Tuna Newberg With Rice

Name: Tuna Newberg
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
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

4.88 from 16 votes

Published by Rebecca Eisenberg ⁠— September 16, 2019 (updated October 15, 2026) — 25 Comments

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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) that you probably already have on hand, like canned tuna, mayonnaise, milk, flour, and onion.

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. — Tuna newberg is like a warm, weighted security blanket in food form.

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 (cold or hot) as a sort of cozy creamed tuna on toast situation.

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

Why I Love Tuna Newberg

Tuna Newberg has been an absolute favorite dinner of mine since before I could talk, but it's remarkably hard to put into words just what I love so much about it. It's my family’s ultimate go-to comfort food. To people who love canned tuna, it sounds amazing. To people who don't, it sounds repulsive. Fine, more for me.

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 mayonnaise than you're used to. But it is a delicious creamed tuna sauce that tastes as good as a hug feels.

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 it 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.

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.

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.

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 very distant cousin of a traditional newberg, like a Lobster Newberg or seafood newberg. My sister remembers once making a traditional seafood newberg with my grandma so I know my grandma at least knew what a seafood newberg was and how to make one. But to say that this in any way resembles one is laughable at best.

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

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

all of the ingredients for tuna newberg — Don't forget the rice! *See recipe card (at the end of the blog post) for quantities*.

While you can use any kind of tuna and any onion you like, I find tuna newberg is truly at its best when I use a sweet Vidalia onion and chunk light tuna (in olive oil or water).

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, I whisk together the sauce in a large 4-cup liquid measuring cup so it's easier to pour.

In the version of this tuna newberg recipe that I grew up with, paprika and oregano weren't mentioned at all. My parents served them "on the side" as garnishes, but I find it's just easier and more flavorful to add them right into the sauce.

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

Add the milk mixture to the tuna and onions in the skillet and stir well. The milk and mayo will cool the pan on contact, so give the tuna newberg some time to come up to a low, active boil over a low-medium heat. It will be quite pale and liquidy at first, but will thicken as the starches from the flour burst.

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

an overhead shot of tuna newberg in a skillet

Stir frequently to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pan, then reduce the temperature to a low simmer; a few bubbles popping on the surface every couple of minutes. At this point you can give it a taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Don't be afraid to really amp up the oregano or paprika if that's what speaks to you!

👩🏻‍🍳 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.
Do NOT skip 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 and we regretted it.

📖 Recipe

Tuna Newberg

Servings people

Author 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.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

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.
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.

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

Instructions

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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.

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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!

Why I Love Tuna Newberg

👩🏻‍🍳 Recipe notes

📖 Recipe

Tuna Newberg

Recipe Notes

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