few ingredients

5-Ingredient Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps (10-Minute, No-Cook Dinner)

Name: 5-Ingredient Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 unit cans solid white tuna in water; 3 tbsp mayonnaise; 2 unit celery stalks; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 8 unit large romaine or butter lettuce leaves; 0.25 tsp kosher salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper

No heat, no dishes, no drama — just tuna salad in crunchy lettuce cups.

Total: 10 min
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 0 min
Serves: 2
Difficulty: easy
Calories: 149
Cost: $/serving

It's one of those nights when turning on the stove feels like too much. These tuna salad lettuce wraps are your answer: open a can, stir a few things together, scoop into leaves, eat. The tuna is creamy and a little tangy, the lettuce gives you that satisfying crunch, and the whole thing is done in ten minutes. Don't expect a fancy restaurant plate — expect something honest, filling, and genuinely easy. Great for one person or scaled up fast. Cleanup is basically nothing.

Ingredients

2 unit cans solid white tuna in water — 5 oz each, drained well
3 tbsp mayonnaise — add more to taste
2 unit celery stalks — finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice — fresh or bottled
8 unit large romaine or butter lettuce leaves — rinsed and patted dry
0.25 tsp kosher salt
0.25 tsp black pepper

Method

1 Drain the tuna thoroughly — press it against the can lid or use a paper towel to squeeze out extra water. Watery tuna makes soggy wraps.
2 Add the drained tuna to a medium bowl and break it up with a fork.
3 Add the mayonnaise, chopped celery, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir until evenly combined.
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4 Taste and adjust: more mayo for creaminess, more lemon for brightness, more salt if it needs a lift.
5 Lay the lettuce leaves on a plate or cutting board. Spoon 2–3 tablespoons of tuna salad into the center of each leaf.
6 Fold the sides in like a taco and eat immediately while the lettuce is still crisp.

Variations

Vegetarian Swap — Use two cans of drained chickpeas instead of tuna. Mash them lightly with a fork before mixing in the mayo and celery — it has a surprisingly similar texture.
Faster Version — Skip chopping the celery and just use a small squeeze of pickle relish from a jar — same crunch, zero knife work.
Spicy Kick — Stir in 1–2 teaspoons of sriracha or a pinch of cayenne for heat without adding any extra prep time.

Notes

Store leftover tuna salad (without the lettuce) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Keep the lettuce leaves separate and dry — they'll go limp fast once filled. If your tuna smells strong, a little extra lemon juice tones it down quickly.