Tuna salad does not need to be boring, and, yes we can add cheese to salad. Feta cheese pairs well with many salads including this one. As winter slowly fades in the rearview mirror, so do the heavier comforting recipes we love. And as spring recipes call for lighter meals leading to summer, salad recipes for packed lunches, as an appetizer, side, or main course are heavily welcomed.

This tuna salad with feta cheese recipe was inspired by my daughters who surprisingly came to love eating salad over the past few months. So I suppose we can add this to the child-friendly recipe catalog too.

Tuna Salad With Feta Cheese Ingredients

Iceberg Lettuce

I use iceberg lettuce for its crunch, its somewhat mellow flavor and it’s best served chilled which goes well with the refrigerated feta. You could substitute this for romaine.

Tuna

What you use here may vary as canned tuna comes in tuna chunks and solid canned tuna that have larger pieces. I went for solid tuna preserved in olive oil for this recipe but have also used chunk canned tuna and it was just as delicious.

Avoid using canned tuna that has been preserved with overly flavored ingredients. Tuna that is salted and canned in olive or sunflower oil would be best.

Make sure you completely drain the tuna before adding it to the salad.

Feta Cheese

Feta cheese recipes will call for variously flavored or preserved feta. I went for plain feta cheese and not one that is packaged in flavored oil or other ingredients. But you could get creative here, however, as you will be using balsamic glaze to finish, I would suggest considering the combination.

How to Make Tuna Salad With Feta Cheese

Your base would be the crunchy iceberg lettuce. For this recipe, I use the whole iceberg lettuce. However, that yields a generous serving of 3. If you’re making this for one and serving it as a main course I would suggest only using a quarter of the iceberg as the sweetcorn, tuna, and feta cheese make it quite filling.

You can opt to carelessly tear the iceberg or cut it into thick strips which is what I opted for. Thereafter, add the pitted black olives (cut them in halves or leave them whole), sweetcorn, and diced feta (you could crumble it if you prefer).

There is no need to add salt as the feta and olives bring that to the salad. Just drizzle your best extra virgin olive oil into the salad and toss to coat.

For better presentation (if serving for a hosted event), it’s best to drizzle the balsamic glaze at the end instead of tossing it before serving.

I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please give the Tuna Salad With Feta Cheese recipe a thumbs up below.

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You Might Also Love This Tuna Salad

Broccoli Stem Salad With Tuna

A quick and simple salad made with parboiled broccoli, stir-fried in garlic-infused olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon. Finished with tuna chunks, a sprinkle of chili flakes (optional), and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Print Recipe

Tuna Salad With Feta Cheese

(+6 rating, 2 votes)

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lunch, Dinner – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 10 minutes

Tuna salad tossed with iceberg lettuce, sweetcorn, olives, and feta cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 iceberg lettuce
• 150g sweetcorn
• pitted olives (amount is to your preference)
• 140g canned tuna fillet (solid tuna)
• 150g plain feta cheese
• olive oil
• balsamic glaze

Instructions

1

Wash and cut the iceberg lettuce into thick strips, tip them into a mixing bowl

2

Drain the canned sweet corn and add them to the iceberg

3

If using black olives, add them whole to the iceberg or halve them if that's your preference

4

Drain the tuna from the preserved oil (discard the oil) and add the tuna to the other ingredients

5

Dice the feta cheese into bite sizes and toss into the mixing bowl

6

Drizzle oil over the ingredients and toss before finishing with the balsamic glaze.

Calling all broccoli and veggie lovers!!!! This quick and easy broccoli soup recipe is what your busy weeknights need, what your children will surprisingly love, and what you will highly likely make more than once! Okay, I am done bragging

watch the video on youtube & subscribe

meat-free day alternative

easy

packed lunch

child friendly

Who doesn’t like a hot and comforting bowl of healthy broccoli soup with cheese, served with soft and sweet homemade bread? For this recipe I only use the broccoli florets, but don’t throw away the stem- you could try it on these shockingly delicious spicy broccoli stem recipes.

This recipe uses broccoli and potato which those who like eating ‘chunky soup’ will love biting into.

How to make broccoli soup

Broccoli soup base ingredients

As with most if not all of my soups, the base is made of simply shallot, celery, and carrots which should be finely diced.

How to

Cut the main stem of the broccoli, then separate the broccoli florets from the stems, and let them sit in a bowl of water to remove any excess dirt.

Then finely chop the stems.

Steam the florets in a microwave tin for 5 minutes at 100% power. If you do not have one, you could steam them using a steaming basket over a pot of boiling water with a lid.

I steam the broccoli stem because it helps us retain a bit more of the broccoli flavor and color as we will add it after all the other ingredients are cooked through.

Heat your pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil, saute the onions until they are soft and translucent but not browned before adding in the carrots and celery to cook for 2 minutes then add in the potatoes and broccoli stem.

After 2 minutes, add the vegetable stock pot and water or vegetable stock if using. Increase the heat, add a pinch of salt, cover the pot, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes or until tender.

