The elements from my open-faced, spicy tuna melt come together in an oven-steamed hot tuna sandwich.
Cheesy Hot Tuna Sandwiches
Though they've been around a long time, you may not have heard about these yummy hot tuna sandwiches. They're a bit retro by now.
A riff on a tuna melt honestly, except while those are typically served open-faced on an English muffin and with cold tuna, topped with cheese and passed briefly under a broiler, hot tuna sandwiches are made on buns or rolls, wrapped and heated through in the oven.
The cheesy goodness really melts into the bread and they are just downright delicious.
Originally, these hot tuna sandwiches were basically just tuna, a little onion and celery, cheese and salad dressing, stuffed into a hamburger bun, hot dog bun or some kind of roll, then wrapped individually in aluminum foil and baked until heated through and melty.
They didn't even have a lot of seasonings, relying mostly on the salt from the tuna and cheese. While they are perfectly delicious like that, y'all know I'm not one to leave well enough along, right? I brought the flavor profile up just a tad.
And, while yes, these appeared to have been made most the time back in the day with Miracle Whip salad dressing, I don't buy Miracle Whip. I have tried it, but never managed to acquire a taste for a sweet salad dressing over a savory mayonnaise, though there are certainly places it would absolutely fit, such as in a coleslaw for instance. So for these, I use mayonnaise personally.
Now, that said, there are, in fact, some folks who swear they just don't taste the same with mayonnaise, and you have to use Miracle Whip, so you decide!
They're easy to make and a great meal alternative for the Lenten season.
Here's how to make them.
As always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step-by-step pictures below.
Drain two to three 5-to-6-ounce cans of tuna and transfer to a bowl. Use any kind you like, in water, in oil, just mke sure that it drains well.
Finely chop up some onion and celery and add that to the tuna.
Add the seasonings. I'm using dried tarragon, lemon pepper, Old Bay and Tony's Creole seasoning.
Add shredded cheese. I'm using a pre-shredded Colby Jack blend.
Add mayonnaise. Or salad dressing if you prefer.
Blend well.
Divide mixture evenly among the bottom buns and spread out.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly between each sandwich.
Wrap up the sandwiches.
Place them on a large baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
Unwrap and enjoy!
Gooey, yummy, cheesy hot tuna sandwich!
Unable to see the printable below on your device? Click here.
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