Dairy-Free Tuna Stuffed Avocado Boats Recipe

Yes, I know mayonnaise is dairy free. Perhaps I know it too well. Mayo is a staple in our dairy-free home, but sometimes I need a reminder that lunch can be delicious without it. This recipe for tuna stuffed avocado boats is a mayo-free riff on tuna salad sandwiches. It’s filled with produce, seasoned with basic pantry staples, and served in an avocado instead of on bread. It’s equally delicious, but it has more depth in texture with chewy, soft, crunchy, and creamy bites.

Tuna Stuffed Avocado Boats with Mayo-Free Tuna Salad

This healthy tuna stuffed avocado recipe with photo was shared with us many years ago by Mizkan, the company behind Asian food brands like Nakano and Italian food brands like Bertolli and Ragu. It was created by Dawn Jackson Blatner, star of ABC’s My Diet Is Better Than Yours, author of Superfood Swap and a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant for the Chicago Cubs. We’ve recently made some minor updates to her recipe, and also have some ingredient notes and options to share.

• Avocado – You want the avocado to be ripe and tender, so it’s easy to pull out the pit and scoop the flesh. But avoid overly ripe or mushy avocados for this recipe. The “boats” are best if they’re still a touch firm.
• Tuna – You can use tuna packed in oil, if you prefer. I would drain it and use a little bit of the oil in place of the olive oil. Be sure to double check the ingredients. In rare instances, tuna has a milk-based ingredient, like caseinate, in it. You can substitute canned chicken, if you prefer.
• Other Veggies – If you aren’t a fan of celery or carrot, you can substitute diced red bell pepper, diced green bell pepper, grated jicama, and/or diced cucumber. If red onion is too strong for your taste, you can substitute sliced green onion
• Vinegar – Rice vinegar has a slight sweetness to it that’s delicious with tuna. In a pinch, you could substitute apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. But I would start with a small amount and add more to taste, as these options are a little stronger than rice vinegar.
• Mustard – I definitely prefer creamy dijon mustard in recipes like this one. But stone ground mustard is a good alternative. I don’t recommend yellow mustard, but it can work in a pinch.
• Crackers – I really like classic Wheat Thins with these avocado boats, but Back to Nature has some tasty dairy-free options, too. For gluten-free needs, Mary’s Gone Crackers and the non-cheesy varieties of Simple Mills Crackers are good options.

Special Diet Notes: Tuna Salad Avocado Boats

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and optionally paleo. Without the crackers, it could be suitable for some keto diets, since it is high protein, high fat, and relatively low in carbohydrates.

Dairy-Free Tuna Stuffed Avocado Boats

 

Author: Dawn Jackson Blatner

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: American

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 (5-ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• ½ cup grated carrot
• ¼ cup finely diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (such as Nakano Natural)
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• 16 dairy-free crackers, for serving (optional; use gluten-free, if needed)

1. Cut the avocado in half, remove pit, and scoop out some of the flesh leaving a thin wall of avocado.
2. Dice the avocado flesh that you scooped out.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the tuna, celery, carrot, onion, vinegar, oil, mustard, salt and pepper until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the diced avocado.
4. Scoop the mixture into the avocado shell halves. Serve with crackers, if desired.
5. You can make this recipe a day ahead, or store leftovers in the refrigerator overnight. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap to limit oxidation. But don’t worry, if the top of the avocado darkens, it will still taste good.

Serving size: ½ avocado with tuna salad Calories: 209 Fat: 13.5g Saturated fat: 2.1g Carbohydrates: 9.7g Sugar: 2.8g Sodium: 368mg Fiber: 5.4g Protein: 13.8g

3.5.3229