Now add in the broccoli florets and let that cook for a further 1 minute before adding in the double cream, stir then add in half of the cheese and use a hand blender to blend.

Take the soup off the stove, sprinkle in the rest of the cheese, and continue blending until smooth.

You can serve this with my soft and sweet easter bread, you can leave out adding the eggs to the braided dough to keep it simple.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission should you choose to purchase recommended products using my link.

Please give this quick and easy broccoli soup recipe a thumbs up below.

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You might also love

Healthy sweet potato soup with broccoli stem

Try this guilt-free, healthy sweet potato soup with carrots and broccoli stem. You can have it hot, warm, or better yet cold with toasted almonds!

Print Recipe

Quick & Easy Broccoli Soup

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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Lunch/Dinner – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 20 minutes – Total Time: 25 minutes

A heartwarming broccoli soup with cheese that is set to warm you up during winter nights, or make for a delicious light-packed lunch.

Ingredients

• 230g broccoli florets
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small shallot
• 1 stick celery
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 small floury potatoes
• 300ml vegetable stock (plus 50ml more to lighten the soup to the preferred thickness)
• 32ml double cream
• 25g grated parmesan

Instructions

1

Finely dice the shallot, celery, and carrots. Separate the broccoli florets from the main stem (reserve for another recipe), then finely chop the stems (that were directly connected to the florets).

2

Steam the florets in a steam basket or microwave tin for 5 minutes (or until tender) at 100% power.

3

Heat the pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil, saute the onions for 1-2 minutes or until they are soft but not browned, then add in the carrots and celery to cook for 2 minutes, and lastly add in the potatoes and broccoli stem.

4

After 2 minutes, add the vegetable stock pot and water or vegetable stock if using. Increase the heat, add a pinch of salt, cover the pot, and leave to boil for 10 minutes or until tender.

5

Then add in the broccoli florets and let that cook for a further 1 minute before pouring in the double cream, stir then add in half of the cheese and blend.

6

Take the soup off the stove, sprinkle in the rest of the cheese, and continue blending until smooth.

Roasted sweet potato soup might not be what comes to mind when you think of breakfast. But for so long I swore to skip the toast and buns for some hearty soup. Why? Because I figured I should try to cut out the sugar, eat more diverse, healthier, and more filling foods. However somehow; my sweet tooth, toast-loving self always managed to pull out a perfectly good excuse as to why it wasn’t the perfect morning for soup.

That is until I made this roasted sweet potato soup with chickpeas that, yes, still had a bite to them and a dash of coconut cream. But most importantly, anyone can make!

The roasted sweet potato soup is filling, lumpy with a good chew from the chickpeas and oven-roasted potatoes and carrots. And if you have a sweet tooth, you will like the mildly sweet flavor of the potatoes and coconut cream.

You might also love or appreciate the minimal spices used. I figured, if you’re going to have this for breakfast- it should be ‘packed’ to fill you up until lunch without having you feel your insides are working overtime already!

Making the roasted sweet potato soup

After washing and dicing the carrots and sweet potatoes, I pour just enough oil to coat them before roasting them for an hour. Turning the vegetables halfway for even browning.

Sweet word of caution: Do not cut the vegetables too thick as they will take longer to roast. And avoid adding too much oil as the sweet potatoes will end up soggy.

At least 10 minutes before the vegetables in the oven are done, I start on the base ingredients by sautéing the onions and celery. Because as much as I know, there are quite a few who love the taste of crunchy celery dipped in hummus or other.

I, however, feel that celery has an intense flavor that needs to be mellowed down by sautéing it for a few minutes.

The same goes for onions, there is nothing worse than looking forward to your roast sweet potato soup and be put off by the strong flavor of onions that have not been given enough time to cook prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.

I learned this the hard way during my early risotto days.

Anyway, after the onions and celery are softened I add in 3/4 of the roasted potatoes and carrots and sauté for 3 minutes. Then tip the vegetable mix onto a bowl and on the same pan with a little oil, fry the chickpeas with

The sweet potato soup can also be enjoyed for lunch or for a light-ish dinner. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Please give the oven-roasted sweet potato soup with chickpeas a thumbs up below.

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Healthy Sweet Potato Soup with Broccoli Stem

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Oven roasted sweet potato soup with chickpeas

(+3 rating, 2 votes)

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Breakfast, lunch, Dinner – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes – Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Sweet potato soup with chickpeas. Made with oven-roasted sweet potatoes and carrots blended with coconut cream, cinnamon, and curry spices.

Ingredients

• 300g sweet potatoes
• 115g carrots
• Vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp finely diced red onion
• 2 tbsp finely diced celery
• 128g coconut cream
• 120g boiled chickpeas (not mushy)
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp mild curry powder
• 1/8tsp salt (more if needed)
• 150ml water

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C

2

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes and carrots to roughly equal size (of your thumbnail)

3

Tip the vegetables onto a baking dish and drizzle 4 tbsp of vegetable oil. Using your hands, coat the vegetables with the oil. Then leave to roast on the bottom rack for 1 hour or until nicely brown and soft

4

10 minutes before removing your vegetables from the oven, add 2 tbsp of oil into a pot over medium heat. Add in the onions to sauté until soft but not brown. Then add in the celery to sauté for a further 2 minutes.

