Tuna Avocado Boats
This post is brought to you by Bella Portofino.
Despite being a relatively picky eater growing up, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for canned tuna.
My mom, inspired by her Italian heritage and own mother’s cooking, used to prepare it for me and my sisters in a variety of ways when we were little: simple fresh pastas, sandwiches, or salads.
In fact, canned tuna is actually a fairly common ingredient in classic Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. It was a regular staple in our pantry and continues to be to this day.
If you’ve ever snubbed your nose at canned tuna (I get it, but hear me out!), I urge you to try tuna packed in extra virgin olive oil, otherwise referred to as Italian ‘tonno-style’ canned tuna. I was lucky to have it from an early age and never turned back.
The taste and texture of extra virgin olive oil packed tuna is unparalleled to other varieties of canned tuna. Seriously. It makes a world of difference.
Extra virgin olive oil packed tuna is far more delicate and subtle in flavor. It also lends itself to much simpler, fresher preparations. There is no need to mask it with mayonnaise or other ingredients. Less is more.
For today’s recipe, I’ve teamed up with Bella Portofino, which recently launched a brand new line of extra virgin olive oil packed Yellowfin and Albacore canned tuna.
Not only is Bella Portofino’s canned tuna delicious (seriously, you have to try it!), it is made with real, simple ingredients: wild-caught, hand-selected tuna fillets, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. That’s it.
Bella Portofino tuna is also non-GMO, soy-free, and dolphin safe, all three of which are very important to me as a consumer.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing a bunch of recipes highlighting the versatility of Bella Portofino canned tuna. These Italian tuna avocado boats are first on the list, and I’m really excited to share them with you!
As I mentioned last week, I’m all for quick, easy meals during the summer months. If a recipe doesn’t require any time spent over the stovetop, even better. These tuna avocado boats can be thrown together in less than 20 minutes and are packed with healthy protein and fat. They also happen to be dairy and gluten free.
I actually made a similar dish during my Whole30 challenge a few months ago, and it was one of my favorite go-to meals, because it was quick, nutritious, and kept me full for hours.
The basic concept?
An incredibly fresh tuna salad served in pitted avocado halves. The salad is a simple combination of Bella Portofino Yellowfin tuna, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, Italian parsley, and fresh lime juice.
The flavor reminds me of a classic Nicoise salad, and is bright in flavor and full of texture. The lime juice (I prefer lime to lemon for this preparation!) gives it that touch of acid that helps pull it all together.
Yellowfin tuna has a tender texture and slightly mellower flavor, which lends itself well to this application. While the tuna salad tastes great on it’s own, it really shines when paired with the creamy avocado.
These tuna avocado boats make for a fantastic lunch to take to work (you can pack the tuna salad and avocado separately!) or easy dinner for busy weeknights!
Tuna Avocado Boats
Ingredients
- 2 (4½-ounce) cans Portofino Solid Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil chunked (not drained)
- ½ small red onion finely diced (roughly ¼ cup)
- 8 pitted green (Castelvetrano) olives chopped
- 8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained and chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice plus more for serving
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large ripe avocados
- microgreens for garnishing (optional)
Instructions
- Place the tuna in a medium mixing bowl. Add the red onion, olives, tomatoes, parsley, and lime juice and stir gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Halve and pit the avocados. Scoop the tuna mixture into the pitted avocado halves (if desired, you can scoop out a small amount of the avocado to create more space for salad). Garnish with microgreens as desired, and a light squeeze of lime juice. Serve immediately.
This post was created in partnership with Bella Portofino and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own. Thank you for your support!
13 Comments on “Tuna Avocado Boats”
Such a good summer recipe. I like to put the tuna on avocado toast instead.
I’ve made it , loved it and will make it again tonight.
This is so good and easy, thanks for a great recipe
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This looks so delicious for summer! I am eager to find this brand of tuna. Thank you for all of the great summer recipes. You inspire me to keep it fresh and healthy.
> If a recipe doesn’t require any time spent over the stovetop, even better.
FOR SURE. It is nice to have an arsenal of quick, easy, and tasty dishes for nights that something needs to be thrown together quick or it is just to dang hot to cook.
Looks really healthy! I like the idea of bringing it to work – I need some good healthy food – PJ
I love tuna in olive oil! Was a total game-changer when I discovered it! Also, this post reminds me – please do an ingredient spotlight on avocados!! They refuse to cooperate and either go bad or never ripen haha. My avocado game needs help 🙂 Love your blog posts!
THESE LOOK SO GOOD! What a great meal idea. I meeaaaan, avocado boats for life. xo
This looks amazing! I just got a bag of mini avocados (single serving size, they were labeled) at Trader Joe’s and what a great way to use them! I totally agree about the superior taste of olive oil paced tuna over water-packed. (My brand is Wild Planet, but I’ll definitely be checking out your recommendation!) Americans all really went low-fat crazy thirty years or so ago, and I went too, but like you, growing up with some Italian blood, I went back to olive oil-packed for everything appropriate, the old way, back some years now. Including the sun-dried tomatoes, which were incredibly not the same without the oil. EVOO forever!! Thanks for the great recipes.
This looks delicious! I agree, it sounds like a Nicoise salad, and I love the idea of this as a simple and healthy lunch to take to work. Also the idea that getting the tuna packed in olive oil means no need for mayo!
This looks so good, and I have always used the water packed tuna, but now I cannot wait to try the olive oil packed type. I think my husband might like the oil packed one. He is not a fan of tuna in any form. But this just sounds and looks to amazing not to try!!
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much Cindy! You definitely have to try the extra virgin olive oil packed tuna, it is so much more flavorful, moist, and tender. I’ve had friends and family members that have disliked tuna in the past, and have completely changed their opinion of it once they’ve tasted the olive oil packed variety.