Add a little fun and dill pickle flavor to your tuna salad with these Dill Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats! This healthy gluten-free recipe is one that's ready in just minutes and will be a new fast and easy lunch!

Welcome to your new quick, easy, healthy, gluten-free lunch! Our Dill Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats are not only just in time for the Lenten season but also they have become one of our go-to, fast, and guaranteed loved lunches in our house! Dill packed, slightly tangy tuna salad served in a fun and kid-loved cucumber boat, ready in under 10 minutes!
Recipe Video
Ingredients Needed
- Cucumber - English Cucumbers are the best for boats because not only are they nice and long and thin, but they have fewer seeds and tend to be bit firmer than your standard cucumber.
- Tuna - While we previously limted the amount of tuna that our girls ate, since finding the Safe Catch brand, which is sustainably caught tuna with the lowest Mercury levels, we've added this dill tuna salad to their lunchess much more often!
- Mayonnaise - Key to any creamy tuna salad, right? Have you made your own, yet?
- Celery and Red Onion - For some added crunch and just a touch of kick from that red onion. Because what's a tuna salad without some celery and onion?
- Apple Cider Vinegar - Just a touch to be able to add the right amount of acidicty.
- Fresh Dill - Between this and the vinegar, it gives the tuna a bit of a dill pickle flavor!
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder - Just the right amount to bring it all together.
Easy to Make
Does it get much easier than just adding it all to a bowl and mixing it? That's one of the best parts of tuna salad, it doesn't take much to make a great one!
The "hardest" part of this recipe? Creating your cucumber boats, which is just a matter of slicing them in half and scooping out the seeds.
English Cucumbers or Japanese Cucumbers are best because not only do they have the fewest seeds, but they are also the crunchiest firmest which is what makes them the perfect vehicle for a tuna salad boat!
Then it's just a matter of assembling - which just a quick scoop into your boats. And a healthy, gluten-free, easy lunch is served! Dill Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats!
As the true test of all of our recipes, if our girls love it then we know that it is a winner and by that measurement, this recipe is exactly that. My girls absolutely love it, and I love what a fast and easy lunch it is! Ready in 10 and gobbled down in no time, these Dill Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats are a new favorite.
FAQs
If you're being generous with the tuna, you can get about 4 boats or 4 quarters of the cucumber. But you can stretch it out to fill 2 cucumbers or a total of 8 boats.
Of course. Use just 2 teaspoons of dried dill for the 2 tablespoons of fresh.
Like some of our other favorite tuna salad recipes, you can add some spinach or avocado to this, too!
Of course, apple cider is our favorite because it's milder than other kinds of vinegar and has a slightly sweeter flavor.
No need to limit yourself to cucumber boats! We love this with our Ritz Crackers From Scratch, Saltines From Scratch, as a sub in a baguette, or with our Easy White Sandwich Bread.
Our Other Tuna Recipes
- Spinach Tuna Melt
- Tuna Pea Pasta
- Avocado Tuna Salad Sub
- Avocado Chickpea "Tuna" Salad - for a mock tuna salad!
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Dill Tuna Salad Cucumber Boats
Ingredients
- 1-2 English cucumbers
- 5 oz tuna drained
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons red onion diced
- 1/4 cup celery diced
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Teaspoons fresh dill
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to taste
- fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers in half. With a small spoon, scoop out the seeds of the cucumber, creating a boat.
- Add everything else, except salt, to a medium sized bowl and mix well. Salt to taste, as different tunas and mayos have different salt levels.
- Scoop tuna salad into the cucumber boats and serve!
ABSOLUTLY delicious! I love the ingredient combo of the tuna mixture. Fresh dill was also a flavour enhancer. This will be in my regular lunch rotation! Also very economical.
I think I could even make this with fresh summer market cucumbers and slice them for summer canapés in the hot days of summer. 😊
I also love that you post calorie counts on your recipes.
Is the 141 calories for all 4 boats or just one boat? Can't wait to try this!!
Hi Venessa! The 141 calories is for just 1 boat. Enjoy!!
Love these tuna boats. Low Carb too!
Love to hear it, Patti!
So delicious and fun to serve for a summer get together too!
These delicious boats are ah-ma-zing. Love the flavor of this tuna salad and how easy it is to make
So wonderful to hear, Linda! Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to leave a review!
ALL these tuna sandis look mouthwatering! Your food site is my go-to site for any recipe! Thanks so much.