5

Take out the vegetables from the oven and tip 3/4 of it into the pot with the onions. Stir to combine and let that cook for 2 minutes then put them in a blender with the coconut cream and blend (It will form a thick paste)

6

In the same pot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and toss in the chickpeas, let that slightly brown for 3 minutes before adding in the salt and spices to cook a further 1 minute.

7

Add in the sweet potato and coconut cream purée to the chickpeas and stir then pour in 150ml of water.

8

Let that simmer for 3 minutes over medium heat

9

Serve with the reserved oven-roasted sweet potato and carrots for an extra chew.

I’ll skip the sweet talk or filter and be honest. Since switching to working remotely, I’m pretty sure I have gained weight. I got the ‘wake-up call’ when I felt my love handles kissing. Top that off with the sluggishness and my brittle chipping nails. Plus the fact that I had half an hour to make 3 different lunches lead me to opt for something quick, delicious, and nutritious.

The broccoli had already started to turn yellow, but I was adamant not to throw it away so used the ‘not so nice-looking part’ on soup for dinner. And the stem for this broccoli salad which I wish I had thought of earlier. Yes, it was surprisingly really delicious and filling.

This is a ‘measurement-free’ recipe so just have fun with it!

This is a quick salad that takes 20 minutes tops! Depending on how quick you are to chop, it will take at most 4 minutes. Then 10 minutes to boil the broccoli stem and another 5 minutes or less to stir fry with plating taking 1 minute and wham!!! Lunch is served!!!

I feel blessed to not just have a job but one I like with a wonderful team and the opportunity to work from home. The perks are that I can run in the kitchen and whip up this salad and still have 10 minutes to eat. That is if I am not making food for anyone else. 

However in between work and forking away my salad. It did go cold, and it was just as delicious. So pack it for lunch or enjoy it while it’s still warm.

I recommend you use canned tuna chunks preserved in oil and not brine as it will be too dry. 

How long you stir fry the broccoli stem will also depend on how charred you like them. I love when the broccoli leaves have a teeny teeny crunch and bitterness to them. Wooo i am getting excited and wanting to just march into the kitchen and have this for dinner as well!

Alternative Additions:

1. Add couscous or bulgur to the mix. Steam your cous cous at the same time as you boil the broccoli stem.

2. Stir fry your broccoli stems with fresh red birds eye chilli. How? First, heat the pan, then pour in the oil and garlic cloves to infuse. Take out the garlic and toss in the fresh chili to fry for a minute or until they start to shrivel (not brown) then add in the broccoli stems and proceed as below.

3. You could also add on some bite-size boiled potatoes tossed in a little 

Please give the Broccoli stem salad with tuna a thumbs up below.

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Other Recipes You Might Like…

Avocado, Rocket and Prune Salad with Fig Dressing

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Broccoli stem salad with tuna

(+2 rating, 1 votes)

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Lunch/Dinner – International

By Angela – Serves: -

Prep Time: 5 – Cooking Time: 15 minutes – Total Time: 20 minutes

A quick and simple salad made with broccoli that has been boiled then stir-fried in garlic-infused olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon. Finished with tuna chunks, a sprinkle of chili flakes (optional), and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic glaze.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Garlic cloves (whole, not sliced)
• Broccoli stem
• Lemon
• Canned tuna chunks
• Chili flakes
• Balsamic glaze

Instructions

1

Thinly slice the broccoli stem

2

Bring water to boil in a pot and toss in the broccoli stem, cover and leave to boil until soft (not mushy)- should be ready in 10 minutes. Drain when ready

3

Heat a frying pan over high heat. When hot pour in some olive oil and the garlic cloves. Tilt the pan so the oil creates a 'puddle' around the garlic. Take the garlic out after roughly 30 seconds or when you see them start to brown

4

Toss in the broccoli stems and stir to coat with the oil, add a pinch of salt. Keep your eye on it and when the broccoli starts to brown (if that is how you like it) go ahead and squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto it, taste for salt. Let cook for another minute before taking it off the fire.

5

Crumble the tuna chunks over the broccoli stem, sprinkle some dried chili flakes over it and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic dressing.

It’s getting hotter and hotter on this end, and a recipe you might like is one that doesn’t pack on the pounds. Something you might not appreciate is a recipe that heats you up even more, which is why you can have this nutritious sweet potato soup cold- yap I said cold.

Another reason you might want to make this recipe is to make use of that broccoli stem you were considering throwing away. If you are worried about the broccoli overpowering the sweet potatoes or carrots, I promise- the taste is mild and fades away if noticeable at all.

How to Make Sweet Potato Soup, Plus Alternative Ingredients…

I start preparing the sweet potatoes first because they take longer to cook, then while that roasts in the oven I cook the veg.

