Pepperoncini Tuna Salad Recipe (2024)

Pepperoncini yes! We love those in tuna salad. But sweet pickle relish absolutely ruins any food it touches. I think this sandwich would be lovely if you left it out.

This is basically a great tuna salad, but the sesame oil adds an unusual (and somewhat off-putting) flavor that overwhelms the pepperonici — and isn't that the star of this salad? Will definitely make it again, but without the sesame oil.

A tablespoon of toasted sesame oil is too much.

Added pickled red onions and brine in lieu of celery. Yum.

Great recipe, but definitely use dill pickle relish over sweet.

Next time I’d reduce the amount of sesame oil

Replace the sesame oil with a couple tablespoons of sunflower seeds. I’ve been adding them to my tuna salad for years. I prefer salted.

The sesame oil is a strong flavor. I started with about half Tbs. and left it at that (and I love toasted sesame oil).

This is terrific. Perhaps add sesame oil slowly to taste.

Loved this as a twist on the classic tuna salad! So quick and easy. I ended up more than doubling the Pepperoncini and brine to get more crunch, zing, and spice, but that might be a bit too much spice for some! Had it on brioche and with chips, but could picture this going well over rice or salad with some furikake too! This will be added to the summer meal rotation for sure.

This one didn't do it for us. We love pepperoncini with anything, but the sesame oil dominated everything (and I was very sparing with it). We had to add a lot more pepperoncini and brine to try to counteract that. I will keep using pepperoncini, but not this recipe, sadly.

Skip the celery (if that's not your jam) and instead skin and seed a cucumber then chop it into 1/4” chunks, and toss with a finely diced onion in salt. Macerate the two together for 30 mins before squeezing the water with your hands, and fold it into the salad as you would the celery. Delicious!

Dill relish all the way!

What would be a good substitute for the Mayo?

A good food-sanitation tip for any tuna salad is to refrigerate the unopened cans or jars of tuna ahead of time, if you can remember to put them in the fridge at least a few hours before you start making the salad. Chilling the tuna makes it harder for bacteria to get a foothold when you mix the fish with the mayonnaise and other ingredients.

I made exactly as written and I thought it was delicious. I may add more peppers next time.

1 Tablespoon of sesame oil is way too much. Rather, add a few drops then more to taste.

Sesame oil was a bit much and i should have read the reviews first! Will half it or omit it next time. Subbed pepperonchini for spicy giardiniera and it was great

I just have to stick up for good old fashioned (Del Monte only) sweet pickle relish. If you’re feeling dilly, minced cornichons take you all the way there. These are “just” childhood fetishes that hold true, like Hellman’s mayo. Gentle neighborly fistfights ensue; it’s possibly genetic.

We like it, Despite the fact that it seems to contain some ingredients that wouldn't play together well, they all came together for a fine final product. We went a bit heavy on the peppers and garlic (who puts a half a garlic clove in anything?) and ended up using a bit more mayo as a result. We also found that a few hours in the fridge really brought the flavors out, especially the sesame oil.And we had absolutely no problem with the sweet pickle relish--I'm from the South.

The sesame oil is a different twist but I will try it in a smaller amount to get started

Good grief this is everything I’d hoped it would be and more. Made exactly as written. Don’t skimp on the brine—or the fresh croissants!

I have tuna salad twice a week. All the ingredients listed here without the sesame oil but with roasted red peppers instead. The chopped celery is must. Will try with the sesame oil today but not confident that it is needed.

Loved this right up until the sesame oil, after which it was ruined. I love sesame but it kills all the brightness and nuance of flavors in this recipe. That said - the pepperoncini is genius. Used Kewpie mayo which was great. I’ll make it again without the oil.

We love Eric Kim’s recipes and we rarely make changes but my brain kept saying let’s experiment! We had all of the ingredients so here’s what we did/didn’t do ; We did not use sesame oil or sweet relish, I did a Hellmanns mayo combo with Kewpie mayo. No salt but used celery salt( a kitchen must have per owner of several eateries on Block Island) added a bit more pepperoconi brine. The dish was satisfying and will be repeated. I love readers comments; thanks for the tip about dill relish must buy

I would do it again but next time be sure and drain the tuna really well, only add 1/2 the sesame oil if not any.. and perhaps add the red onion. We enjoyed it.

Honestly, a great way to spice up a traditional tuna salad! I'm putting this one on my work-from-home lunch rotation!

This is really tasty. I used a tsp of sesame oil based on other comments and increased the pepperoncini. Fun new way to make tuna salad!

Consider adding capers, sliced Kalamata olives and of course some finely chopped parsley.

We loved this, w/ many of the same caveats that others mentioned — in fact, the pepperoncini was SUCH a star that we are thinking of making this our go-to tuna salad (we have MANY candidates for this honor, so this is a Big Deal.) Agree that sweet pickle relish negates the awesomeness the pepperoncini brings, so instead I chopped up some leftover quick-pickled cukes I had languishing. You could leave them out entirely or use pickled red onion instead. No sesame oil; not needed. Celery was great!