Tuna Melt
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Tuna Melt
 Tuna salad and melted cheese on toasted bread. The card gives open-faced and closed versions. In a small mixing bowl, combine: 1 (5-ounce; 142 g) canned oil- or water-packed tuna, drained well 1/2 cup (120 g) Hellmann's mayonnaise (see note) 2 tablespoons (10 g) panko bread crumbs (optional; see note) With a fork or stiff rubber spatula, stir and mash vigorously until well-combined and almost no tuna flakes remain. Season with: Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper For Open-Faced Sandwiches Position the oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler element, and preheat the broiler. You need: 2 (1-inch-thick) slices (for open-faced) or 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices (for closed sandwiches) white sandwich bread With a pastry brush, lightly but evenly brush both sides of each bread slice with: Vegetable oil, clarified butter, and/or melted butter, for brushing the bread In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet or on a griddle, toast the bread over medium heat. Toast the first side until nicely browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Press gently with a cooking weight or spatula while toasting for even browning. Flip the bread and lay one slice of cheese on top of each bread slice: 4 slices Cheddar or American cheese Mound the tuna salad on the cheese in an even layer. Top each with the remaining 2 cheese slices. Cook until the bottom of the bread is well toasted. Transfer to a baking sheet and broil until the cheese is well melted, about 1 minute. Serve. For Closed Sandwiches Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). With a pastry brush, lightly but evenly brush both sides of each slice of bread. Brush with oil, clarified butter, or melted butter. In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet or on a griddle, toast the bread over medium heat. Toast the first side until nicely browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Press gently with a cooking weight or spatula while toasting for even browning. Flip the bread and lay one slice of cheese on top of each bread slice. Mound the tuna salad on 2 of the bread slices in an even layer. Close the sandwiches, cheese side down. Cook until the bottom is well toasted. Press gently with cooking weights or a spatula for even browning. Flip and cook until the second side is well toasted. If the cheese is not melted enough, transfer to a baking sheet. Heat in the oven until well melted, about 3 minutes. Serve. |
Tuna Melt crumb: tuna salad under melted cheese on bread Joy of Cooking includes “Tuna Melt”. Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker wrote it (1997 All New edition). This book is the big American home cookbook. It covers baking, roasting, canning and everyday family meals across a century of editions. Differences: Popular internet tuna melt here is Daniel Gritzer's recipe on Serious Eats. He mashes tuna with mayo and a little panko. He spreads it on white bread and tops it with Cheddar or American cheese. He toasts the bread on a griddle. He then melts the cheese under the broiler, or cooks closed sandwiches on the griddle. The ancestor is Joy's tuna melt. Joy spreads its tuna salad on toasted rye, tops it with Monterey Jack and broils it. Joy's salad adds celery, capers, parsley and lemon. The online version's panko and griddle toasting are small improvements. |
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- Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer (1931)
- Differences
Popular internet tuna melt here is Daniel Gritzer's recipe on Serious Eats. He mashes tuna with mayo and a little panko. He spreads it on white bread and tops it with Cheddar or American cheese. He toasts the bread on a griddle. He then melts the cheese under the broiler, or cooks closed sandwiches on the griddle. The ancestor is Joy's tuna melt. Joy spreads its tuna salad on toasted rye, tops it with Monterey Jack and broils it. Joy's salad adds celery, capers, parsley and lemon. The online version's panko and griddle toasting are small improvements.
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- We do not offer this for print or share because it is not public domain. Buy or borrow the book.
- Online sources
- Serious Eats · Tuna Melt
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web writeups - Date
- Sep 2026
Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer (1931).
This book is the big American home cookbook. It covers baking, roasting, canning and everyday family meals across a century of editions. This site cites three editions. One is the classic 1975 Rombauer–Becker text (Plume 1997 printing). The others are the 1997 All New edition and the 2006 75th-anniversary edition. Each dish names its edition.