Sarra Ina Garten’s tuna avocado salad is thick-cut fresh tuna steaks seared rare on a hot grill, cubed, and plated with large-diced avocado, sliced red onion, and scallions, all dressed in a lime, wasabi, soy, and Tabasco vinaigrette and finished with toasted sesame seeds. It serves 4 to 5 and takes about 20 minutes from start to plate.
This recipe comes from Ina’s Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook (2006) under the name “Grilled Tuna Salad.” In the headnote, she writes that “there’s nothing really wrong with tuna salad made from canned tuna, mayonnaise, and celery,” but she wanted to see if something so familiar could “be even better made with fresh ingredients.” Her answer is thick bites of seared tuna “tossed with lime juice, avocados, red onion, and scallions.” She finishes with a dare: “After trying this, you may never go back to canned tuna.”
The technique that makes this salad work is searing the tuna for only 2 and a half minutes per side so the inside stays completely raw. That contrast between the warm, charred crust and the cool, silky center gives each bite two textures in one cube. Overcook the tuna until it is gray all the way through and you lose the thing that makes this a salad instead of a plain piece of cooked fish on a plate.
Ina Garten Tuna Avocado Salad Recipe
Course: SaladsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy5
servings15
minutes5
minutes385
kcalIna’s fresh take on tuna salad from her At Home cookbook: rare-seared tuna steaks cubed and plated with ripe avocado in a wasabi-lime dressing. Twenty minutes, no mayo, and a dare from Ina that you will never go back to canned tuna.
Ingredients
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2 pounds (900g) very fresh tuna steak, 1-inch thick
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Good olive oil
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Grated zest of 2 limes
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6 tablespoons (90ml) freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
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1 teaspoon wasabi powder
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2 teaspoons soy sauce
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10 dashes Tabasco sauce
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2 firm, ripe Hass avocados, large-diced
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1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
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1/4 cup (25g) minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
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1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Directions
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Sear the tuna: Heat a charcoal or gas grill until very hot and brush the grates with oil. Brush both sides of the tuna steaks with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill for about 2 and a half minutes per side. The tuna should be seared dark on the outside and raw inside. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly.
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Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the lime zest, lime juice, wasabi powder, soy sauce, Tabasco, 2 and a half teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
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Coat the avocados: Toss the diced avocados in the dressing immediately to prevent browning and to season them at the same time.
- Cube and plate: Cut the slightly cooled tuna into large bite-size cubes. Arrange the dressed avocados, tuna cubes, and sliced red onion on individual plates. Drizzle with additional dressing, scatter the scallions and sesame seeds on top, and serve at room temperature.
Notes
- No grill? Sear the tuna in a dry sauté pan over high heat instead. Preheat the empty pan for 2 full minutes before adding the tuna. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side for the same seared-outside, raw-inside result.
Ina says to buy avocados in advance and let them ripen at room temperature. Once ripe, you can refrigerate them for a few days. Dice and coat with dressing immediately to prevent browning.
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry sauté pan over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing frequently, until they turn golden. Remove from the pan immediately because they burn fast from residual heat.
FAQs
Why does Ina sear the tuna for only 2 and a half minutes per side?
Fresh tuna is best eaten rare, like a good steak. The brief sear creates a warm, charred crust on the outside while the inside stays cool, silky, and deep red. That two-texture contrast is the whole point of this salad: you get a bite of seared meat and raw fish in the same cube.
If you cook the tuna all the way through, the flesh turns dry and chalky and tastes closer to canned tuna than fresh. Ina says the tuna “should be seared on the outside and raw inside,” and she means it. If you are uncomfortable with rare tuna, this is not the recipe to adjust. Cook it medium and the salad does not work.
How is this different from Ina’s tuna tartare?
Both recipes share the same Japanese-inspired flavor base: lime, wasabi, soy sauce, Tabasco, avocado, and sesame seeds. But the preparation is completely different. The tuna tartare from Family Style (2002) uses raw tuna diced into small cubes, mixed with the dressing, and chilled for an hour before serving cold on crackers.
This grilled version uses seared tuna cut into larger cubes and plated warm at room temperature with the avocado and red onion arranged alongside rather than mixed in. The tartare is a cold appetizer. This is a warm main course salad. If you want the raw version, Ina’s Tuna Tartare is a lighter, make-ahead option that works better as a first course.
Can you make this with canned tuna instead?
You can, but you would be making a completely different dish. Ina wrote this recipe specifically to upgrade canned tuna salad with fresh ingredients. The whole point is the seared fresh tuna, the avocado, and the wasabi-lime dressing replacing mayo and celery.
If you swap in canned tuna, skip the grilling step and just drain and flake the tuna into the dressing. Use oil-packed Italian tuna for the best flavor. The salad will still taste good because the dressing carries a lot of flavor on its own, but you lose the textural contrast of the seared crust and raw center that makes Ina’s version special.
Can you make tuna avocado salad ahead of time?
The dressing can be whisked together hours ahead and refrigerated. The sesame seeds can be toasted and stored at room temperature. But the tuna should be seared and the avocados diced right before serving.
Seared tuna loses its texture as it sits because the residual heat continues cooking the raw center. And avocados brown within an hour even when coated in lime juice. This is a 20-minute dish designed to be assembled and served immediately, which is part of its appeal for a summer lunch where you want the cooking finished fast.
What should you serve tuna avocado salad with?
Ina serves this plated on individual plates as a main course, which means it stands alone without needing much alongside. A bowl of steamed rice or a simple green salad rounds out the plate without competing with the wasabi-lime flavors.
For a summer lunch spread, pair this with Ina’s Creamy Cucumber Salad for a cool, tangy side that complements the warm tuna. The yogurt and dill in the cucumber salad play well against the lime and wasabi without any flavor overlap, and both dishes lean into the same light, fresh summer feeling.
