Low-Carb Spicy Tuna Bowl with Canned Tuna (High Protein)
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This quick and easy Spicy Tuna Bowl with Canned Tuna is a delicious low-carb cure for a Spicy Tuna Roll craving. Made with salad greens and no rice, there’s only 20 grams of carbs with 40 grams of protein per serving! Perfect for high-protein lunch or dinner meal prep.
While my Mediterranean Tuna Salad recipe is one of my favorite quick tuna lunches, there is so much more that you can do with a protein-packed can of tuna. This high-protein, low-carb spicy tuna bowl is a fun way to switch things up, and it only takes about 15 minutes to throw together.
By layering creamy spicy tuna made with sriracha sauce, sriracha mayo, crunchy cucumbers, edamame, avocado, and a ginger poke dressing over a bed of fresh greens instead of heavy rice, it feels very deconstructed, spicy-tuna-sushi-roll-ish, but in a legit low-carb lunch or dinner. Add some seaweed snacks for added sushi vibes and crunch.
That being said, if you’re looking for a more traditional version with fresh tuna and rice, you’re in luck, because I also have this Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Salad ready for you! 🙌
Why We Love It
- Budget-friendly. It’s made with affordable pantry staples that you can easily prep a few days in advance for ready-to-assemble meals all week.
- Amazing macros. One bowl clocks in at under 500 calories, with 40 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and 20 grams of carbs. Plus, you get those healthy avocado fats.
- No-cook meal prep. All it takes is a little chopping, mixing, and assembling in about 15 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Canned tuna. High-quality brands of wild-caught albacore or skipjack packed in water offer the cleanest flavor and are usually committed to better sustainability practices.
- Sriracha sauce. This is where that signature vinegary heat comes from. Feel free to be as heavy-handed as you can handle here.
- Sriracha mayo. For the creamy part, I use Lee Kum Kee brand, but you can get away with whisking together 3 parts mayo with 1 part sriracha in a pinch.
- Chili crisp. This gives the spicy tuna mixture a bit of smoky-sweet crunch. You can use any brand here. Personally, I really like Momofuku Mild Garlic Chili Crunch. The Momofuku Original Chili Crunch is great, too, if you like more heat.
- Salad greens. Bibb (butterhead), romaine, endive, green leaf, or mesclun mix all work. Since we’re skipping the rice, you just need something that will hold up under the weight of the tuna and toppings. I love a blend of romaine and green leaf or butter lettuce.
- Cucumbers. Mini seedless cucumbers are my go-to. If you can’t find them, grab an English or hothouse cucumber instead.
- Edamame. I use steamed, shelled edamame to keep things easy and double down on the protein.
- Avocado. You can’t have a spicy tuna roll-inspired salad bowl without a layer of ripe, buttery avocado. The hit of healthy fats also makes this an actually filling salad.
- Poke dressing. You’ll find the recipe for this easy gingery dressing here.
Optional Garnishes
For the full spicy tuna bowl experience, I highly recommend topping your bowl off with a few of these fun finishing touches:
- Crunchy toppings. Like toasted sesame seeds, crushed nori (dried seaweed), furikake, scallions, pickled ginger, and jalapeño slices. I also really like Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion Sprinkle. It adds a ton of flavor without any extra oil/fat. The Fermented Black Garlic is another Trader Joe’s gem.
- Sauces/ drizzles. Before digging in, consider adding a little extra sriracha, extra chili crisp, gochujang, or a splash of soy sauce. You could also add some fresh lime juice or rice vinegar to brighten up the whole bowl.
How to Make a Spicy Tuna Bowl with Canned Tuna
Step 1: Prep the dressing. Start by whisking together the Poke-Style Dressing from this recipe → Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice Salad. Set this aside to let the flavors mingle.
Step 2: Mix the spicy tuna. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the drained tuna with the sriracha sauce, sriracha mayo, and chili crisp until the tuna is flaky and evenly coated with the creamy sauce. Feel free to adjust the amounts here to your heat tolerance.
Step 3: Assemble the bowl. Grab your favorite salad bowl and layer in the lettuce, then arrange the cucumbers, edamame, avocado, and spicy canned tuna mixture over the greens.