Why do I roast the sweet potatoes? Because I wanted them to be caramelized and bring that extra sweetness to the rest of the vegetables.

I don’t have a vegetable stockpot, what then? You can use homemade vegetable stock if you have some, pour in 600ml of vegetable stock instead of water.

I get that you want it sweet, but can I make this soup without roasting the sweet potatoes? Yes you can, however, you might need to add a little more water to simmer the vegetables

This might sound super weird but I’ll suggest it anyway. While trying to think of ways to style the soup for the shoot, I considered using sesame seeds. But I didn’t have them, guess that was a blessing in disguise. Why?

Because I ended up using leftover toasted almonds which I roughly chopped and scattered all over the soup. And boy was that delicious, the almonds had this toasty nutty (so corny I know hehe) taste, plus the crunch just brought the sweet potato soup to another level of delicious! So if you have some almonds in your pantry, get to toasting and toss them on that soup!

Need a Side to Go With That Sweet Potato Soup?

Here are some praiseworthy bread ideas you can make for your sweet potato soup, pack for lunch, or the beach.

Buffalo Mozzarella and Ham Swirl Bread

Soft brioche-like swirl bread with buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto crudo, and fresh basil filling. Perfect for packed lunch or when you’re headed out to the beach!

Sfincione

Sfincione is an upgrade to focaccia with an anchovy tomato topping sprinkled with fragrant dried oregano and a mixture of pecorino and parmesan cheese.

Some Broccoli Stem Recipes You Might Like

If you have been converted to the leftover broccoli stem lovin’ club, there is one epic recipe you should try then use it to convert more members.

Broccoli Stem and Sweet Corn Pizza

I know this just came out of nowhere, you probably weren’t expecting me to go this far with my apparent broccoli stem obsession. But this pizza is so shockingly good you just might not want to share. Then again, after making your own homemade pizza dough with the broccoli stem topping- you do have something worth bragging about and sharing.

The topping has broccoli stem sautéed with fresh chili and garlic-infused olive oil. Plus sweet corn and buffalo mozzarella. Finished with thick-ish slivers of grated Grana Padano and black pepper.

I hope you liked the carrot and broccoli stem soup If so, I would immensely appreciate it if you give it a thumbs up below.

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Wishing you a lovely day!

Print Recipe

Healthy sweet potato soup with broccoli stem

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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Appetizer – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 10 – Cooking Time: 45 minutes – Total Time: 55 minutes

Try this guilt-free, healthy sweet potato soup with carrots and broccoli stem. You can have it hot, warm, or better yet cold with toasted almonds!

Ingredients

• 1 spring onion
• 2 tablespoons green bell pepper
• 218g carrots
• 150g broccoli stem
• 130g sweet potatoes
• 1 vegetable stockpot
• vegetable oil

Instructions

1

Finely dice the onions and green bell pepper. Slice the sweet potatoes and carrots into thin slices of roughly the same size. Cut the broccoli stem into thin slices, they should be thinner than the sweet potatoes

2

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356 °F

3

Toss the sweet potatoes with about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a baking dish. Leave to roast in the middle oven rack for 30 minutes, stir and turn the potatoes halfway through. While the potatoes roast, cook the veg.

4

Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick pot, sautée the onions until soft (about 1-1 1/2 minutes) then add in the bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli stem. Let that sautée for about 5 minutes on medium-high heat, turning occasionally. Pour in 600ml of cold water and toss in the vegetable stockpot, stir and cover to cook on high heat for 20 minutes.

5

After the 30 minutes of roasting, add 50ml of hot water to the sweet potatoes and leave to absorb and soften for 15 minutes.

6

When the vegetables are soft and cooked through, add the softened potatoes to the veg, stir and purée until smooth.

7

Let it cool and serve with toasted almonds.

This humble warm barley & co salad is for you if your answer to most of the following questions is a big YES! Are you as crazy about roasted veggies? Sweet caramelized carrots with a little bite still left in them, soft and succulent red peppers and chewy barley? Do you boil chickpeas for hummus BUT end up leaning on the kitchen counter snacking at them instead? Well, then this salad is what you should make next. I do not use any fancy dressing, just a simple drizzle of olive oil, plus a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

It has taken a long time to talk myself into eating salad. You know, the cold leafy type! Argh, I cannot tell you how many times I cringed at the suggestion of salad as a main course. (Don’t get me wrong I have the occasional unexplained urge to reach for those leafy greens. However, it feels good to eat this warm-ish salad that I know will do me more good than harm without zero compromises to taste or time spent making a fancy dressing.

So this one’s for you my fellow ‘cold salad dreading’ reader! A warm-ish healthy alternative, packed with chewy barley and naturally sweet slow-roasted veg. Eat your fill and unapologetically go back for more! Better yet, share it!

