Simple Ingredients to create a rainbow tuna salad with avocado and poached egg, surrounded by sweet tomatoes, red cabbage, cucumbers, red radishes, and celery on a bed of mixed greens and topped with a homemade dressing of whole grain Dijon mustard with a kick from chilies.
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Healthy Eating Done Right
Usually, when there are over-riped avocados, I'll use them to make guacamole, a dressing, or tuna salad. I brought the avocado tuna salad up a notch to create the perfect lunch by deconstructing it. For example, I separated the usual ingredients in a tuna egg salad: egg, celery, mustard, spices, and scallions.
Then, a poached egg, avocado, and olive oil were used instead of mayo for a creamy texture. And finally, other colorful ingredients that give a great crunch over a fresh bed of leafy greens with juicy sweet tomatoes were the final touches for this vibrant salad. This is a much more heartier salad than the classic tuna salad; this technique is called deconstructing.
A Deconstructed Salad
A deconstructed salad is a modern culinary approach where the components of a traditional salad are arranged separately on the plate rather than being mixed together. This allows each ingredient to shine individually, highlighting its unique flavors and textures.
Inspired by this concept, my Rainbow Tuna Salad presents each vibrant element—tuna, avocado, poached egg, sweet tomatoes, red cabbage, cucumbers, red radishes, and celery—beautifully arranged on a bed of mixed greens and topped with a tangy Dijon mustard lemon dressing.
The craze for rainbow salads stems from their visually appealing and colorful presentation, which not only makes them more appetizing but also serves as a beneficial reminder to include a diverse array of nutrients in your diet, promoting overall health and wellness.
Don't Be Intimidated!
Poached eggs have a rich history, tracing back to ancient Roman times when they were a popular dish. Despite their long-standing culinary heritage, many home cooks find themselves intimidated by the thought of making them. However, poaching eggs is simpler than it seems; with some practice, anyone can master the technique.
Once you've learned how to poach an egg, you'll find yourself incorporating them into a variety of dishes, from breakfast classics like Eggs Benedict to salads and grain bowls. Their delicate texture and mild flavor make poached eggs incredibly versatile, adding a touch of elegance and protein to any meal.
More Homemade Salad Recipes
- Spicy Chicken Pitas with Arugula Feta Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
- Caesar Salad with Egg Tomatoes and Chili-Infused Croutons
- Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl with a Citrus Sesame Creamy Sauce
- Zhug Feta Hummus Chicken Wrap with a Quick Lemon Yogurt Sauce
- Sesame Seed-Crusted Ahi Tuna with Spicy Sesame-Soy Sauce
🌈Also, if you love rainbow salads, try Fresh Hoisin Mushrooms Noodle Bowl with Spicy Peanut Sauce.
How about a salad with raw Ahi Tuna? Try the Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl.
Ingredients
The Dressing
First, make sure you have your poached eggs ready. Then, make the dressing by combining olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, red pepper chili flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a small mason jar.
See the rainbow tuna salad recipe card for quantities below.
Mason jars come in handy when making small batches of dressings/vinaigrettes.
Get Ball Wide Mouth Quilted Crystal Jars
The rainbow tuna salad
Place the tuna and avocado in the middle of the salad bowl, surround it with mixed greens, and top the greens with tomatoes, scallions, purple cabbage, cucumbers, red radishes, and sliced celery. Finally, dress the salad with the vinaigrette and garnish with chopped parsley.
See the rainbow tuna salad recipe card for quantities.
Culinary Glossary
- Vinaigrette - A type of salad dressing made by mixing oil with an acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, often seasoned with herbs, spices, and other ingredients. In this recipe, the vinaigrette is made with olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, red pepper chili flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Mason Jar - A glass jar with a screw-top lid, often used for canning, preserving, and mixing dressings due to its airtight seal.
- Mixed Greens - A combination of various leafy greens, such as lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale, used as a base for salads.
- Scallions - Also known as green onions or spring onions, these are vegetables with a mild onion flavor, used both in raw and cooked forms.
- Purple Cabbage - Also known as red cabbage, it adds a vibrant color and a slightly peppery flavor to salads.
- Red Radishes - A root vegetable with a crisp texture and a slightly spicy, peppery flavor, often used in salads for added crunch.
- Celery - A crunchy, low-calorie vegetable that adds texture and a mild, refreshing flavor to salads.
- Parsley - A fresh herb used as a garnish for its bright, slightly peppery flavor and vibrant green color.
