Super delicious and one of the simplest tuna salad recipes you can create, one of the salads my kids call the best dill pickle tuna salad recipe ever, are made with a few simple ingredients you are likely to already have on hand, making this a simple lunch that comes together quickly.

bowl with tuna salad and hand hovering over bowl holding a cracker with tuna salad on the cracker

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This recipe is fast to throw together when you are short on time, has simple ingredients that you are likely to have on hand, and goes great on bread or with crackers or even in a wrap! It is a great lunch for kiddos on warm days and makes the perfect tuna subs.

It’s tangy and salty and crunchy because of chopped dill pickle and pickle juice. With the added cottage cheese, you are upping your protein in every serving and adding some extra creaminess to the salad.

I love this as a busy mom because it fits perfect in my weekly meal prepping. It is something I can throw together quickly and put it in the fridge, where it just is so much better the next day, and enjoy some simple tuna sandwiches for a few days. Lunch is always the hardest meal to plan for us but this dill pickle tuna salad makes it easy.

Why you’ll love this Dill Pickle Tuna Salad

Tasty – if you love dill pickles, you will definitely love this tuna salad. It offers a variety of salty and tangy because of the pickle juice, crunchy because of the dill pickles, creamy because of the mayo and cottage cheese

Comes together fast – you can mix everything together in one mixing bowl

Simple Ingredients – you are likely to have the ingredients already in your fridge

Perfect for weekly meal prep – this makes a great lunch to throw in your lunchbox for on the go, a family lunch and picnic lunch, or even a snack.

Supplies needed to make Meal Prep Tangy Chopped Tuna Salad

I love this wooden salad bowl
Cutting board and knife if you aren’t using a vegetable chopper (this isn’t the exact one I use because I purchased mine is 2017 but this one is similar)
Measuring spoons to measure your seasonings
Measuring cup to measure your mayo, cottage cheese, pickles, and pickle juice

Ingredients

Canned Tuna – A staple in most homes, I used four cans in this recipe to feed my family of five for lunch.The cans I chose for this recipe are packed in water and are drained before mixing together.

Chopped Pickles – We used regular dill pickles in this recipe. A vegetable chopper is a great tool to get a really great size for eating on crackers.

Pickle Juice – It adds so much flavor to the tuna salad!

Mayo – Any kind of mayo will work, both store bought or homemade.

Cottage cheese – I used full fat and normal sized cottage cheese curd for this recipe.

Seasonings – Onion powder and garlic powder add so much flavor to the tuna salad. You can salt and pepper to taste and omit or include any of the seasonings here

The full recipe, along with the ingredients, can be found below.

How to make The Best Dill Pickle Tuna Salad

the ingredients to tuna salad in a wooden bowl on a white countertop

First, drain all four cans of tuna completely of their juices. While using a fork, flake the tuna from your can into your salad bowl.

Then, chop your pickles and add the pickles to your bowl. Our favorite pickles are the refrigerated pickles you can pick up at Aldi’s!

Next, add what makes this so creamy and sauce – your cottage cheese, mayo, and pickle juice.

Finally, add in your garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, before mixing all of the ingredients well.

tuna salad in a bowl surrounded by crackers on a white countertop

Now is when you will want to taste it and adjust your salt and pepper to your liking! (we like ours with extra black pepper!)

Tips

If you don’t love the crunch of dill pickles, just omit the pickles but keep the juice. You will still get that tang and taste from the pickles in the salad. Let this salad sit overnight before enjoying it and the tang of the pickle juice will really shine through!
If you don’t love cottage cheese (let’s face it, not everyone does!), you can replace it with Greek yogurt instead. This will change the flavor slightly (adding in some more tangy flavor), but still add a creaminess and protein to the salad. It does thicken the salad up just a bit, but it does add a really nice texture!
Serve on toasted bread, soft sourdough, or in a tortilla wrap with lettuce and tomato to make it a really filling and tasty lunch. You can also make it a sub night if you love fast food subs from that famous chain restaurant. Just grab some soft sub rolls!

FAQs

The key ingredients is tuna, pickles, cottage cheese, mayo, pickle juice, and seasonings. Some alternatives are offered in our “Tips” section such as replacement options for the cottage cheese and alternatively omitting the crunchy pickles altogether.

Store your salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can be enjoyed immediately but does get better if allowed to sit in the refrigerator for the first few hours after mixing all of the ingredients together.

Use Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese. To replace the cottage cheese, I would measure in a quarter cup of Greek yogurt and check it has the flavor and texture you love before adding in another quarter cup.

pinterest pin for dill pickle tuna salad with two images of the salad in the picture

Recipe

womans hand holding a cracker with some tuna salad over the tuna salad mixing bowl

The Best Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Ever

This tasty, tangy, tuna salad is the perfect meal prep or go-to lunch, made with few ingredients you likely already have in your fridge, and comes together quickly! It seriously is the best dill pickle tuna salad ever!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Total Time 30

Course lunch, meal prep, Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

4 5 oz Cans of Tuna drained
½ cup Mayo
½ cup Cottage Cheese
1 cup Pickles chopped
¼ cup Pickle Juice
¼ tsp Garlic Powder
¼ tsp Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

Grab your mixing bowl.
Drain and discard each can of tuna of their liquid. I generally like buying the tuna packed in water for this tuna salad.
Flake each can of tuna into the mixing bowl.
Now, add your 1/2 cup of mayo and your 1/2 cup of cottage cheese to your bowl. No need to mix yet!
Then, add your 1 cup of chopped pickles and 1/4 cup of pickle juice into your bowl.
Measure out your spices and and mix everything together.
Season to taste and enjoy!
This tuna salad makes a great sub or sandwich, is fantastic in crackers, and is also great on lettuce!

Notes

Tips

Don’t love crunchy pickles in your tuna salad but still want the tang of the pickle flavor? Just omit the pickles altogether but keep the juice!
Great served on toasted bread, soft sourdough, wrapped in a tortilla, or with crackers (we love ours with crackers!).
Adjust the seasonings to your liking – you can leave any of the seasonings out and it will still be delicious!
Not a cottage cheese fan? You can replace the cottage cheese with a quarter cup of Greek yogurt instead. It will add a bit of tang and creaminess to this tuna salad along with keeping it higher in protein.
Meal prep this for the week for a fast, go to lunch.
Keep this refrigerated for up to 4 days in an air tight container.
Best enjoyed after letting it sit for two hours in the fridge after making it but it is still so delicious to eat immediately after making!