And barley, oh dear barley I never knew I could like you this much. But since I met you I have decided you fit right in! I promised not to pair you with only winter stews and soups so here you are! Don’t say I didn’t stick to my word. I know I’ll be seeing you around more often, so avid reader- that’s a hint if you have a soft spot for barley as I do.

I used canned sweet corn but should you have some uncooked corn stowed away, boil it for 6-10 minutes with some salt and remove the kernels. To add even more flavor, you can lightly brush it with some unsalted butter and roast with the other vegetables (turning occasionally for even browning). But do not leave it in there too long- take it out while it still holds its shape and juiciness (if left in too long in the oven the kernels shrivel) and that is not a pretty sight.

Roasting the Vegetables for Salad

The trick to roasting the carrots and sweet potatoes that are nicely caramelized and not overly shriveled is to use a low temperature. I roast them at 180 C for about 40 minutes in total. However, I first start with the sweet potatoes which took longer. Then I move them to the side and add the carrots to the other end of the tray and the bell peppers and zucchini in the middle.

It’s crucial that you rotate the pan at least once because of oven hot spots. Also, turn the sweet potatoes and carrots for even caramelization.

Once the barley and chickpeas are cooked. I drain and pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over them then gently rub the oil over the barley and chickpeas while still warm. Then I finish by adding about 2 tablespoons of good olive oil (you know, the one you are too smart to use for cooking ) over the mixed vegetables.

How to Save Time?

Soak the chickpeas in cold water overnight. Make sure the water is double the amount for the chickpeas and the container is high enough as they will swell up and double in size

I boil the chickpeas and barley simultaneously as the roasted vegetables. Use a pan with high depth because the barley and chickpeas will form a frothy layer as they boil. Can you use store-bought chickpeas? Yes, you can, however, I prefer to boil my own so I can control the texture as I find the store-bought versions a little too soft for my liking.

So make this deliciously humble salad and pack it for lunch. If you like it, stick around for more recipes and please give the warm barley & co humble salad recipe a thumbs up below.

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Other Salad You Might Like

Healthy Brown Rice Salad With Tuna

Simple rice salad with canned tuna, sweet corn, tomato, and turkey. Tossed in olive oil, salt, oregano, and black pepper.

Print Recipe

Warm barley & co humble salad

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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salad – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour – Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

A simple and humble warm salad, made with boiled barley and chickpeas. Slow roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper.

Ingredients

• 125g barley
• 100g chickpeas
• 260g sweet potatoes
• 200g carrots
• 140g sweet corn
• 50g zucchini (optional)
• olive oil
• salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1

Slice the carrots evenly to half an inch thick; dice the red pepper and sweet potatoes

2

Set the oven grill function to preheat at 180C. As the oven heats up, prepare the chickpeas and barley.

3

Pour the water used to soak the chickpeas and rinse through once and set aside. Bring water in a large pot to boil then add in the chickpeas to boil over high heat uncovered for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until cooked through but not mushy.

4

Rinse the barley over cold running water. Boil water in a large pot, then add in the barley to boil over high heat uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through.

5

Lightly spray a large baking tray with oil. Coat the sweet potato in about 2 1/2 tbsp of oil and roast on the second oven rack from the bottom for 40 minutes or until soft and cooked through and caramelized. Add the carrots, bell peppers and zucchini (if using) 10 minutes after you add the sweet potatoes into the oven. Coat the vegetables with a little oil before you do so.

6

Drain the chickpeas and barley when ready then put them both in the same bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and with your hands try to coat the grains and chickpeas with the oil as best you can

7

Toss in the sweet corn, carrots, sweet potato, and bell peppers. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, some salt, and pepper. Stir to combine

8

Serve

Notes

If boiling the chickpeas at home, let them soak overnight to reduce the cooking time.

Rice salad is as simple as it gets. Sadly, I sometimes struggle with simplicity. It’s ironic because it should be simple right? But as you also probably know, it’s the simple things that can be the hardest. So what exactly am I having an issue with? It’s constantly trying to remind myself that a recipe does not need to have 15 ingredients for the condiments and 7 or more for the dish itself. Sometimes all you need is a drizzle of olive oil and 5 ingredients. Which is what you need for this simple rice salad with tuna.

Some recipes have diced mild-flavored cheese and cubed ham instead of turkey. Is it delicious? You bet it is! So why didn’t I choose to share that recipe with you instead? To keep it simple, I prefer this one better.

Why Do I Like This Rice Salad Recipe Better?

Fewer calories and so so delicious! Other recipes will call for white rice, I prefer the earthy flavor of brown rice. I don’t add cheese just because I think the rice works wonderfully without it. Turkey over ham? Anyday! We happened to snag this turkey which turned out to be even tastier than having diced ham in the rice salad.

As I write this post, I am reminded of scenes in Korean dramas when they make a bowl of quick rice with kimchi. Just adding one ingredient after the other to be finished with a drizzle of cocktail condiments that I have no idea about Anyone know what they are, please educate me in the comments :). But watching them eat makes me full, and I am an avid watcher of theeasychan! Anyway, back to our rice salad. What do you need for it, and can you make any substitutes?

