Traversing the keto diet can be confusing, especially when you’re first starting out. Even though most types of meats are considered generally safe and good for keto, it’s hard to know the nutrition facts behind every type of meat and fish, especially when bought fresh from the deli or market.

That’s why I wanted to lay out all the keto related facts I have on tuna in this article, and provide some of my favorite low carb fish recipes at the end too!

When assessing whether or not something is keto-friendly, it’s easiest to start be looking into the net carb count. So let’s start there.

How Many Carbs Are Does Tuna Have?

Tuna is pretty average when it comes to the nutritional facts compared to other fish. Generally, in canned tuna, you’ll find a little under 1 gram of carbs per serving, which is great for the keto diet!

Tuna’s also pretty rich in a lot of other essential nutrients, including:

• Total Fat – 1 gram per serving size (2 ounces)
• Cholesterol – 25 milligrams per serving size (2 ounces)
• Potassium – 100 milligrams per serving size (2 ounces)
• Sodium – 189 milligrams per serving size (2 ounces)
• Protein – 10 grams per serving size (2 ounces)

A serving of tuna also comes with around 6% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin D, 6% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin B6, 15% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin B12, 4% of the recommended daily amount of Iron, 15% of the daily recommended amount of magnesium, and 60% of the recommended daily amount of selenium.

But what about mercury?

One thing you need to look out for, especially when shopping for farmed tuna, is mercury. When it comes to mercury, canned tuna is more likely to be affected by it, and of all the types of tuna, light chunk tuna is generally safer than white chunk tuna (albacore). If you’re particularly concerned, canned salmon also makes a decent alternative on this matter.

Mercury in tuna should be primarily a concern if you’re a parent of a small child, as they’re at the most risk of being adversely affected by consuming too much tuna. It’s recommended that children under the age of 6 should try to stay under one serving of white tuna, and three servings of light tuna each month, while children between the ages of 6 and 12 should try to stay under two servings of white tuna, and four servings of light tuna each month.

Is Tuna Keto-Friendly?

As you can see above, tuna is an excellent source of protein, an okay source of fat, and hardly a source of carbohydrates at all. This macronutrient ratio makes it a perfectly keto-friendly snack or meal.

While it doesn’t have a lot fat content per serving, tuna, like most types of oily fish, is also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are the exact type of fatty acids that you should be striving to consume on the keto diet. The amount of omega-3 fatty acids present in a serving of tuna tend to range from 80 to 240 milligrams per serving.

Some of the biggest benefits of omega-3s while on the ketogenic diet include:

• Reduced inflammation
• Improved digestion
• Reduced symptoms of metabolic syndrome
• Can fight autoimmune diseases
• Can reduce fat in your liver
• Reduces kidney pain

One big thing to watch out for however is tuna with mayonnaise. When tuna is served as a tuna salad or on a sandwich, it’s often served mixed with mayonnaise.

Generally, mayonnaise is a great tool for the keto diet, it’s high in fat, and makes foods taste great – but not all mayonnaise brands are keto-friendly. A lot of mass produced mayo brands tend to have some amounts of carbs (which can add up quickly when being used in cooking or mixing with food), and also have some unwanted and unnecessary sweeteners like dextrose or maltodextrin.

It’s always best to check the nutrition facts and ingredients before adding mayonnaise to your tuna dish.

Keto-Friendly Tuna Recipes

• Cheesy Tuna Melts

These melts only require four ingredients, are super easy to make, and have less than 1 total grams of net carbs. The ingredients you’ll need:

• • 2 cans of tuna
  • 12 slices of mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tablespoon of minced celery
  • 4 tablespoons of low carb mayonnaise

From there, the instructions are fairly simple. First you’ll need to layout the mozzarella slices onto two baking sheets that are lined with parchment paper. Then, mix the drained cans of tuna in a bowl, combining with the mayonnaise and minced celery.

