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    Home » Main Dishes

    Tuna Newberg With Rice

    4.82 from 11 votes
    Published by Rebecca Eisenberg ⁠— September 16, 2019 (updated January 27, 2022) — 15 Comments

    676 shares
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    This post may contain affiliate links

    easy creamed tuna over rice - comfort food!

    For a dinner that comes together fast, requires minimal cooking, and makes everyone happy, look no further than Tuna Newberg.

    Tuna Newberg is my ultimate practical dinner. Ninety percent of the ingredients are shelf-stable pantry staples (try saying that three times fast) you probably already have on hand. It's the perfect recipe for those nights when you toss your more complicated dinner plans out the window in favor of staying in and keeping it simple.

    an overhead shot of a bowl of tuna newberg topped with a garnish of dried oregano. a basil plant is visible in the top left corner of the photo.

    You probably won't ever serve tuna newberg to guests. But it’s the kind of dish you turn to when you've had a bad day, or you're feeling tired, or you want to make something affordable that you can eat all week long. You can even serve it as a sort of cozy creamed tuna on toast situation.

    It's like a warm, weighted security blanket in food form.

    If you're looking for other comforting tuna dishes, check out tuna patties, deli tuna salad, and tuna melt hand pies.

    Jump to:
    • ⭐ Why I Love Tuna Newberg
    • 🦞 Tuna Newberg vs. Traditional Seafood Newberg
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe notes
    • 📖 Substitutions and variations
    • 💭 Recipe FAQ
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    ⭐ Why I Love Tuna Newberg

    It's hard to put what I love about Tuna Newberg — an absolute favorite dinner of mine since before I could talk — into words that sound immediately and universally appealing. It's my family’s ultimate go-to comfort food. It's that one dish we all request when we're home.

    My siblings and I have a running joke that Tuna Newberg is so good that if any of us were ever to appear on Chopped, we'd forgo the basket ingredients to make Tuna Newberg, and win with it every round. So what is Tuna Newberg, exactly? It's a thick, creamy tuna sauce served warm, over rice.

    Tuna Newberg probably won't necessarily look pretty on Instagram (good luck, future me, trying to photograph it!) and it might use more mayo than you're used to. But it is a delicious creamed tuna sauce that tastes as good as a hug feels.

    tuna newberg in a bowl

    My grandma made tuna newberg for my mom and her brothers, my mom made it for me and my siblings, we now all make it for ourselves, and now I am passing it along to all of you. It's even caught on with my husband's grandparents who now make it regularly.

    You will not find this recipe anywhere else in the world. Believe me, I've tried.

    For a while, my best guess as to where this Tuna Newberg recipe came from was that my grandma found the recipe on the back of a jar of mayo or a can of tuna. I've tried looking up over the years with zero luck. In writing this post, I wanted to track it down, once and for all, but again, the internet turned up nothing.

    Finally, my mom suggested I reach out to an old family friend, a woman named Irene, who used to help my grandma around the house. Not only did Irene remember it immediately, it turns out that it's an original recipe that my grandma came up with — or at least, that's what my grandma told her.

    🦞 Tuna Newberg vs. Traditional Seafood Newberg

    I wish I could ask my grandma where her inspiration for Tuna Newberg came from or how she developed the recipe. Unfortunately, I can't. But what I can tell you is that it's the much-more-affordable, easy-to-make cousin of a traditional newberg, like a Lobster Newberg or seafood newberg.

    My sister remembers making a traditional seafood newberg with my grandma once (her verdict: Tuna Newberg was better) so I know my grandma at least knew what a seafood newberg was and how to make one.

    Like traditional newbergs, Tuna Newberg features a cream based sauce that's thickened with flour. But, where other newbergs use butter and heavy cream, Tuna Newberg uses milk and mayo. Where traditional newbergs feature acidic flavors like sherry, cognac, Worcestershire sauce, or lemon juice, Tuna Newberg just says no to all types of acid.

    The final key difference: Tuna Newberg is best served over rice, while traditional newbergs are more likely to be served over long, buttery noodles.

    an overhead shot of two bowls of tuna newberg over rice. a cloth napkin is draped between them and a small bowl of oregano sits nearby.