Step 4: Add dressing and garnishes. Drizzle the prepared dressing generously over the top, and finish with toasted sesame seeds, extra chili crisp, or any other toppings you love. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and FAQs
- Make sure you drain your tuna thoroughly. If too much moisture gets in, the tuna mixture will turn watery and eventually make the lettuce soggy.
- Don’t over-mix the tuna into a paste. You want to gently fold in the sriracha, sriracha mayo, and chili crisp until the tuna is coated but still has some meaty chunks.
- If you can, chill the spicy tuna mixture for 10–30 minutes before you start assembling; it’ll taste a thousand times better, as it helps the flavors meld and creates a firmer texture.
Variations
- Salmon – You can easily swap out the canned tuna for wild-caught canned sockeye salmon (well-drained, of course!).
- Veggies – Don’t feel limited to cucumbers! Bulk it up with other high-fiber veggies like shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, or snap peas to keep the carbs in check.
- Cauliflower rice – If the lettuce base isn’t doing it for you, but you want to keep the bowl low-carb, swap the greens for cooked and chilled cauliflower rice.
When you follow the recipe using the lettuce base and about 3 tablespoons of dressing, you’re looking at about 20g of carbs, most of which come from fiber-rich veggies and the tiny bit of sugar in the dressing.
You can scale up the spicy tuna ingredients, so you have enough for 3 days, prep your veggies, and mix the dressing ahead. Refrigerate everything in separate containers, and then assemble the whole thing, including slicing the avocado right before you’re ready to eat each day.
How to Store Leftovers
If you’ve already assembled your bowl with dressing and find you can’t finish it, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge, but it’s really only going to stay good for about 12 to 24 hours before the greens start to wilt and the avocado turns.
If you have extra dressing, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can use it for other salads or even as a marinade for grilled salmon!
More High-Protein Lunch Ideas
- Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Red Pepper Egg Salad with Greek Yogurt
- BLT Chicken Salad with Creamy Mayo Vinaigrette
- Avocado Chicken Salad
If you love this Low-Carb Spicy Tuna Bowl recipe, I would be so grateful if you could leave a 5-star 🌟 rating in the recipe card below. I love reading your comments and feedback!
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Low-Carb Spicy Tuna Bowl with Canned Tuna
Ingredients
- Asian poke-style salad dressing prepared and set aside
- 5 oz canned wild-caught tuna in water *drained well, you can also use canned wild salmon
- 1 tbsp Sriracha hot chili sauce
- 1 tbsp Sriracha mayo *I use Lee Kum Kee brand
- 2 tsp chili crisp *I use the Momofuku mild garlic chili crunch- go with regular if you love the extra heat
- 2 cups salad greens *mixed greens, bibb/butter lettuce, romaine, etc.
- 1-2 mini seedless cucumbers sliced
- ¼ cup steamed shelled edamame
- ¼ ripe avocado sliced/chopped
- optional garnishes: finely chopped scallions, pickled ginger, extra chili crisp (or Trader Joe's crunchy chili onion sprinkle), soy sauce, Sriracha, Gochujang, fresh jalapeño slices, crunchy black garlic (from Trader Joe's), or toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- First, make the poke-style dressing from my crispy rice tuna salad recipe and set it aside while you assemble the bowl.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the drained tuna with the sriracha sauce, sriracha mayo and chili crisp until well combined. *Feel free to adjust these amounts to your taste preference.
- Assemble the bowl: add the lettuce, cucumbers, edamame, avocado, and spicy tuna mixture. Top with prepared ginger poke dressing, toasted sesame seeds, and extra chili crisp, if desired.
Notes
- Make sure you drain your tuna thoroughly. If too much moisture gets in, the tuna mixture will turn watery and eventually make the lettuce soggy.
- Don’t over-mix the tuna into a paste. You want to gently fold in the sriracha, sriracha mayo, and chili crisp until the tuna is coated but still has some meaty chunks.
- If you can, chill the spicy tuna mixture for 10–30 minutes before you start assembling; it’ll taste a thousand times better, as it helps the flavors meld and creates a firmer texture.
Nutrition
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