The All-Time Best Soup To Pair With Tuna Salad

Tuna salad is a delicious, well-balanced meal on its own, but there's one thing that can really help propel it to the top of the lunch food rankings, and that is a piping hot bowl of soup on the side. Whether you're having your tuna salad straight or in a sandwich, a good soup can fill in any pleasure gaps not fulfilled by the salad. But what kind of soup is best suited to complement a dish like tuna salad?

To find the answer to this pivotal question, Food Republic turned to Michelle Wallace, owner and founder of B'tween Sandwich Co. in Houston, Texas, who was ready and waiting with her answer. "There is an affinity that tomato and tuna have that is just so fulfilling," she said. "A brothy tomato vegetable soup with fennel pairs extremely well with tuna salad. The creaminess of the rich tuna salad against the brothy tomato [flavored] soup with the texture of the vegetables is chef's kiss."

While it might not be the answer you'd expect, it also shouldn't be a surprise — after all, a good tomato-based soup begs to be paired with a sandwich. It's why tomato soup's pairing with grilled cheese is not just steeped in history but still cherished to this day. While a tomato-based vegetable soup might differ on a flavor and texture front from a classic tomato soup, the complex richness of the broth still provides the same comforting feeling when juxtaposed with the cold, creamy, and, at times, crunchy tuna salad.

There are some more tricks Michelle Wallace recommended to take your tuna salad from a 10 out of 10 to an 11. "Mayo swaps always level-up a tuna salad. Using Kewpie mayo adds a rich creaminess that's divine," she noted. "Other mayo swaps like using a herby green goddess dressing or even infusing mayo with garlic and Calabrian chili for a spicy kick [work] very well."

It's also important to remember to balance your flavors. Forgetting to add an acidic element to your tuna and mayo is one of the biggest mistakes when making tuna salad. That's another reason the tomato soup is so beneficial to rounding out the meal's flavor profile, as it comes chock-full of delicious acidity. Finally, there are the toppings. "I love to use potato chips to eat my tuna salad with or even crushed on top," Wallace said.

If you're wondering about best practices for storing leftover tuna salad, Wallace has you covered there as well. "An airtight glass container is always best to store tuna salad," she advised. "This type of container helps keep air out for maintaining freshness, and glass is nonreactive, so there won't be any chance for unwanted smells or flavors getting into the tuna salad." If you're wondering how to freeze tuna salad, just know that a mayo-based salad will not freeze well, as the ice crystals formed will cause the mayo to separate upon thawing. You can still eat it safely, but a non-mayo base might be better if you plan on freezing the leftovers.