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
- Start by draining the canned tuna and breaking it up with a fork.
- 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.
- Spread about 1 tbsp of softened butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- 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.
- 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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Air Fryer Tuna Melt
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 2 5 ounce cans of tuna drained
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp sweet relish
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 4 slices sourdough or rye bread
- 4-8 slices cheese
Instructions
- Start by draining the canned tuna and breaking it up with a fork.
- 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.
- Spread about 1 tbsp of softened butter on one side of each slice of bread.
- 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.
- Place the tuna melt sandwich in the air fryer basket butter-side-down and cook at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. Once the 5 minutes are up, flip the sandwich and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Wow, I loved these growing up, and I can’t wait to make them this weekend. Thank you for a quick and easy recipe. I don’t know why I never thought of using the air fryer, but it’s a great idea. It looks delicious and will be a big hit with my oldest son. He and I are the only ones in the family that like tuna.
I hope you and your family love this recipe Mari 🙂