A grilled cheese with a heart of tuna salad: mayo-bound canned tuna and melting cheese layered between bread and griddled in butter until the outside is crisp and the cheese runs into the fish. It turns a cold, plain tuna sandwich into something hot, rich, and browned — the warm, savory cousin of the lunchbox standby. A diner and luncheonette staple, usually served with chips or a pickle.
A broiled, open-faced tuna sandwich finished with cheese already appears in The Joy of Cooking by 1936, so the pairing of tuna and melted cheese is at least that old. The popular origin tale — that a cook at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Charleston, South Carolina, accidentally tipped a bowl of tuna salad onto a grilling cheese sandwich around 1960 — is widely repeated but unverifiable, with even its date given variously, and is best treated as folklore. What is clear is that the tuna melt flourished in the diner and luncheonette culture of the 1960s and 70s as a cheap, hot, satisfying counter meal.
Crunch gives way to a hot, creamy center: the buttered bread shatters, then the tuna salad and melted cheese meet in a single rich, savory layer, the fish warmed through and bound by cheese rather than just mayo. Celery or onion in the salad adds a little crunch and brightness against all that richness. It is heartier and more comforting than a cold tuna sandwich, and the contrast of crisp crust and soft, hot filling is the draw.
It is built like a grilled cheese, and the same physics apply. Buttered bread crisps on a moderate griddle while the butter's milk solids brown for flavor; the cheese inside must reach its melting point before the crust burns, so medium heat and patience matter. Covering the pan briefly traps heat and steam to warm the tuna and melt the cheese through. The tuna salad should be on the drier side — too much mayo and the moisture steams the bread soft from within rather than letting it crisp.
Variations
Cheddar and American are the usual cheeses, though Swiss is common; the bread runs from white sandwich loaf to rye or sourdough. Some build it open-faced under a broiler, others closed on a griddle; add-ons include sliced tomato, pickles, or a few rings of red onion. The non-negotiables are tuna salad, melted cheese, and toasted bread — drop the heat and the melt and it is just a tuna sandwich again.
On the Palate
Where Tuna Melt sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 2How it's made
6 steps · 15 min
- 14 min
Drain the canned tuna well and mix with mayonnaise, finely chopped celery or onion, salt, and pepper into a fairly firm salad.
Watch outDrain the tuna well and keep the salad on the dry side — too much mayo and the moisture steams the bread soft from the inside instead of letting it crisp.
- 21 min
Butter one side of each bread slice.
- 32 min
On the dry side of two slices, lay a slice of cheese, a thick layer of tuna salad, and another slice of cheese, then top with the remaining bread, buttered side out.
- 43 min
Griddle the sandwiches over medium heat, pressing lightly, until the underside is crisp and golden.
- 52 min
Flip, cover the pan briefly, and cook until the second side is browned and the cheese is fully melted.
Watch outCook over medium and cover the pan briefly after the flip so the cheese melts through before the buttered crust burns — high heat browns the outside while the middle's still cold.
- 61 min
Cut in half and serve hot with chips or a pickle.
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