- Poached Eggs - Eggs that are gently cooked in simmering water until the whites are set, but the yolks remain runny. They add a creamy texture and a rich flavor to dishes.
Instructions with Pictures
Follow the instructions and cooking tips below using the step-by-step picture guide.
Cut the cabbage into wedges, then lay flat on the cutting board to easily make slices.
Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise first, then thinly slice for half moons.
Slice the red radishes in the same way with the tips removed.
Then, for a beautiful cut, slice the celery on a diagonal.
Cooking Tip: Slicing Radishes
Cut each Campari tomato into eight pieces by cutting it in half, slicing halves, then halving those.
Finally, line up the scallions and thinly slice them.
For over-riped avocados, mix them into the tuna. But for ripe tomatoes, just dice and place on top of the tuna in the salad bowl.
When poaching the egg, the egg white should cover the egg yolk after placing it in the water that has been swirled to form a funnel.
Shaking Not Stirring
If the dressing ingredients are placed in a jar to shake, this eliminates the process of using a blender or whisk.
How to Poach an Egg?
Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to three cups of water in a small pot. Bring the pot of water to a simmer. The water will be suitable to poach an egg when the bottom of the pot has tiny bubbles with no bubbles forming on the surface. If bubbles are starting on the surface, lower the heat. Then, swirl the water to flow in one direction using a spoon or a skimmer.
Poaching one egg at a time, crack the egg on a flat surface and gently drop it into the middle of the water funnel. Then, the egg white should slowly begin to cover the egg yolk. Allow the egg to poach in the water for 4 minutes.
Gently pick up the poached egg and tap for firmness; this will take practice. You want it where you can fill the egg white, which has solidified, but the egg yolk is still liquid. Once it has reached this, remove it from the water. If you are poaching another egg, swirl the water again, then add the egg and continue with the rest of the steps.
Also, try the Spicy Chicken Pita with Arugula Feta Pomegranate Salad.
Substitutions
Dairy Free
- Yay! This recipe is already dairy free.
Gluten-Free
- Yay! This recipe alaso gluten-free.
Vegetarian
- Tuna - Use more vegetables instead or air-fried crispy tofu. Try my Air-Fried Turmeric Herbed Tofu recipe. Or try making your own vegan tuna. Check out Loving it Vegan and Rainbow Plant Life for recipes.
Convenience
- Olive Oil - Any vegetable oil with no prominent distinct flavors
- Dijon Mustard - Mustard powder or brown mustard may work.
- Campari Tomatoes - These tomatoes were chosen for their perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. However, if you are not able to find these, use grape or cherry tomatoes or your favorite. Diced globe tomatoes will also work.
- Red Pepper Chili Flakes - Use diced or sliced fresh red chili peppers.
- Garlic and Onion Powder - Substitute with fresh minced garlic and onion.
- Scallions - Use small diced white or red onion.
- Poached Egg - You can use a boiled or fried egg instead or omit it entirely.
Change the recipe's heat level to your liking and learn more about the Scoville Scale and Chili Pairings.
Variations
Add Other Colorful Vegetables to the Rainbow Salad:
- Bell Pepper
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Green Apple
- Parsnips
Replace with Other Proteins:
- Fresh Sushi Grade Tuna (seared or blackened and thinly sliced)
- Grilled, Seared, or Blackened Chicken Breast
- Steamed Shredded Chicken Breast
- Seared Thinly Sliced Steak
- Garlic-sauteed or Blackened Shrimp
- Seared, Blackened, or Steamed Salmon
Try this Other Delicious Dinner Idea: Chili Herb Crusted Rainbow Trout!
Equipment
- Mason Jar - A small 4-ounce mason jar makes the salad dressing. I also used the Ball Mini 4 Oz Mason Jars to develop this recipe. Evidently, it's the right size to personalize dressings and prevent waste.
- Mandoline - Even though I did not use my Benriner Japanese Classic Slicer for this recipe, if you want to shorten the prepping time, use a slicer for the cabbage, cucumber, radish, and celery.
- Salad Spinner - This can be used to rinse your greens and herbs. For this recipe, I used the Cuisinart Salad Spinner. To learn more tips on this useful tool, check out Cook's Notebook: Salad Spinner post.
Kitchen Must Haves - Find other tools I use here.
Storage
- Refrigerator - To store in the fridge, you can place everything together except for the dressing in portioned airtight containers. Or in a large, airtight container with a paper towel on the bottom to soak up any moisture that may ruin the vegetables over time. Store the dressing in its container. The rainbow tuna salad lasts up to three days—the vinaigrette lasts two weeks, for instance.