Rice Salad Ingredients and Alternatives

Tuna

I got spoiled, my first try at tinned tuna was albacore then yellowfin. Which made it hard to ‘have eyes’ or should I say ‘palette’ for anything else. I prefer to use canned tuna chunks over the flaky type. Why? Because I like to have control over just how crumbled the tuna is. BUT for the sake of affordability and my desire to prove that the flaky tuna can make a mindblowing recipe too- I chose to use the flaky kind for this recipe. I know, I know, the tuna looks miserable. No, if we are to be brutally honest it does not look appetizing. But give it a chance, plus an added positive; aside from the affordability of flaky tuna is that it’s easier to blend into the rice.

Sidenote: Get salted tuna that has been preserved in a vegetable or olive oil.

Olive oil

Oh yes, here is where I have messed up one too many times! I cook the rice with vegetable oil and after mixing it with the other ingredients; I dribble a little bit of olive oil. However, it has happened that I used olive oil that was so intense it felt like it had masked my tongue in its flavor and I couldn’t taste anything else.

So, word to the wise? Use a very very mild olive oil that will not overpower your sidekick (ingredients). Though it might be that you do not need to add any oil because the tuna will have been slightly drenched in the preserved oil.

Rice

Here is where it gets a little interesting. I have used all sorts of brown rice brands and seem to have landed on my favorite so far. Drumrolllll……. enter Scotti whole grain rice! Why do I prefer this? I love the taste and how slightly bigger the grains are.

So about the temperature of the rice? I like to eat the salad when it is lukewarm compared to cold. Why? I have no idea, it just seems to taste better to me.

Turkey

I seem to come back to turkey each time since discovering that i preferred it to diced ham which quite a few people like. In that case, should you be unable to find some really good log of turkey, just use diced ham.

Tomato

The rice salad without the tomato can be a little dry. I would suggest you use a beef or plum tomato. One that is ripe but firm.

Please give the Healthy rice salad with tuna recipe a thumbs up below.

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Other Grain Salad Idea

Warm barley & co humble salad

A simple and humble warm salad, made with boiled barley and chickpeas. Slow-roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper.

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Healthy rice salad with tuna

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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Salad – International

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 35 minutes – Total Time: 40 minutes

Simple rice salad with canned tuna, sweet corn, tomato, and turkey. Tossed in olive oil, salt, oregano, and black pepper.

Ingredients

• 160g brown rice
• 375ml water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 150g natural sweet corn
• 150 canned tuna preserved in oil
• 170g diced beef tomato (with or without seeds)
• 150g cubed turkey
• Olive oil
• Oregano (optional)
• Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1

Gently wash the rice in a large sieve under cold running water until the water turns clear

2

Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and tip in the rice. Stir to mix over high heat for about 1 minute.

3

Pour 375ml of cold water over the rice and 3/4 teaspoon of salt, stir and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover, and leave to simmer for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

4

When the rice is ready, take it off the fire and leave to sit for 5-10 minutes. Then transfer it to a large bowl and leave to cool until slightly warm. (If you prefer the rice cold, let it cool completely).

5

Add the cubed turkey, tomato, sweetcorn and tuna (drained of its oil) over the rice and mix. Drizzle in roughly 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, oregano, and some ground black pepper.

6

Make sure the salad is well seasoned and serve.

How can I tempt you to make this broccoli soup? I could say that it’s healthy, and a great way to just slurp down your veg in one quick take if greens are not your thing but you already know you need to eat your vegetables. This broccoli soup is flavor-packed with spinach, mirepoix, and parmesan which blasts it to another level of delicious! I will also share bread recipes to go with your soup. I wouldn’t just give you a bowl of soup without a delicious side, that would just be plain rude ;).

If I have not yet convinced you to make this soup then how about this? It will take you less than 30 minutes and once all the ingredients are simmering in the pan you can walk away and forget it for 16 minutes as you read, hover, or do whatever else needs doing?

If you’re having people over, you could make the broccoli soup in advance by cooking all the ingredients up to the point where the broccoli and spinach are cooked through. Transfer it to a blender, cover, store it in the fridge, and purée the next day.

Broccoli Soup Ingredients and Alternatives

Broccoli florets: I only use the florets for the soup and save the stem for my broccoli and sweet corn pizza which is out of this world delicious! And a genius way of making a showstopping pizza from broccoli leftovers.

Cheese: I opted for a generous portion of Parmesan, however, you could substitute this for Parmigiano Reggiano.

Spinach: I used baby spinach leaves, I have not yet tried the recipe with the mature leaves. Should you do so, please let me know how it turned out. I wanted the dominant flavor to be broccoli seeing as this is a broccoli soup so I did not go overboard with the spinach.

Cream: Ahh, the thickener of all thickeners. I used double cream, but just a wee bit. If you’d rather not I would suggest using about 100g floury potatoes to thicken the broccoli soup. See below for how to make broccoli soup without cream.

