Thanks to concerns about tuna's high mercury levels and unsustainable fishing practices, the carefree days of eating lots of tuna fish sandwiches for lunch are over. But if you are missing the quick, tasty and economical meals canned tuna provides, we have a few excellent alternatives — including one vegetarian option.
• 1 Smoked trout: Canned smoked trout is a great substitute for canned tuna, whether mashed up with mayonnaise and lemon juice or flaked over a green salad. It is especially good tossed with thinly sliced cabbage.
→ Recipe to try: Smoked Trout & Cabbage Salad at Eat Your Greens
• 2 Canned sardines: Sustainable and full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, sardines are one of the few fish we can and should be eating regularly.
→ Recipe to try: Cilantro-Lime Sardine Salad in Avocado Halves at The Kitchn
• 3 Canned salmon: Canned salmon is lower in mercury than canned tuna and can be mixed into burgers, croquettes, pasta and quiche.
→ Recipe ideas: What Can I Make With Canned Salmon?
• 4 Chickpeas: Or you can skip fish altogether and make a vegetarian spin on tuna salad with a can of chickpeas.
→ Recipe: Chickpea of the Sea at The Kitchn
What are your favorite alternatives to canned tuna?
Related: Chicken, Tuna, Pasta: 15 Fresh & Filling Lunch Salads
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Sardines, mackerel and pilchards, all canned. I love tuna but have cut my consumption done to maybe a can every few months, just because of the mercury problem.
I love canned tuna! I can definitely do the salmon but not sardines, mackerel, etc..too fishy (and salty) for me!!! I can only take sardines in small doses ;-)
Chickpea of the sea is definitely a favorite of my family.
Wild Planet makes a yellow skipjack canned that's supposedly lighter in mercury. We mostly eat salmon with tuna as a rare fast snack. I worry about phenol in the can linings so we hope to get fresh.
Ps before anyone mentions it please never feed tuna to cats. Besides the mercury it's highly allergenic and it has thyaminase, an enzyme that destroys B vitamins. Wellness is a good food but fresh and semi raw meat is better (see the Hodgkins book)
I was not aware of that. Thank you for the tip.
OMG, I've just discovered the canned smoked trout from Trader Joe's and it is a full-on obsession. LOVE it.
I second this so hard! Their smoked trout is seriously delish!
I've been trying to experiment with different canned fish, like mackerel, but I find there's usually a lot of tiny bones involved. Not a deal-breaker, but it does turn making a sandwich into a more complicated process. Any hints?
I'll definitely give the TJ's smoked trout a try.