Separately, bake the cheese slice until they are fully melted (about four to five minutes in the oven) and let cool. Once cooled, add a spoonful of the tuna mix to a corner of the cheese square.

Lastly, fold the squares in half, making a triangle shape, encompassing the tuna mix. Return the cheese pockets back to the oven for another five to ten minutes until the edges are golden brown.

• Low Carb Tuna Patties

These patties, or tuna cakes, are a great treat that can help curb that ‘crunch’ craving that you may have been missing while on a keto diet.

The ingredients you’ll need include:

• • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons of avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup of almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 3/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 4 five-ounce cans tuna drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
  • 2 medium green onions, chopped white and light green parts only
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

From there, you’ll want to mix all of the ingredients, except the avocado oil, together in a bowl until they are well combined. Then you’ll want to ball up about eight patties that are all roughly 3/4 of an inch thick.

Then, in a large skillet, you should heat one tablespoon of the avocado oil over medium heat until it’s started to sizzle. After it’s sizzling, add half of those eight tuna patties and cook them until they are golden brown on the bottom, which should only take three to four minutes.

You’ll then need to flip them over carefully, allowing the other side to cook for another three to four minutes. You can remove the finished ones and repeat with the remaining oil and patties after. Lastly, top with mayo and lemon.

Total macros – 14.2 grams of fat, 22.2 grams of protein, and only one net carb per patty!

• Tuna and Avocado Wraps

Tuna and avocado wraps make for a quick and easy snack that’s low carb, high fat, and bursting with energy for you to get through the day when you’re feeling sluggish between meals.

The ingredients are fairly cheap and simple:

• • Half of a medium avocado
  • One scallion, thinly sliced
  • Half of a jalapeno, diced small
  • Half of a lime
  • One (5 oz) can of wild albacore tuna
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly-ground black pepper
  • Two leaves of butter lettuce
  • Half of a lime

First you’ll need to crack open the can of tuna, and drain into a bowl, and mix until the meat’s been broken up. Then you’ll want to chop your jalapeno and scallion, and mix them into the tuna with salt, pepper, and a spritz of lime.

In a different bowl, you’ll then want to mash your half of an avocado, along with salt, pepper, and the remainder of the lime juice. Then you’ll scoop up this guacamole mixture, and add it to your tuna mix, and stir the two to combine.

Lastly, just place a serving of this tuna onto your butter lettuce leaf, and enjoy!

• Spicy Tuna Deviled Eggs

These are a great, quick snack that’s perfect for when you’re on the go. When following the keto diet, it’s pretty easy to get tired of eating eggs all the time, but with a little tuna and some spices, you can hack your way into a new and refreshing snack.

Ingredients for spicy tuna deviled eggs include:

• • 4 large eggs
  • 1 large spring onion, sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 ounces of drained tuna
  • 2 tablespoons of keto-friendly mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon of sriracha sauce

The instructions are fairly simple, especially if you’re already used to making deviled eggs:

First put four eggs in a pot, with water just barely covering them, and bring the water to boil. Next, once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and keep the eggs in the pot for around ten to thirteen minutes. After that, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water, and let them cool for five minutes.

To peel the shells, remove the eggs from the ice water and crack the outside, then peel until all are completely peeled.

Cut the eggs in half after that, and carefully carve out the yokes with a spoon. After, you should add your drained tuna, mayonnaise, spring onion, and sriracha together in a bow, mixing until combined.

From there, use a spoon to place a small scoop of this mixture into the empty egg whites you’ve prepared.

The fine folks over at the Keto Diet App have a great demonstration of this, which you can check out below.

Final Thoughts

As we’ve seen, tuna fish is perfectly keto-friendly, and can be used in a lot of cool ways to bring more flavor to the keto diet. The recipes above however don’t even begin to really scratch the surface.

Do you have any favorite keto tuna recipes? Drop them in the comments below! I’d love to learn more ways ton incorporate this omega-3 rich fish into my meals.