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Air fryer tuna melt is an easy recipe that your entire family will love. It’s crispy, cheesy, and buttery – ready in under 15 minutes.

Easy Air Fryer Tuna Melt

Growing up I ate tuna melt sandwiches and tuna melt sliders every weekend. It was my mom’s go-to meal because it was delicious and super easy to make. The key to a perfect tuna melt is choosing really good fresh bread. The bread will either make it or break it. I like using sourdough or rye bread but you can use whatever you have on hand, just make sure it’s fresh.

Ingredient Notes

Canned Tuna – I really like albacore tuna packed in olive oil.

Bread – Sourdough or rye bread works best for this recipe.

Cheese – Sliced cheddar cheese is what I like to use for tuna melts but feel free to use any type of cheese. American cheese, Colby Jack, or swiss works too.

Mayo – Hellmann’s mayo is what I recommend.

How To Make

1. Start by draining the canned tuna and breaking it up with a fork.
2. Add the mayo, lemon juice, sweet relish, mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Check for seasoning. If the tuna is a bit dry, add more mayo.
3. Spread about 1 tbsp of softened butter on one side of each slice of bread.
4. Add two slices of cheese on each slice of bread, add about 1/2 cup of the tuna salad on top of the bread, and then cover with the other slice of bread.
5. Place the tuna melt sandwich in the air fryer basket and cook at 400 degrees F for 6 minutes. Once the 6 minutes are up, flip the sandwich and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Top Tips

• If you’re not a fan of mayo, you can use plain yogurt instead.
• Make sure to season the tuna salad with salt and pepper.
• Feel free to add finely diced celery or scallions to the tuna mixture.
• Serve the sandwich with chips, pickles, and deviled egg pasta salad.
• Allow the sandwich to cool for 4-5 minutes before slicing into it.

How Long To Cook?

The bread slices I used for this recipe were pretty big so it took 9 minutes total to cook perfectly. If using white sandwich bread, check the tuna melt at the 4-minute mark because it may cook a lot quicker.

Can I Make This Without An Air Fryer?

Yes, place the sandwich on a cold skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side over medium-low heat.

More Recipes You’ll Enjoy

• Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
• Fried Fish Sandwiches
• Air Fryer Grilled Ham and Cheese
• Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

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