don't like heat and omit the pickled jalapenos, try adding a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce for a little kick without the spice.
- Salmon: If you are not a fan of tuna or don't have any on hand, try using canned Alaskan salmon instead.
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How To Make Tuna Mousse
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. Add all ingredients into the base of a food processor and blend until you have a creamy texture
Step 2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed, to ensure everything is incorporated
Step 3. Let the mixture chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. When ready to serve, place it in a serving dish, and top it with a bit of olive oil if you like, then enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Use Good Quality Ingredients: When cooking it’s always important to use good quality ingredients. Not only will it benefit your health, but the taste of good quality fresh ingredients is superior.
- Scrape Down The Bowl: When processing the tuna mousse, make sure you scrape down the bowl of the food processor with a spatula, so everything is incorporated and smooth.
What To Serve With Tuna Mousse
You can use tuna mousse as a sandwich filling or as a dip or spread. Serve with any of the following:
- Thin Crisp Crackers
- Red Peppers
- Carrots
- Celery Sticks
- Radishes
- Endive Leaves
- Crostini
- Fresh Baguette
- Toasted Country Bread
- Pita Chips
- Add it to Salad Bowls
- Butter lettuce cups
- Use it as a filling for a sandwich
Storage and Reheating
- Storage: Store the mousse in an airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheating: This dip is best served cold or at room temperature. There is no need to reheat it.
Recipe FAQs
Tuna mousse is made by combining mayonnaise, canned tuna, onions, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs. In this variation, I also include pickled jalapenos, but you could also omit them.
If you don’t have mayonnaise on hand, you can substitute it with full-fat Greek yogurt, plain yogurt, cream cheese, or ricotta cheese.
Tuna packed in extra virgin olive oil will add additional flavor to the mousse. I’d recommend draining off the olive oil (the flavor will still be infused through the fish) to prevent the mousse from being too runny. On the other hand, if you are watching your fat intake, you may want to use tuna packed in water.
Other Related Seafood Recipes
If you tried this Tuna Mousse or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Tuna Mousse Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Can Wild Tuna Fish Wild Planet or Safe Catch
- 2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
- ¼ Onion red
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice fresh squeezed
- 1 teaspoon Dill
- 3-5 Pickled Jalapenos
- 1 pinch Sea Salt
- 1 pinch Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into the base of a food processor and blend until you have a creamy texture.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed, to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Let the tuna mixture chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
- When ready to serve, place the tuna mousse in a serving dish, and top with a bit of olive oil if you like, then enjoy.
Notes
- Use Good Quality Ingredients: When cooking it’s always important to use good quality ingredients. Not only will it benefit your health, but the taste of good quality fresh ingredients is superior.
- Scrape Down The Bowl: When processing the tuna mousse, make sure you scrape down the bowl of the food processor with a spatula, so everything is incorporated and smooth.
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