- Freezer - I do not recommend freezing this salad.
Airtight Food Containers - I interchange glass food storage containers with plastic clipping lids or wooden push-ins. I always suggest glass storage containers because they can be microwaved, they hold food without staining, and the glass keeps the food at a more stable temperature, keeping it fresher and longer.
Try the OXO Good Grips Smart Seal Glass Rectangle Food Storage Containers or the Pyrex Freshlock Glass Food Storage Containers.
Cooking Tip
Have all ingredients prepped before assembling the rainbow tuna salad. This will also save you time by preventing running back and forth to grab ingredients.
Your Cooking Tips Resource Guide - Become a better home cook with tips to help you cook more efficiently on the Cook's Notebook tab. Click here for an extended live Culinary Glossary.
Frequently Asked Questions
To achieve perfect poached eggs, use fresh eggs and add a splash of vinegar to the simmering water. Create a gentle whirlpool in the water with a spoon before adding the eggs, which helps the whites wrap around the yolk. Cook for about 3-4 minutes for a runny yolk, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Yes, you can use fresh tuna for this salad. To do so, sear the tuna in a hot skillet for about 1-2 minutes per side until it is cooked to your preferred doneness. Let it cool slightly before flaking or slicing it and adding it to the salad.
Yes, you can prepare the dressing ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator in a sealed mason jar for up to a week. Shake well before using to recombine the ingredients.
Fish Recipes
Looking for other fish recipes like this? Try these:
- 20 Irresistible Fish Recipes
- Calabrian Pepper Salmon with Creamy Lemon Dill Sauce
- Seared Snapper Spicy Creole Sauce and Roasted Vegetables
- Sesame Seed-Crusted Ahi Tuna with Spicy Sesame-Soy Sauce
Bowl-Idea Recipes
Looking for other bowl-idea recipes like this? Try these:
- Spicy Cajun Shrimp Rice Bowl with Lemon Remoulade
- Easy Sheet Pan Spicy Miso Salmon Rice Bowl
- Spicy Greek Chicken Meatball Rice Bowl
- Calabrian Chili Salmon and Vegetables Bowl
📖 Recipe
Rainbow Tuna Salad with Dijon Mustard Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
Dijon Lemon Dressing
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Tuna, Egg, Vegetable Salad
- 2 cups mixed greens chopped
- 1 cup red cabbage thinly sliced
- ½ cup cucumbers thinly sliced moons
- 2 red radish thinly sliced moons
- 1 stalk celery thinly sliced diagnosis
- 3 large Campari tomatoes quartered
- 1 scallion thinly sliced
- 1 small avocado sliced (optional)
- 8 ounces of canned albacore tuna in water
- 2 poached eggs
- Chopped parsley
Equipment
Instructions
- Save time in the kitchen: Read the instructions thoroughly, then gather and prep all your ingredients before cooking! Learn Prepping Tips.
- Make the Dressing: In a small 4-ounce jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, red pepper chili flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper, and shake well. If you do not have a small jar you can place all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl except for the oil. Whisk the ingredients then slowly drizzle in the oil while vigorously whisking to emulsify. Or use a blender suitable for the amount you are making.
- Tuna and Avocado Prep: You have two ways to present this. If your avocado is overripe, mix it with the tuna salad in a small mixing bowl. Otherwise, you can add the diced avocado on top of the canned tuna in a mound. Either way, place it in the middle of a wide salad bowl when plating the salad.
- Assemble the Salad: Around the tuna avocado salad arrange the mixed greens like a wreath. On top of the salad, you will proportionally add the toppings alternating in color: tomatoes, scallions, purple cabbage, cucumbers, red radishes, and sliced celery.
- Garnish: Finish by placing the poached egg in the center, slit to allow the egg yolk liquid to pour out. Next, drizzle on the dressing and sprinkle on the parsley.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Have a Question or Comment?
If you have a question or comment about this rainbow tuna salad recipe, please post it below. You will definitely get a quick response. It also helps our other readers to stay informed. Thanks!
M Jorgen says
I just had to write about this after seeing the video on my feed! I was lucky to try this salad when you first made it, and I’ll never forget how insanely good it was. The fresh tuna, creamy avocado, poached egg, and that tangy, spicy homemade dressing were just perfect together. Plus, the colors and crunch of the veggies made it so fun to eat. Huge shoutout for nailing this one. Amazing salad!
Maika says
Awww! Thank you, that means a lot.