    🥘 Ingredients

    Here's what you'll need to make tuna newberg. See recipe card for quantities!

    all of the ingredients for tuna newberg
    • Canned tuna - I like to use chunk light tuna in olive oil for tuna newberg, but whatever your preferred canned tuna is will be just fine.
    • Sweet onion - While any onion will work, I do have to credit my brother with discovering that the overall Tuna Newberg experience is enhanced when you use a sweet onion instead of a white or yellow onion.
    • Mayonnaise - This helps thicken the sauce and adds a lot of that creamy texture.
    • Milk - Whatever kind of milk you like best! I haven't tried this with plant based milks, but if you're dairy-free, Lactaid works just fine.
    • Flour - The flour is what thickens the tuna newberg into a creamy sauce. DO NOT SKIP THE FLOUR. If you skip it, you will have a sad, thin, milky tuna sauce. Gluten free flour will work. So will corn starch (but you'll want to use half as much).
    • Paprika and oregano - In the original version of this recipe, paprika and oregano weren't even mentioned. My parents served them "on the side" to garnish, but I find it's just easier to add them right into the sauce. Use any kind of paprika you have on hand, and you can use fresh or dried oregano. If using fresh oregano, less is more, and you'll definitely want to mince it up first.
    • Salt and pepper - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The original version of this recipe didn't call for any salt or pepper. The salt and pepper are very much just done "to taste," so feel free to add as much or as little as you like.
    • Rice - For serving. Any grain will work here; barley, quinoa, freekeh, even rice cakes, etc.

    🔪 Instructions

    First, chop and sweat a sweet onion in a large, deep skillet until it is soft and slightly translucent.

    Then, add the drained tuna straight from the cans to the skillet and cook (well, heat) it using a spatula to break up the bigger chunks. I like to add a little salt and pepper at this stage (as you can see in the photo below), but you don't have to.

    tuna and onion in a skillet with salt, pepper, and seasonings

    Then, whisk together the milk, mayonnaise, flour, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. I like to do this in a large 4-cup measuring cup so it's easier to pour.

    Whisk very well to make sure the flour lumps are completely broken up.

    a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup sits on a counter next to the stove. a large skillet with tall sides is blurry in the background. The pyrex cup is filled almost to the brim with milk, mayo, a domed scoop of flour, paprika, and oregano. a metal whisk leans against the edge of the measuring cup, it's tines hidden within the milk mixture.
    Whisk! Whisk! Whisk!

    Add the milk mixture to the tuna and onions and stir well. The milk and mayo will cool the pan on contact.

    Give the tuna newberg some time to come back up to temperature over a low-medium heat. It will start out quite pale and liquid, but will thicken as the starches from the flour heat up.

    a close-up of a cast-iron enameled skillet with a mixture of tuna and chopped onion with streaks of paprika and oregano sprinkled on top

    Stir frequently to make sure nothing is getting stuck to the bottom of the pan as the mixture warms up.

    You want it to reach a very low simmer — a few bubbles coming to the surface every few minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to keep that very slow bubbling going.

    an overhead shot of tuna newberg in a skillet
    simmer until thickened

    Cook covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, then uncovered until thickened (5-10 minutes more). Adjust seasoning to taste. Don't be afraid to really amp up the oregano or paprika if that's what speaks to you!

    Serve over rice. Or serve the next day cold, on rice cakes or with crackers.

    👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe notes

    • Tuna Newberg is a great not just for kids, but to make with kids. It's like maybe half a step more complicated to make than Kraft Mac & Cheese. The only chopping required is a sweet onion, and the rest of the measuring and mixing is so simple. Plus, it cooks over low-to-medium heat so no hissing, popping oil to worry about. It's a great way for kids to build some foundational cooking experience and gain confidence in the kitchen. Younger kids will love whisking the milk mixture, while older kids will enjoy the responsibility of stirring a hot pan. And you, the adult, can supervise without worrying that someone's going to stick a hand that touched something raw in their eye because every single ingredient is safe to eat uncooked.
    • The one ingredient you absolutely cannot skip is the flour. My mom tried making Tuna Newberg on vacation once (we didn't want to buy a whole bag of flour for a one-week lake trip), and that was the moment we learned that flour is key for helping the sauce thicken as it simmers. In hindsight, yes, duh, but in the moment... we did what we did.
    • If you want to reduce the recipe or make a smaller amount (Why would you? It's great as leftovers, or eaten cold on rice cakes) the milk/mayo/flour mixture is perfectly proportioned for easily cutting down by thirds. Just reduce the amount of tuna and onion by roughly ⅓ to match.
      • 3 cups milk + 1 cup mayo + 3 tablespoon flour = 5-6 servings
      • 2 cups milk + ⅔ cup mayo + 2 TSBP flour = 4-5 servings
      • 1 cup milk + ⅓ cup mayo + 1 tablespoon flour = 3-4 servings
    • I've written this recipe with the ingredients and ingredient quantities that I always use, but I encourage you to think of them as guidelines more than rules. It's hard to mess this up, so don't sweat it if you don't have everything in just the right amounts.

