The idea for this recipe came from one of my Simple Meal Plans Members.
It’s funny I would never have thought to replace the beef in chilli con carne with fish.
But canned tuna works incredibly well.
This is a great ‘pantry’ recipe to have in your repertoire.
Although it does benefit greatly from some fresh herbs and a little sour cream, from both a taste and appearance perspective, it’s delicious (if not quite so pretty) on its own.
And if you’re not a fan of beans, the spicy tuna is delicious with vegetables. See the ‘keto’ variation below for ideas.
Chilli Con ‘Tuna’
Ingredients
- 1 large onion peeled & chopped
- 2 cans canned tuna 200g / 7oz each, not drained
- 1 can canned tomatoes 400g / 14oz
- 1 can beans 400g / 14oz, drained
- 1-2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes or chilli powder
- 1 cup sour cream to serve
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley or coriander (cilantro), to serve
Instructions
- Heat a good glug of olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and cook over a medium heat until soft. About 10 minutes.
- Add tuna and canning liquid, tomatoes, drained beans and chilli.
- Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until everything is hot.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper and more chilli, if needed.
- Serve with a generous dollop of sour cream and a few handfuls fresh coriander (cilantro) or flat leaf parsley leaves.
Nutrition
Variations
pantry-friendly – sour cream = cashew yoghurt or tahini sauce or mayo.. skip herbs.
no beans / keto – very low carb – skip onion and beans and serve spicy tuna on a bed of roast cauliflower, beautiful broccoli, baby spinach or cooked greens. Also good with crisp cos, romaine or ice berg lettuce.
dairy-free – serve with chunks of avocado or cashew yoghurt instead of the sour cream.
paleo – replace beans with diced roast root veg, roast cauliflower or beautiful broccoli. Use cashew sour cream or mashed avocado.
carnivore – replace tuna with 450g (1lb) ground or minced beef. Brown beef in the pan with the onion before adding the remaining ingredients and continuing from step 3.
vegetarian / vegan – replace tuna with 2 cans drained lentils or 450g (1lb) cooked lentils (boil like pasta until tender) OR add extra beans or poached eggs.
different legumes – red kidney beans are traditional in chilli but feel free to use chickpeas or white beans such as cannellini or butter beans instead. Black beans will also work.
different tomato – use 1.5 cups tomato passata (puree) or 100g (3.5oz) concentrated tomato paste + 1 cup water.
different chilli – if you can’t find chilli flakes, feel free to use any other fresh or dried chilli peppers. Chipotle chillies in adobo sauce add a lovely smoky flavour. For a milder version use smoked paprika.
different fish – any canned fish like mackerel or salmon will work. I love the idea of sardines, but the flavour will be significantly stronger. You could also simmer chunks of fresh fish in with the beans just before serving. If using tuna or other fish in oil, drain and discard the oil and add 1/4 cup water instead of the canning liquid.
more substantial (carb lovers) – serve with corn chips, warm tortillas, baked potatoes or just add extra beans.
more substantial (low carb) – extra tuna. Mayo. Sour cream AND avo. Roast cashews or macadamias.
short on time – skip the onion. Simmer everything rapidly with the lid off for 10 minutes.
more fancy / for entertaining – serve with avocado AND sour cream and some roast cashews. Consider serving with a nice side like this Crispy Iceberg Salad with Almond Crust or Broccomole (a mix of broccoli and avocado) without the fish Or serve with a big pile or warm tortillas.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
tuna, onion, beans & tomato – will all keep in the pantry.
sour cream – will keep in the fridge but pop in the freezer if it’s close to its use by date.
herbs – parsley will last for more than a week in a plastic bag in the fridge but coriander (cilantro) won’t. Either freeze them or use to make pesto or pop the leaves in a jar and cover with oil to make a herby oil.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more salt. More chilli or serve with some hot sauce like Tabasco.
too dry – add a little water and bring back to a simmer.
sloppy – remove heat and simmer rapidly until the sauce has reduced. Or add some bread crumbs or almond meal (ground almonds) to soak up the extra liquid.
too hot! – oh noes! You’ve added too much chilli. The only solution is dilution. Add more tomato, beans and / or tuna and bring back to a simmer. Serving with extra sour cream or avocado will help balance the heat. A can of coconut milk will change the flavour profile but is especially effective at cooling.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook chilli as per the recipe but keep the sour cream and herbs separately. Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, bring back to a simmer and top with sour cream and herbs.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I’m planning to do this for dinner tomorrow night as a pantry recipe, as I’m doing a big shop on Thursday, partly because I have a jar of jalapeños that I should use up. The meal plan version of this says 1x200g can of tuna, but this version says 2. It doesn’t really matter, as I’ll probably just use a 400g can anyway, but I’m curious.
Also, please make this recipe a higher priority for updating. Thanks.
Hey Mark!
It should say 2 cans. Not sure why the meal plan was different.
Will update it now 🙂
I also had a avocado which had gone from under-ripe to over, so this was definitely a recipe whose time had come for me. I was surprised how well the texture and flavour of the tuna worked with the kidney beans and spicy tomato. I added the last of my cooked veg from last week, as the base recipe is a little short on that. Definitely one to make again.
Avocado is always a good idea 🙂
I had another try at this, with the experiment of substituting cooked, frozen and then thawed mushrooms for some of the tuna, on the grounds that the latter is my go-to pantry protein, and I wanted to see if something else would work. It sort of did, but the tuna works better. Tahini sauce is perfectly fine as a substitute for sour cream.
Thanks for reporting back Mark 🙂
I bought another jar of jalapenos so that I could make this again, cooked two sliced zucchini with the onion, and had it with roast sweet potato and broccoli. I have both sour cream and an avocado in the fridge, but forgot to add either.
I’ve been getting into jalapenos lately as well Mark!
I made this over the weekend, but not as one of my challenge meals. My “chunk” tuna was more like soup than solid, so I used ground lamb instead. Thought I had bought ground beef, but no, lamb. My chili spice bottle was old, so I added others to it–cumin, garlic powder, smokey paprika, etc. It was so simple to make, so inexpensive, (even with the lamb), and tasted great. I’d make it again right away, but I have lots of it in the freezer!
Love all the substitutions Karen!
I made this as nachos with the corn chips. Was very yummy!
OOH excellent idea Jule!
Made this with fresh tuna on Friday night. Diced the tuna into 2cm (1in) cubes Simmered the tuna gently Into just cooked through. Removed the tuna for the boys from the pan then added the chilli and warmed it through. Used a smoky chipotle chilli powder which added lovely smokiness.
Oh and I had both sour cream AND avocado. Mashed them together. Talk about a revelation!
And we skipped the beans and served with crisp cos (romaine) lettuce from the garden instead. Used the leaves to scoop up the spicy tuna and cooking avo cream.
Leftover roast Spuds for the boys. Everyone happy!
I love your recipes! Thank you for saving me on 100s of “WTH is for supper anyway” occasions ?
Oh thanks Anne! So glad you’re finding it helpful
Jx