How to Make the Broccoli Soup Without Cream

Bread Ideas to Go With Your Broccoli Soup?

Buffalo Mozzarella and Ham Swirl Bread

To go with this intensely cheesy broccoli soup I made an adaptation of Paul Hollywood‘s savory brioche couronne. It’s a soft and savory bread, filled with prosciutto crudo, buffalo mozzarella and, fresh basil leaves.

Sfincione

Okay, this Sicilian-style pizza is not what you might think of as a side for soup because many like to have it on its own. However, the broccoli soup has an intense yet mellow flavor which will blend well with this mild anchovy tomato-topped flatbread sprinkled with pecorino and parmesan.

Please give the Broccoli soup with spinach and Parmesan a thumbs up below.

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Broccoli soup with spinach and Parmesan

(+15 rating, 3 votes)

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Appetiser – Undefined

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 25 minutes – Total Time: 30 minutes

Broccoli soup with spinach is a healthy foodie's next best friend. This is a quick recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes but packed with flavor from the veg and parmesan rind. Plus I also share with you 2 homemade bread ideas to go with this delicious and simple soup!

Ingredients

• 280g broccoli florets
• 30g baby spinach
• 1 vegetable stockpot
• 40ml cream
• 60g carrot (finely diced)
• 15g celery (finely diced)
• 1 small red onion (finely diced)
• 3tbsp vegetable oil
• 35g grated parmesan
• parmesan rind (optional)
• 340ml water

Instructions

1

Wash the spinach and broccoli florets

2

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onions for 2 minutes or until soft and translucent

3

Add the celery and sauté for 30 seconds before adding in the carrots for a further 1 1/2 minutes

4

Toss in the broccoli, store through with the rest of the vegetables and leave to stir fry for about 2 1/2 minutes

5

Add in 1 vegetable stockpot and 340ml water, if using vegetable stock instead of vegetable stockpot you should add that in now. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and leave to simmer for 16 minutes.

6

When the 16 minutes are done and the broccoli is cooked through, add in the spinach, salt to taste and cream then stir. Leave to cook for a further 2 minutes then take the pan off the stove.

7

Boil 100ml water

8

Sprinkle in the Parmesan to the broccoli, stir well and transfer to a blender. Pour in 80ml of water to the vegetables and blend until completely smooth. Add the rest of the water to the soup to lighten to your preferred thickness.

Growing up, as far back as I can remember, lentils have never been missed in the weekly menu. We eagerly ate it with rice or chapati (which to some is referred to as roti, but we make ours a little different). It was a simple green lentil stew ‘loved’ up with onions, tomatoes, and a few teaspoons of a spice mix we used on everything! Yes, everything!

So It seemed inevitable that I would someday gravitate to making this for my kids, with a tweak here and there. And with everything going on at the moment, being stuck at home with so few ingredients. We are forced to either be creative or frugal with our pantry staples. This is one reason why this lentil recipe will work for you, it’s what I would refer to as a no-fuss pantry staples meal.

And it’s a ‘one for all’ recipe so even the kids will like it saving you time in the kitchen. Oh, and one more thing – I’m going to share with you 2 other recipes you can use this lentil recipe on.

Other Reasons toTry This Lentil Stew Recipe

I admit to sometimes feeling exhausted from cooking which seems endless at the moment. I am not sure if it’s because I am stuck indoors but sometimes it feels like no sooner did I finish preparing breakfast am I back in the kitchen making lunch and dinner with snacks in between! So having this simple yet versatile lentil recipe that I could whip up into more than one dish was very much welcome!

This lentil stew also freezes well. All you would have to do is portion it into a zip lock bag and freeze it either after it has been cooked with the coconut milk and other ingredients. Or you can freeze the boiled lentils to use in this or other recipes which is what I do as it also saves me time when I need to quickly whip something up.

Lentil Stew Ingredients

Lentils: I used brown lentils for this recipe. I should emphasize that the lentils didn’t have any leftover cooking water when I added it to the vegetables. So if your boiled lentils have a little leftover water, sieve out the water first before adding it to the vegetables.

Carrots: Chop them to as equal size as you can for even cooking.

Raisins: I used the golden raisins.

Recipe Ideas to Use This Pantry Staple Lentil Stew

Lentil Pasta

I originally made this for my youngest who is almost 24 months. I was overwhelmed after giving it a taste because I never thought I could enjoy a pasta dish without cheese so much! It was filling but gave me the feeling of ‘clean eating’ if I can call it that. To make this is as simple as boiling the pasta and adding it to the already cooked lentils.

How to The Lentil Pasta:

Step 1: Make sure the lentils are ready and hot before you start preparing the pasta

Step 2: I used 100g of the Barilla detali lisci baby pasta which cooks in under 6 minutes for the recipe in the above image. However, when preparing this for adults, you could use 100g of the same shape of pasta in a larger form that is also sold by barilla.

Step 3: When the pasta is ready, drain, it and put it back in the pan. Add a ladleful at a time of lentils over the pasta, mix through, and see if you need more, and just add more. Serve.

