Viral Tunacado Sandwich: Make This Now
We rarely have our “make this now” recipes unless we know for sure it’s going to be a hit. This tunacado sandwich recipe is truly a make this now! It’s gone viral on social media for many reasons and we didn’t think it was worth the time. But we thought what-the-heck, we have the ingredients, it’s lunch time and we’re hungry. Super glad we didn’t judge for too long because it’s a delicious sandwich that has us wondering why we never put 1+1+1 together?!
What is a Tunacado?
It’s like a tuna pannini sandwich but loaded with more yummy flavors. A popular juice chain called Joe & the Juice started serving this sandwich and everyone went nuts. It’s bascially a smooth, whipped tuna salad with pesto, avocado served on toasted bread. But what makes it super different is that the bread is super thin and super crispy. The crunch of the thin bread is almost cracker-like, but with more chew. So you can all the flavors and layers living within fantastic grilled bread. You have to taste it to believe it.
Video: Viral Tunacado Sandwich Recipe
Our Tunacado sandwich is slightly different from Joe & The Juice
Our tunacado sandwich recipe isn’t the exact same but rather a copy cat version with our popular tuna salad recipe with sauteed onions. We don’t whip our tuna salad. Sure, it’s a creamy texture but we prefer our tuna salad a little more chunky. Because, for our own tuna salad version, we love adding chunks of celery, onion and other herbs so it would suck if all that veggie goodness is pulverized. Honestly, we think it tastes better than what you get at Joe & The Juice because our tuna salad is so flavorful.
Tunacado Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Tuna Salad
- 10 ounces (284 g) tuna drained (preferably a good chunky tuna in olive oil), (usually 2 cans that are 5 oz each)
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil or butter
- 1 medium onion , or 2 shallots chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) mayonnaise , or to personal taste
- 1 stalk celery , diced
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) diced pickles or relish (sweet or dill depending on your preference)
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) minced fresh dill , or 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) minced parsley
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) mustard , or more to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper , to taste
- zest from 1 medium lemon
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) hot sauce or Sriracha sauce – optional
- 1 jalapeno , sliced – optional
For the Tunacado Sandwich
- 8 slices sourdough bread or bread of choice
- 4 Tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil or butter
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) basil pesto
- 1 large avocado , sliced
- 1 large tomato , sliced
- 4 slices melting cheese like cheddar (optional)
Instructions
Make Our Tuna Salad
- Heat pan on medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon (15ml) of oil and the chopped onions or shallots. Add 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) salt.
- Stir and sauté onions until browned and caramelized. Set aside to cool.
- In bowl, combine cooked onions, 3 Tablespoons (45ml) mayonnaise (or to preference), diced celery, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) diced pickles or relish, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) minced dill, 2 Tablespoons (30ml) minced parsley, 1 Tablespoon (15ml) mustard, and black pepper.
- Add drained tuna to bowl and gently break up large chunks if your tuna is nice and flakey.
- Add lemon zest, 2 teaspoons (10ml) lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce over the tuna. If you’re adding hot sauce or chiles, then add it now over the tuna.
- Gently stir everything together until combined. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Make the Tunacado Sandwich
- Set up your sandwich ingredients: sliced tomato, avocado and get pesto ready. Set aside.
- Add butter or brush olive oil to both sides of the bread slices.
- Using a panini press or warm skillet, toast or crisp the bread. Make sure the bread is nice is crispy because that's what makes the sandwich so great.
- Spread pesto over the crispy bread, top with tomato, tuna salad and avocado. If you want cheese, add it now.
- Top with another slice of the crispy bread and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Want to Add Cheese To Your Version of Tunacado ?
Sure! It’s your sandwich and if you want to make it a tunacado melt, then go for it. The original version does not have cheese, other than the cheese that is existing in the pesto. It’ll be delicious and you won’t regret making this for lunch or dinner! So remember: The crispy bread is what makes this tuna salad, avocado and pesto sandwich unique. Use what ever bread you have in your pantry but toast it crispy! Crisp the toast on a pan, in a panini maker or even in the toaster: extra crispy.
More Recipe to Make Everyday
- This tuna and spinach bruschetta was so amazing upon first bite.
- chicken pesto pasta salad
- everyday basil pesto recipe
