Cottage Cheese Will Give Your Tuna Salad A Major Upgrade

When it comes to easy yet tasty sandwich fillings, tuna salad is a great choice. All you have to do is pop open a can of tuna, drain it off, and mix it with a few ingredients you probably already have in the fridge, such as mayonnaise and mustard.

While a standard recipe certainly tastes great, you can easily ramp things up a bit by stirring in some cottage cheese with the rest of your tuna salad ingredients. Not only does this ingredient add to the protein content of your meal, but it also makes things just a bit creamier and richer, adding a milkiness and light sour note to your tuna salad that elevates the flavor.

The addition of cottage cheese to your tuna salad doesn't call for tons of extra steps, either, making it a simple trick to implement. Better yet, you can pair it with other unexpected tuna salad ingredients to enhance the taste and texture even further.

To get started making this meal, you'll first want to select your ingredients. As far as the canned tuna goes, olive oil-packed generally tends to have a more unctuous flavor and doesn't need as much extra fat to create a creamy tuna salad. Mixing in cottage cheese, though, is an opportunity to save a little money and opt for the water-packed kind. Simply drain off the water before combining it with the cheese, and you can always add a drizzle of olive oil if the salad needs more moisture.

For the cottage cheese, you can use whichever variety you prefer as well. Whether it's a light variety or a full-fat one, you'll still get that added creaminess and tangy finish in your tuna salad. Depending on how much you add, you may find that you can skip or reduce the mayonnaise — not only does the cheese take care of the fat component of the salad, but it also adds body and protein to make it extra filling.

While you can certainly add cottage cheese to your go-to tuna salad recipe and call it a day, tossing in a few other additions could give it even more of an upgrade. For example, you can mix in a few extra veggies, such as celery and radish. Both additions add a bit of crunch, while the radish also gives the salad a peppery kick. Or, cover the crunch with a handful of chopped walnuts.

Alternatively, you could try throwing in some dill pickles or capers to introduce a bit of brine and acidity. This can help play up the subtle tang of the cottage cheese without making things overly sour. 

Another option is to play around with spice in your tuna salad. A sprinkling of cayenne pepper or a few chopped jalapeños can do the trick. Whichever mix-ins you decide to use, you'll wind up with a beautifully creamy tuna salad with several layers of flavors to enjoy.