Creamy Lentil and Chickpea Soup

Have 100g of leftover Lentil stew? Use it on this lazy, spicy chickpea soup. It’s creamy from the blended potatoes with coconut milk and the chickpeas contribute a nice bite. It’s spicy and comforting at the same time- does that make sense?

Please give the lentil and coconut milk stew a thumbs up below.

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Other Recipes You Might Like…

Creamy Pasta with Beans

Creamy pasta with bean sauce, parmesan, and black pepper. Hearty, warm, filling, and healthy- perfect for when the chill hits or not- dig in any way!

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Lentil and coconut milk stew

(+25 rating, 5 votes)

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Main – Undefined

By Angela – Serves: 3

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 1 hour – Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

A quick and simple pantry staple lentil stew recipe made with brown lentils and coconut milk.

Ingredients

• 200g brown lentils
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp of finely diced red onion
• 40g diced red bell pepper
• 30g raisins (roughly chopped)
• 115g diced carrots
• 160ml coconut milk
• 100ml passata
• 1 vegetable stock pot/ 150ml of vegetable stock

Instructions

1

Rinse the lentils over cold running water. Put them in a pot with 645 ml of water and bring it to a boil uncovered. It will take roughly 30 - 32 minutes to cook through. The lentils should not get to the point where they are overly soft and breaking apart so keep an eye on them after the 25-minute mark. Take them off the fire when ready and sieve out any excess water if any.

2

Heat the oil in a non-stick pot over medium heat and sauté the onions for 2 minutes or until translucent.

3

Add the bell peppers and sauté for a further 1 minute or until softened then add in the carrots. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes.

4

Pour in the Passata, salt, half of the stockpot, or 150ml of vegetable stock if using. Stir, reduce the heat cover, and leave to simmer for 12 minutes.

5

Finally, add the lentils, raisins, and coconut milk to simmer, covered on low heat for 10 minutes.

6

Serve

This is what happens when visitors drop by; hands filled with Christmas treats. From the all-time addictive Neapolitan Christmas cookies to bags of figs you have no idea what to do with. Next, you know, another guest travels the sunny beautiful beach-filled Thailand and brings you a bag of dried mangoes.

Okay, yes yes I know you could get the stuff (dried mango) from your import convenience store but you catch my drift right? So what happened?

Well, in the spirit of “new year, new me” call to arms and bla bla; one of the resolutions- argh I hate that word. One of the missions, or shall we say intentions is to fill up on veg and clear up my skin. Does this actually work? I’m yet to find out. Anyway, salads get boring and are, to be honest, so unappealing to me that something’s got to give. And in the end, a compromise is reached to appease the sweet tooth and love handles that need to go!

DON'T BE AFRAID, it's only a green leaf- it will heal you…
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This salad has a lot of mixed textures. Sweet, tangy, and chewy dried mango contrasted with the soft and slightly juicy figs with their crunchy seeds as well as bitter peppery rocket. Want to take it to work? Good, just don’t drench this baby up with the dressing just yet. Do so at work when you are ready to chow it down.

Like most of my salad, I hate to focus on exact measurements. I think it’s best to approximate and just freestyle while filling up or lessening on the ingredients we like or don’t like. The below measurements are how much I used but you can go ahead and just add an extra fig or two.

The dressing makes a very small amount as I feel that you only need to drizzle a wee bit of it after you have ‘wet’ the salad with some olive oil.

Please give the Rocket, fig, and dried mango salad a thumbs up below.

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You Just Might Like:

Avocado, Rocket and Prune Salad With Fig Dressing

Rocket’s sharp peppery and slightly bitter taste is mellowed down with the sweet slightly piquant fig dressing. The soft and chewy prunes and toasted nuts add a much-needed crunch and nutty flavor.

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Rocket, fig and dried mango salad

(+10 rating, 2 votes)

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Salad – International

By My food memoirs – Serves: 2

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 0 – Total Time: 5 minutes

Sweet, tangy and chewy dried mango contrasted with the soft and slightly juicy figs with their crunchy seeds as well as bitter peppery rocket.

Ingredients

• FOR THE SALAD
• 50g Wild rocket
• Dried mango
• 5 Fresh ripe Figs
• Olive oil
• FOR THE DRESSING
• 6 Fresh mint leaves
• 1 tbsp Runny honey
• 2 tbsp Mild olive oil
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1

DRESSING

2

Roll the mint leaves into a cigar shape and thinly slice. Put them into a mortar with a pinch of coarse sea salt.

3

Grind to form a paste then pour 2 tbsp of olive oil, the runny honey and water- continue to grind in a circular stirring motion.

4

You could then leave it as is, or add sliced pieces of the dried mango into a grinder and blend as much as possible

5

COMBINE

6

Slice the mango into matchsticks and cut each fig into quarters

7

Toss the rocket, figs and mango with about 3 tbsp of olive oil and after the salad is well 'coated' then you can use a spoon to drizzle the mint dressing over the salad.

8

Serve