New Twists on Classic Tuna Favorites

One of today’s hottest food trends starts with an old one: classic comfort food. Featuring tuna favorites with new flavors and ingredients fuels enthusiasm in the kitchen and at the table. Searches for tuna noodle casserole and tuna salad recipes have spiked this year, according to Google data.

Where Web activity abounds, foodservice appetites follow. Online food fads, including those on social media, can form the seeds of menu success and inspire your next LTO, according to this year’s What’s Hot Culinary Forecast from the National Restaurant Association (NRA).

Globally inspired

Classic comfort foods and “melty cheeses” are “a safe way for consumers to sample unique ingredients and flavors from other regions,” says the NRA. Foods and flavors create an important cultural connection for many. As explained in the Tunaversity course, The New Menu Planning, we’ve seen “an uptick in comfort flavors with a flair for spice and heat,” and spicy LTOs have grown. “71% of U.S. menus carry spicy as a menu call-out,” Kerry Flavor Forecast data reveal. It’s no surprise, then, that popular reinventions of tuna comfort food recipes incorporate globally inspired flavor twists.

Tuna salad with a twist

With its prevalence in global cuisine, tuna complements a range of culinary ingredients. Consider any of these twists for tuna salad:

• Play with the base: mashed avocado, guacamole, and Greek yogurt are all good choices.
• Replace the traditional creamy mayonnaise base with pesto
• Experiment with fresh herbs, such as basil, chives, chervil, dill, thyme, or mint
• Switch lemon juice to lime: chili flakes, lime juice, and fish sauce—or lime, cilantro, and your favorite condiment for heat
• Stir in minced anchovies for an exciting bite
• Top a tuna melt with olive tapenade, fennel, and provolone cheese
• Add fresh berries or chopped apples to tuna salad for a higher-fiber recipe
• Stir in pickled vegetables, grated cucumber (drained), or sundried tomatoes—or layer the salad with kimchi or giardiniera
• For a tropical take, try pineapple, mango, avocado, red onion, red bell pepper, and Greek yogurt
• Thin-slice radishes or carrots into the sandwich, or try unusual greens such as wasabi arugula
• Top with toasted nuts
• For tuna melts, explore new cheese options, such as Gouda, fontina, Gruyere, and more. Consider incorporating spinach, artichokes, or thin tomato slices.

Tuna noodle casserole

It’s easy to transform the classic tuna noodle casserole recipe of egg noodles, mushroom soup, peas and celery, and cheese. Just take these ingredients one at a time.

• Noodles: Swap in other pastas, such as rotini or cavatappi. Try out a whole-grain or colorful vegetable pasta. Consider color, shape, and form for delivery of the creamy casserole sauce. You can also switch to stuffed pasta like jumbo shells filled with creamy tuna casserole base and topped with cheese—a whole new concept.
• Mushroom soup: Opening a can has been replaced with countless ideas. For starters, most aficionados prefer to make their own béchamel sauce base. Incorporations like minced shallots, sautéed mushrooms, and fresh herbs elevate the dish. Another option is to swirl sour cream into the sauce—or replace it entirely. Here’s an opportunity to introduce new flavor profiles with horseradish, capers, or hot peppers and spicy condiments.
• Peas and celery: Vegetables add flavor and dimension to the casserole, but there’s no need to stick to the classic short list. Chopped carrots or spinach are popular additions to add flavor and color. Going more vegetable-forward increases the appeal to everyone who is trying harder to increase their intake. Mushrooms add more depth than the traditional mushroom soup, and their savory umami impact is satisfying. Jalapeno and other hot pepper options kick up the flavor. Another option is to arrange colorful roasted vegetables or dramatic roasted portabella slices on top.
• Cheese: Melty cheese helps define the dish. From Cheddar to spicy co-jack or Parmesan to Provolone, Gouda, fontina, or Gruyere, a palette of cheese profiles awaits the adventurous chef.
• Garnishes: Chopped, roasted sweet peppers, hot peppers, green onions, French fried onions, potato chips, cracker crumbs, croutons, and herbed breadcrumbs are excellent options. So is an artfully added herb garnish, a sprinkling of smoked paprika, or a few lemon twists.

Promoting tuna fare

New twists on tuna classics pair the old with the new in ways that are uniquely satisfying to today’s consumers. Try  some new versions of these tuna comfort foods, and don’t hesitate to be creative with menu names. Promoting your new offerings with signage and social media call-outs can produce winners for your menu re-vamp or LTO.