This Party Snack Belongs In Your Tuna Salad If You Want A Seriously Tasty Crunch

It's really not difficult to make an exciting tuna salad. Of course, you want lots of flavor and a creamy texture (which is usually done by mixing in mayonnaise, but is also fantastic when you use tzatziki). Popular add-ins include onion, celery, chopped pickles, fresh herbs, and golden raisins. While it might be a tad unconventional, one ingredient that offers a superior crunch and a toasty flavor to tuna salad is crushed tortilla chips.

Adding tortilla chips is easy. Just crush your chips into small pieces (but not too small — you want to enjoy the crunch of the chips), and throw them into your salad. The chips will offer a hint of salt, which any tuna salad needs to bring out the flavors of the ingredients. Notably, if the chips sit in the wet tuna salad for too long, they'll become soggy and unpleasant, so you should either plan on eating your salad in one sitting or add your chips to individual servings. The idea is a little like putting potato chips on bologna for an upgraded sandwich, but instead of piling them on top, you mix them in. 

If you'd rather keep the chips out of your tuna salad but are curious about the flavor combination, consider using tortilla chips to scoop up your salad. This is actually one of my favorite lunches. On every chip with tuna salad, I sprinkle some Tapatío hot sauce before I take a bite, and it is delicious. For an extra dose of flavor, use seasoned tortilla chips, like Nacho Cheese or Cool Ranch Doritos. 

Another method is to take a fried corn tortilla shell (or tostada shell) and top it with your tuna salad. You can add some pickled jalapeño slices — which are also great for giving baked beans more depth – chopped regular pickles, or chopped escabeche (Mexican pickled vegetables) to the top, along with some sliced avocado.  These make a tasty, quick dinner on a warm day when you don't want to turn on the stove. For mini versions that are great for appetizers, build on tortilla chip rounds.