    📖 Substitutions and variations

    • Don't like large pieces of onion? Do a small dice instead of a large chop. Use a quarter of an onion instead of half. You do you. A sweet onion is ideal, but if you only have a white onion on hand, you'll be fine.
    • Don't like paprika or basil? Don't use them! They're gone. Add them at the end as a garnish if you want to but someone else eating with you doesn't.
    • Really like paprika and basil? Add some to the onions in the pan before you add the tuna AND to the milk mixture, instead of just to the milk mixture.
    • Don't like mayo? I once had a friend make this recipe using feta cheese instead of mayo and he said it worked great. Yeah! I know! It sounds weird. I can't personally say whether or not it was delicious, but he said he liked it.
    • Want more tuna for a thicker sauce? Use 3 large cans. Want less tuna? Use 2 large cans (12 oz) and 1 regular-sized can (5 oz). Grocery store had a deal on 5 oz cans? Use 6 or 7 of them instead of buying the big ones.
    • Want a spicy tuna newberg? Finish with a pinch of cayenne, or some crushed red pepper flakes at the end.
    a bowl of creamed tuna over rice

    💭 Recipe FAQ

    Can I make tuna newberg with canned chicken or canned salmon?

    I haven't personally tried it, but I know other people have because they've left comments on this post letting me know that it worked for them. If you've tried this with any other protein or dairy subs, do leave a comment and let me know!

    Is this the same as the creamed tuna MY grandma used to make?

    I don't know! Since publishing this recipe, a lot of people have reached out to tell me that they grew up with similar recipes. Some had celery, some were served over toast, others yet had peas in them. They were similar but not the same.

    What else can I add to tuna newberg?

    Sweat some celery with the onion, add frozen peas or corn with the tuna, a pat of butter with the oil at the start for some richness, capers if you're feeling fancy... There's so many things you can add here, it's really up to you and what tastes good to you!

    📖 Recipe

    tuna newberg in bowls

    Tuna Newberg

    Rebecca Eisenberg
    A thick, creamy tuna sauce served warm over rice. For a dinner that comes together fast, requires minimal cooking, and makes everyone happy, look no further than Tuna Newberg.
    4.82 from 11 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved! Email
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 people

    Equipment

    • Large, straight-sided skillet
    • Can opener
    • large liquid measuring cup
    • Sturdy wire whisk

    Ingredients
      

    • 20-25 oz canned tuna, drained (two 12 oz cans or five 5 oz cans)
    • 1 medium sweet onion (chopped, diced, or minced)
    • 3 cups milk
    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • 3 tablespoons flour
    • 1 tablespoon dried oregano (plus more for topping)
    • ½ teaspoon paprika
    • ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Cook rice according to package directions. Make the tuna newberg sauce while the rice cooks.
    • Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil, then reduce heat to medium low. Sweat onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent (5-7 minutes). This is a very gentle process, you don’t want to burn or brown the onion.
    • Add the tuna to the skillet. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, breaking up larger chunks of tuna.
    • In a 4 cup liquid measuring cup combine milk, mayo, flour, paprika, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Whisk well to combine.
    • Return skillet to medium heat and pour in the milk mixture. Bring to a low simmer, stirring frequently to prevent tuna from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
    • Reduce heat to low and continue simmering, covered, for 15-20 minutes, and then uncovered 10-20 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Adjust seasoning to taste.
    • Serve in bowls over rice. Sprinkle with additional oregano or paprika to garnish.

    RECIPE NOTES

    • Leftovers: Reheat in a microwave or eat cold on rice cakes.
    • I've written this recipe with the ingredients and ingredient quantities that I always use, but I encourage you to think of them as guidelines more than rules. It's hard to mess this up, so don't sweat it if you don't have everything in just the right amounts.

