Ina Garten’s ‘Ultimate’ Tuna Melt Is ‘Very Retro’ & Has a Surprising Herb You Don’t Usually Add to Tuna

There’s something so nostalgic about a tuna fish sandwich. They were go-to lunches during everyone’s childhood, and Ina Garten says it’s time to bring them back — but make them better! Garten’s “Ultimate” tuna melt sandwiches are flavor-packed and feel so much more grown-up than your traditional tuna sandwich. You’ll feel fancy eating them, but you’ll still get that nostalgic kick in every bite.

“I’m making Ultimate Tuna Melts, which is basically a tuna sandwich but with the volume turned way up,” Garten said in a segment from Barefoot Contessa. “[This is] very retro food.”

As is true for all tuna sandwiches, Garten starts by flaking preserved tuna — but she likes one that’s a bit fancier than the kind you buy in a can. She prefers using imported Spanish tuna that’s packed in olive oil. It comes in a jar and has a bit more fresh flavor compared to canned tuna. “With all respect to American tuna, this is particularly good,” she said.

To her tuna, Garten adds diced celery hearts, chopped scallions, and dill, which Garten says makes “such a difference.”

“You think of dill with seafood, but you don’t normally put it in tuna salad, and I thought ‘let me try it,’ and it was really good,” she said. “It’s got that kind of anise seed flavor.”

Then she adds lemon juice, salt, pepper, and her flavored mayonnaise, which she makes by mixing together plain mayonnaise with anchovy paste. “It just gives a little extra depth of flavor, and you don’t know it’s anchovies,” Garten said.

Add the mayo to your tuna mixture, and your tuna salad is done! You could stop here and put your tuna salad onto toasted white bread and call it a day, but Garten likes to amp the sandwich up by topping each tuna-packed slide of bread with Emmental cheese, which is a Swiss, nutty cheese. Then she places the tuna melts under the broiler for a minute or so until the cheese melts.

Garten tops each melt with a bit of microgreens to add some freshness, and then they’re ready to eat! You can leave them open-faced or add another piece of toasted white bread on top to make the sandwiches a bit easier to eat.

“Looks amazing,” one person commented on Food Network’s Instagram post. “I have been making tuna salad for years, and now I know how to really up my game. I guess I never thought of seasoning the mayo. Love the idea and anchovy paste.”

Grab the full recipe for Garten’s Ultimate Tuna Melts here and kick your favorite childhood lunch up a notch. These are nothing like Mom used to make (sorry, Mom!).

Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below: