American · Lunch
California Tuna Melt Skillet
California diner tradition reading oil-packed tuna salad piled onto sourdough with sliced tomato and sharp cheddar, griddled in butter until golden and the cheese melts, plated with quick pickles and a side of kettle chips for the West Coast weekday lunch counter classic.
$
10 minsPrep
8 minsCook
18 minsTotal
EasyLevel
Nutrition per serving
32Calories
7gProtein
0gFat
0gCarbs
0gSugar
0gFiber
14mgSodium
12mgChol
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Instructions
1
Prep
Slice tomatoes into 5mm rounds, season with salt. Finely chop red onion and capers. Pick and chop parsley. Slice dill pickles into spears. Halve lemon. Divide tuna between two bowls. Mash each portion with fork, fold in 3 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp Dijon, half the red onion, half the capers, 0.25 tsp celery seed, half the parsley, lemon juice, and 0.25 tsp black pepper per sandwich.
2
Build
Spread butter on all four sourdough slices. For each sandwich: lay one slice butter-side down, layer half the cheddar, one portion tuna salad, half the tomato slices, remaining cheddar. Close with second slice butter-side up. Repeat for second sandwich.
3
Toast
Heat large heavy skillet over medium-low for 1 minute. Working with one sandwich at a time or both if skillet is large enough, lay sandwich(es) in skillet 4 minutes per side, pressing gently with spatula, until golden brown and cheese melts completely.
4
Plate
Diagonal-slice each tuna melt into 2 triangles. Set on plates with dill pickle spear and kettle chips alongside. Scatter remaining parsley across, rest lemon half on rim of one plate to share.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 280g (9.9 oz / 2 cans) oil-packed tuna in olive oil
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 100g (3.5 oz) sharp cheddar
- 200g (7.1 oz) ripe tomato
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 dill pickles
- 60g (2.1 oz) red onion
- 40g (1.4 oz) unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp capers in brine
- 60g (2.1 oz) kettle-cooked potato chips
- 1 lemon
- 20g (large handful) flat-leaf parsley
- 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
- 0.5 tsp celery seed