    YOUR NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes. Only you can see these.
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and let me how it was!

    This post was updated on 1/26/2022 with new photos, even more ingredient notes, tips, and more.

    More than any other recipe on this entire blog, Tuna Newberg is the one I'd love to hear about if you make. Please leave a comment below, or tag @the.practical.kitchen in your Tuna Newberg pics on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #thepracticalkitchen!

    Main DishesUnder 30 Minutes
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Susan

      December 10, 2020 at 1:12 am

      Even though you mention that it doesn’t look appealing, I beg to differ. I love home style comfort meals and can’t wait to try this. Need to grab a sweet onion from the shop and will be happy to get started. Any recommendations on Mayo brands? I recently purchased Sir Kensington’s mayo, as my husband is British and complains about American Mayo not tasting like anything. However, I don’t enjoy the taste of Sir Kensington’s as compared to Hellman’s, and I don’t want the taste from it will disrupt the flavor of the dish. Should I opt for a different Mayo? Or try to use up that other jar?

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        December 10, 2020 at 6:49 am

        I usually use Hellman’s but any mayo will do! Maybe try half Hellman’s / half Sir Kensington’s? See if that works for both of you!

        Reply
        • Andrea

          March 04, 2022 at 9:41 pm

          5 stars
          I really like this recipe. Someone else mentioned sir Kensingtons mayo. I usually use this mayo for everything. However, the first time I made this I only had hellmans. It was great. Second time I had my sir Kensingtons, I honestly didn't like it nearly as much. Just my opinion. I'll stick to hellmans for this recipe. I've tried many paprikas. All were pretty good. I think I like my penzeys Hungarian sweet best. Got some cooking now. Hope to try it on toast tomorrow!

          Reply
    2. Susan

      December 10, 2020 at 10:48 am

      I couldn’t wait for the sweet onion and made this for “brunch” with a regular yellow onion. It’s creamy and oh so comforting, just as you described. The sauce is rich without the need of tons of butter. I used 2% milk (all I had in hand) and it still had enough fat, though I only had tuna in olive oil and had the added fat from that. No fishy taste, just pure umptious creamy goodness. Will have to swing by the grocery store for that sweet onion and see if it really kicks it up a notch. Thanks for the recipe. I feel all cozy inside and need a nap.

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        December 10, 2020 at 6:00 pm

        Oh this makes me so happy to hear!! Really glad you liked it 🙂

        Reply
      • Virginia

        January 16, 2022 at 4:05 pm

        5 stars
        Hello,

        Saw your IG story and wanted to come here to say I made this on a weeknight last week and it was absolutely delicious. I had printed out the recipe a few days previous but realized we were out of paprika so decided to wait until I'd picked some up. Just had some leftovers on toast for lunch today and it's still completely delicious. A very comforting meal for a chilly January. After dinner my husband thanked me for cooking it ("this was really good babe!") 🙂

        So thank YOU for the delicious recipe.

        Reply
        • Rebecca

          January 18, 2022 at 10:55 am

          Ahhh I'm so glad you both liked it! And yes yes yes to leftovers on toast!

          Reply
    3. Dorothy

      January 21, 2021 at 5:22 am

      5 stars
      This is delicious! I’ve been wanting to try it for some time now and now I have something to enjoy on a rainy, gloomy day.

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        January 21, 2021 at 7:04 am

        I’m so glad you love it!! You’re right it’s so perfect for a rainy day!

        Reply
    4. Kathryn

      October 20, 2021 at 10:14 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this tonight for dinner. SO delicious and comforting!! I made a mistake and opened up canned chicken instead of tuna but decided to just go with it. Still amazing but can’t wait to try it with tuna next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!

      Reply
      • Rebecca

        October 21, 2021 at 8:45 am

        omg it never occurred to me to try it with canned chicken! glad it worked out for you. hope you like it just as much when you make it with tuna!

        Reply
    5. Maureen

      November 23, 2021 at 2:00 pm

      5 stars
      This was so good and easy to make. I am kicking myself for not making it sooner. Perfect for lunch on a cold blustery day.

      Reply
    6. Haley

      February 02, 2022 at 4:58 pm

      Finally tried this recipe, I really enjoyed this! I used gluten free cup for cup (sometimes called 1:1 depending on the brand) flour and it turned out great with this substitute.

      Reply

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