Sweet Potato Tuna Salad (No Mayo)

4.2

Published Jun 15, 2021, Updated Aug 02, 2023

This post may include affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

With this sweet potato tuna salad recipe the sweet potatoes, hummus and mustard make the tuna salad so creamy you don’t need any mayo. Loaded with protein, gluten-free and dairy-free.

I’ve shared tons of protein salads on my website and for good reason! They’re great for meal prep because they’re super simple to make and they can be eaten in a variety of ways so you won’t get tired of it!

Sweet potato tuna salad served on a bed of lettuce. A fork and a bowl of parsley are beside the salad.

My go-to tuna salad has been a staple in our meal prep routine forever but I recently made this version with a special ingredient you don’t normally see in tuna salad… baked sweet potato chunks.

Most weeks I am meal prepping sweet potatoes and since they’re a great whole-food source of carbs, I like to include them in just about any recipe – especially salads!

Bowl with sweet potatoes, green onion, tuna, hummus, spices, mustard, celery and tomatoes.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

tuna – look for canned tuna that is unsalted and packed in water. I really like the Wild Planet brand.
baked sweet potato – I’m sharing my fool proof method to perfectly baked sweet potatoes below, but feel free to check out the linked blog post for more tips as well.
cherry or grape tomatoes – for a juicy flavor explosion with each bite.
celery – I love the crunch celery adds to this salad.
scallion – add a mild zip thanks to the green onion.
hummus – we’re using hummus in place of mayo for a protein-packed, lightened-up version!
dijon mustard – just a little for added flavor.
sea salt and black pepper – to taste, to bring all of the flavors of the salad together!

Three baked sweet potatoes in a baking dish.

How to Bake Sweet Potatoes

Want to know how to make perfect sweet potatoes, every time? Here is a comprehensive tutorial on perfectly baked sweet potatoes but I’ll give you the cliff notes as well.

Prep your potato – rinse and scrub the sweet potatoes. Use a clean kitchen towel or paper towel to pat dry. Use a fork to polk holes in each potato – I usually do 4-8 holes depending on how big the potato is.

Add oil and salt – Rub a little bit of oil on each potato and sprinkle with salt. You can totally skip the oil and sea salt if you want. The skin won’t be as crisp, but the baked sweet potatoes will still be delicious.

Bake – Place the potatoes in a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake at 400ºF for 60-80 minutes, depending on how big your potatoes are. Flip the potatoes over about halfway through cooking. They’re ready when the flesh is soft. You can test it with a knife!

Side by side photos of bowls. One is of ingredients for sweet potato tune salad before being mixed. The second is the mixed tuna salad.

How to Serve Sweet Potato Tuna Salad

I love how diverse tuna salad is! Here are some serving suggestions:

With crackers for a snack or an appetizer. Try pairing it with my almond flour crackers.
On bread or in a wrap for a sandwich. I like using homemade sourdough or Dave’s Killer bread and adding some extra greens on top as well.
Over a bed of greens for a meal-sized salad. I do this all the time and call it salad on salad.

How to Store Leftover Tuna Salad

Tuna salad stores really well! Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Sweet potato tuna salad served on a bed of lettuce.

More Tuna Recipes to Try:

The Most Popular Protein Salads:

Close up photo of sweet potato tuna salad served on a bed of lettuce.

Save Pin Print

4.20 from 26 votes

No Mayo Sweet Potato Tuna Salad

By: Brittany Mullins

With this sweet potato tuna salad recipe the sweet potatoes, hummus and mustard make the tuna salad so creamy you don’t need any mayo. Loaded with protein, gluten-free and dairy-free.

Prep Time: 10

Servings: 2

Ingredients

▢ 1 5-6 oz can unsalted tuna, packed in water
▢ 1/2 cup baked sweet potato, cooled and chopped into chunks
▢ 1/4 cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
▢ 1/4 cup chopped celery
▢ 1 finely chopped scallion, green part only
▢ 2-3 Tablespoons hummus, I used garlic
▢ 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
▢ sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Bake sweet potato – Make sure you bake your sweet potato first (or ahead of time) so it’s cool enough to handle and chop into chunks.
Drain tuna – Drain tuna and place in a small bowl. Use a fork to break the chunks into small pieces.
Mix remaining ingredients – Add sweet potato chunks, tomatoes, celery and scallion and mix together. Add the hummus and mustard, to moisten the tuna to your preference. I used about 2.5 Tablespoons of hummus.
Season – Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Serve – I enjoyed the tuna salad on top of a salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers and mushrooms but you could easily place it between two slices of whole grain bread (like Ezekiel bread) to make a healthy tuna sandwich.