# Crispy Tuna Melts

Crispy Tuna Melts — a easy recipe with 5 main ingredients, ready in about 15 min and serving 2. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 15 min
- **Serves:** 2
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Tags:** lunch, seafood, quick, american
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/tuna-melts

## Ingredients

- 2 cans tuna
- Mayonnaise _(pantry staple)_
- 1 celery stalk
- 4 slices bread
- Cheddar slices
- Butter

## Instructions

1. Mix tuna with mayo, diced celery, salt, and pepper.
2. Top bread with tuna and cheddar; butter the outsides.
3. Griddle open-faced under the broiler (or closed in a skillet) until melty.

## Tips

- Drain the tuna properly — press it in the tin with the lid. Wet tuna makes soggy bread no matter how well you griddle it.
- Toast the bread on one side before adding the filling. That barrier keeps the underside from going damp.
- Celery isn't filler. It's the only crunch in an otherwise soft sandwich, and without it the texture is monotonous.

## Substitutions

- **Canned tuna:** Salmon, or mashed chickpeas for a vegetarian version that takes the same mayo-and-celery treatment surprisingly well.
- **Mayonnaise:** Greek yoghurt (tangier, lighter), or half and half. Mashed avocado works but browns.
- **Cheddar:** American melts most smoothly, Swiss is the classic diner choice, provolone is mild.
- **Bread:** Rye is traditional and cuts the richness. Sourdough or a sturdy white both work.

## Storage & reheating

The tuna mixture keeps 2 days refrigerated; assemble and griddle fresh. Don't store assembled or cooked melts — the bread is unrecoverable.

## Common questions

### Tuna in oil or water?

Oil-packed has more flavour and a silkier texture; water-packed is leaner and takes mayo better. Either works — drain both thoroughly.

### Open-faced under the broiler or closed in a pan?

Broiled open-faced melts the cheese fastest and keeps the bread crisp. Closed in a pan is more like a grilled cheese and takes longer. Both are in the recipe for a reason.

### How do I stop it going soggy?

Drain the tuna hard, don't over-mayo it, and toast the bread first. Those three fix almost every soggy tuna melt.


_Photo: kweez mcG from London, UK — CC BY 2.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tuna_melt_sandwich_with_fries.jpg)_