Description
These Greek Tuna Salad Baked Potatoes are hearty, flavorful, and easy to make. A creamy Mediterranean-style tuna salad with briny olives, tangy feta, lemon, and herbs is piled onto perfectly crisp-skinned potatoes for a fresh, protein-packed lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
For the baked potatoes:
- 4 large russet potatoes (about 8 oz each), scrubbed clean and dried
- 2 tsp olive oil (or avocado oil)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
For the tuna salad:
- 2 (5 oz) cans tuna, drained
- 104 g (½ cup) mayonnaise*
- 1 tsp dried dill (or 1 tbsp fresh)
- ½ tsp dried oregano (or 1 ½ tsp fresh)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove, minced)
- ¼ tsp kosher salt (optional)
- ⅛ tsp cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
- ⅛ tsp red pepper flakes
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 69 g (½ cup) kalamata olives, sliced
- 50 g (⅓ cup) sliced pepperoncini peppers
- 40 g (½ cup) green onions (may sub for ½ cup red onion ~50 g)
- 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled, plus more to top if desired
Instructions
- Bake the potatoes:
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit (205° Celsius). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a fork to poke each potato about 12 times to let steam escape while baking. Rub each potato with olive oil or avocado oil, making sure the skin is fully coated. Coat generously with kosher salt—this helps the skin crisp and adds great flavor.
- Place directly on the baking sheet and bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the skins feel dry and crisp.
- Alternative method: Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch drips—this helps the skins crisp even more. Let potatoes cool slightly before handling.
- Make the tuna salad:
- In a medium bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise (and/or Greek yogurt), dill, oregano, garlic, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest until smooth and evenly seasoned. Note: The tuna salad includes a small amount of salt, but since the baked potatoes are generously salt-crusted, you may prefer to omit it. Taste and season to your liking.
- Fold in the kalamata olives, pepperoncini, green onions (or red onion), and crumbled feta. Stir gently until everything is well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Assemble the potatoes:
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice each one lengthwise down the center. Then make a short, perpendicular crosswise cut in the middle to form a cross.
- Gently press the ends inward until the top splits and the insides puff up.
- Spoon the chilled tuna salad generously over the top. Finish with extra feta and a crack of black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.
- Optional: Serve warm (like a tuna melt)
- If you’d prefer to serve the potatoes warm, skip chilling the tuna salad. Spoon the freshly made tuna salad over the hot, split potatoes, sprinkle with a little extra feta (or some cheddar), and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes, just until the cheese softens and the tuna is warmed through.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
The nutrition estimate accounts for approximately two-thirds of the salt used to coat the potatoes, since not all of it adheres during baking.
The prep time includes both potato prep and making the tuna salad. The latter can be done concurrently while the potatoes bake, so the total time reflects that overlap.
*To lighten the tuna salad, replace some or all of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt. I often use ¼ cup mayo and ¼ cup yogurt, but you can use all yogurt if preferred (½ cup total / ~113 g).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 599
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 1472 mg
- Fat: 36 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Cholesterol: 63 mg