Easy tuna melt with cucumber on a brioche bun

5 from 1 vote

Easy tuna melt with cucumber on a brioche bun

This gourmet tuna melt takes more time than slapping tuna and mayo on white bread. But it's so worth it. You'll get a toasty sandwich oozing with cheese and flavorful spices plus a crunch from the cucumber. Serve with a pickle spear and your favorite chips!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time0 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: carbs, comfort, family-friendly, summer

Servings: people

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Anna Rider

Cost: $10

Equipment

Sieve
Chopping Board
Knife
Mixing Bowl
Frying Pan
Spatula

Ingredients

12 oz. tuna canned

Salad dressing

6 tablespoons mayonnaise use as much as desired
2 tablespoons relish dill relish or sweet relish
2 tablespoons onion red onion or shallot is ideal
½ teaspoon Salt sea salt, optional
½ teaspoon Black pepper freshly ground
1 tablespoon Oregano dried
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder optional

Sandwich

2 burger buns brioche buns or hearty sliced bread
1 tablespoon butter

Toppings

2 small Cucumbers Persian cucumbers are best
4 slices cheese sliced muenster or provolone

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Gather the ingredients.

Prepare the tuna salad

Drain the tuna. Leave the tuna in the strainer to remove as much water as possible.
Finely dice the red onion. Thinly slice the cucumbers lengthwise.
Mix the drained tuna, 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise, relish, onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl until well combined. The tuna salad is ready.

Toast the bread

Separate the burger buns. Spread the remaining mayonnaise on the buns.
Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan.
Once the butter has melted, add the bread to the pan, mayonnaise-side down.
Once the buns are golden brown, remove them from the pan. Set aside.

Assemble the sandwich

Add the cheese to the top bun. There's 3 ways you can do it:
A) If you don't mind cold cheese, place the slices of cheese on the warm bread.
B) If your pan isn't nonstick, add the top buns back to the warm pan with the mayo-side facing up. Add the sliced cheese on top of the bun.
C) If your pan is nonstick, add the cheese to the warm pan and put the top burger bun over the cheese. The residual heat from the pan will melt the cheese.
While the cheese is warming up, scoop the tuna salad onto the bottom bun. Place a generous heaping.
Add the sliced cucumbers on top of the tuna salad.
Check on the cheese. If melting in the pan, carefully move the top bun and place over the cucumber tuna salad.
Enjoy your tuna melt!

Notes

The recipe is for 2 people but you'll have leftovers. Enjoy the leftover tuna salad the next day with another toasted bun. Or check out these ideas on how to eat tuna salad.

Here are a few tips from Lacey:

If I'm making it for my hubby, I add a little finely chopped jalapeno and two splashes of hot sauce.
Sometimes I like to eat the last of the tuna with crackers as a snack. In that case, I add a little horseradish to give it a kick.

Nutrition