This air fryer tuna melt is a super fast weeknight meal that is perfect for when you don’t have anything planned!
Make this and end up with a seemingly gourmet meal made mostly from pantry ingredients.
Why I love this air fryer tuna melt so much
This air fryer tuna melt is my go to dinner or lunch when I forgot to take meat out of the freezer or just didn’t have anything else on the menu. It’s also great to place on the meal plan when I’m trying to stretch my budget. Using bread and just two cans of tuna, I can transform two unassuming pantry items into a crispy, crunchy masterpiece.
This is a really simple tuna melt, if you have more ingredients on hand and are looking for something even more spectacular, I recommend this tuna panini.
What if I don’t Have an Air Fryer?
Not to worry! There are alternative ways to make this delicious crispy tuna melt! Here are a few options I recommend:
- Pan fry the tuna melts until crispy and melted. I highly recommend medium to low heat on a non-stick pan so the cheese has time to melt without the bread burning.
- Bake the tuna melts in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes on each side. Make sure to use a metal baking sheet for this.
- Grill the tuna melts on your outdoor grill or Blackstone griddle.
If you don’t have an air fryer but are interested in purchasing one, I highly recommend the instant omni. It’s a toaster oven and air fryer and it does a lot more than just that. I’ve had mine for 3 years and still love it! Get your own here!
How To Make an Air Fryer Tuna Melt
Start with 2 cans of tuna. I like the great value brand because it is very inexpensive and still decent quality.
You’ll need bread too. I love using homemade sourdough but, if I don’t have that I try to buy clearance bread and freeze it. This recipe is not for open faced tuna melts so you will need 2 slices of bread per sandwich. This recipe makes 4 sandwiches so you’ll want to take out 8 slices.
Making the Tuna Salad
Open and drain 2 cans of tuna and place them in a medium bowl. Add in 1/4-1/3 a cup of mayo. This depends on how you like your tuna. I like my tuna salad with more mayo but I know some people prefer less.
To the mayo and tuna, add 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Give the tuna salad a good mix until everything is well incorporated.
Assembling the Sandwiches
Adding in fresh tomatoes is a real treat, while not 100% necessary, it’s delicious. I had tomatoes on hand from my small patio garden so I decided to add them. If you have tomatoes, on hand, I recommend you slice one up and add it to the tuna melt to be extra.
Butter one side of each slice of bread and place the bread butter side down on a cutting board or baking sheet.
Top 4 of the bread slices with the tuna mixture, dividing it evenly.
Top the tuna with the sliced tomatoes.
And as the last piece of the puzzle, add a slice of cheddar cheese. (Alternatively, you could use any favorite cheese you like such as: Monterey Jack, Swiss, Colby Jack, or any other cheese you love)
How to Air Fry the Tuna Melts
Air fry at 350 for 6 minutes.
Flip and cook for 2 more minutes.
Impressively Crispy!
It shocks me time and time again, how crispy the air fryer can make a sandwich! Slice your cheesy, crispy tuna melts in half and enjoy! I like to serve mine with some fresh veggies, hummus, and ranch dressing for those that enjoy that over hummus!
Watch How To Make This Air Fryer Tuna Melt
You can watch me make this and 2 other fast and easy weeknight dinners in this Youtube video.
And for more quick, cheap, and easy inspiration check out these videos:
MORE BUSY MOM RECIPES TO TRY
Air Fryer Tuna Melt
Ingredients
- 2 cans tuna drained
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 8 slices sandwich bread
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 small tomato sliced
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Mix together the drained tuna, mayo, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the softened butter on one side of each slice of bread and place the bread butter side down on a cutting board or baking sheet.
- Top 4 slices of bread with 1/4 of the tuna mixture each.
- Top the tuna mixture with the sliced tomato and top the tomato with the sliced cheese on each.
- Top the sandwiches with the final slice of bread and air fry at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Flip the sandwiches, and air fry for 2 more minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy and golden on both sides.
- Slice in half and enjoy!
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