Tuna Empanada Filling (Versatile & Great For Meal Prep)

Have you ever had Tuna Empanada? While it’s more known for its short-cut pastry parcel, I’ve always enjoyed them because of the tasty, tomato-y, peppery fish filling. Today, I want to show you how to make the tuna, peppers and tomato mix that goes into the Spanish empanada pies. What’s good about this dish s that it’s super versatile, great for meal prep and can be used in dozens of ways. If you’re looking for some new, healthy canned tuna recipes, make sure to bookmark this one! 


Tuna Empanada Filling With Tomatoes, Peppers & Olives
 

What Is Empanada?

If you ever travel through Spain or Latin America, you will undoubtedly come across a few empanada bakeries. Empanada is a baked or fried turnover (like a parcel) consisting of pastry and filling and there are many variations of this moreish snack around the world.

The fillings range from beef, cheese, corn, chicken, fish and vegetables but my favourite has always been tuna empanada from Spain. It’s a bit of a Galician staple, in which tuna is mixed with braised onions, peppers and tomatoes. It’s tasty, savoury, a little sweet with a touch of acidity from tomatoes.

Tuna Empanada Filling

I have always thought that this empanada filling would be a great way to use up canned tuna and that it could be used in so many other dishes.

Canned tuna is nutritious and affordable; it’s high in protein, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Make sure to get responsibly sourced tuna. Other tinned fish like salmon and sardines could also be used in this recipe.

Ways To Use Up Tuna Empanada Filling

The most obvious would be to make empanadas themselves. There are a few ways you could make empanadas: as parcels or turnovers with short-cut pastry or simple filo pastry from the shop or as a pie.

This pic below is of Galician style tuna empanadas from Spanish Sabores blog. This recipe from Taste.com.au shows you how to make it with store-bought pastry.

Tuna Empanada De Atun

But, what if you don’t eat pies or pastry? Don’t worry! Tuna filling has many uses. 

  • Use tuna peppers mix as a stuffing with sweet potatoes or jacket baked potatoes. For a low-carb version, you can use it to stuff peppers, zucchini, spaghetti squash and more. How about keto-friendly stuffed avocados with tuna filling? 
Tuna empanada stuffed sweet potatoes
  • Use the filling as a topping on corn tortilla nachos, pop some cheese on top and grill until melted. You can also do it with sweet potato chips and without cheese. I love a bit of guacamole on top too. How about tuna tacos? 
Tuna cheese nachos
  • Use the filling in wraps and sandwiches, in lettuce cups, seaweed nori rolls and cheese toasties. 
  • Use it in salads: potato and tuna salad, gluten-free pasta tuna salad, quinoa and tuna salad.
  • Make a casserole: quinoa, rice, gluten-free pasta, veggies with tasty tuna filling and bake with or without cheese on top.
  • Make a tuna Shepherd’s pie or fish pie with sweet potato or regular potato crust. 
  • Try it in a tuna omelette.
  • Or simply eat it out of the container for a quick, protein-rich snack! 
 

How To Make Tuna Empanada Filling Mix

Okay, you will find the full recipe, instructions, and nutritional breakdown further below but here are some step-by-step pictures to help you along. 

Step 1. Dice all the veggies. White or red onions could be used. If you don’t have both red and green peppers, it’s okay to use one colour. 

Diced onions, peppers and garlic

Step 2. The next two ingredients are not always in the filling but I think they make it extra special and I love when they are used in the Spanish versions. Green olives (which is very Spanish) and roasted or grilled red peppers. You can get these in a jar, canned or pickled, and they are available in most supermarkets. Look for them in the same section as gherkins or other pickles. They add extra sweetness and acidity but aren’t essential if you don’t have any. Dice it all up! 

Roasted red peppers and olives

Step 3. The key to a good tuna empanada filling is to saute the onions, peppers and garlic in plenty of olive oil until very soft and slightly caramelised. This gives a lot of sweetness to the vegetables and enhances their flavours. Don’t rush this step! Once softened, add the spices and tomatoes and finally the tuna.

How to make tuna empanada filling

Step 4. Once all mixed, cook the tuna in the sauce for a little bit longer and finish it with a few slices of roasted peppers and olives. 

Store this Spanish tuna filling in an airtight container for 4-5 days. It can be eaten cold or reheated. You can add a little more water to tomato passata when reheating if you want a little more liquid. 

Spanish Tuna With Peppers, Tomatoes & Olives
 

More Recipes With Canned Fish


Full Recipe & Ingredients

Find the full list of ingredients, instructions and extra cooking notes below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let me know in the comments and make sure to rate this recipe so it’s easy for others to find.

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Tuna Empanada Filling Recipe

Versatile Tuna Empanada Filling

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Author: Irena Macri
Servings: 6
Course: Protein
Cuisine: Spanish
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Calories: 162kcal
Versatile and perfect for meal prep, this tuna empanada filling is made with sautéed onions and sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and canned tuna (can also be salmon). This filling can be used in an empanada pastry or a pie, as a stuffing for baked potatoes, in pasta sauce, salads, sandwiches, wraps, as a topping on tortilla chips, in nachos, and more.

Ingredients 

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 cup red bell pepper capsicum, about 1/2 to 2/3 of pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper capsicum, about 1/2 pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 cloves of garlic diced
  • 1/3 serrano chili or jalapeño, red or green, diced
  • 1 roasted red pepper diced (canned like these)
  • 10 green olives diced
  • 1.5 teaspoons paprika powder
  • 1 cup tomato passata chopped tinned tomatoes
  • 14 oz. canned tuna drained weight (400 g)
  • Garnish: sliced roasted red peppers olives and green onions

Instructions

  • Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil, onions, red and green peppers and salt. Stir and cook for 12 minutes, stirring through a few times. Add the garlic and chilli halfway through. While these are cooking, prepare other ingredients.
  • The onion and peppers mix should be soft, golden and caramelised by now. Add the paprika powder, diced roasted pepper, olives and stir through. Add tomato passata and cook for 2 more minutes.
  • Finally, drain the tuna through a sieve making sure to squeeze out excess liquid. Add the fish to the pan and stir through the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add a little more salt if needed. Cook for 2 minutes, stir again, and it's done.
  • Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 4-5 days. This tuna mix can be used cold or reheated (see some ideas above).

Notes

Roasted or grilled red peppers are often canned or pickled in juice and sold in a jar. You can buy them in most supermarkets and the leftovers can be used in salads, soups, dips and sauces.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 723mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1100IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg
Keywords: Canned Tuna, Canned Tuna Recipes, Empanadas, Spanish
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Tuna Empanada Filling With Tomatoes, Peppers & Olives
Irena Macri
By Irena Macri

About the author: Hi, I’m Irena Macri. I share delicious recipes that I have cooked and loved. I am a published cookbook author, have been food blogging for over 10 years and have a Diploma in Nutrition. You will find many healthy recipes as well as my favourite comfort food. More about me here | Subscribe to my newsletter and freebies

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Comments

2 Comments
  1. I’m going to make this as soon as my new grocery order arrives. I do have canned tuna on hand but that’s it until Wednesday. It sounds good and I love recipes that use tuna and taste great. Canned tuna is kind of ‘blah’ but this recipe looks anything but. 🙂

    1. That was exactly my goal, to make canned tuna NOT taste ‘blah’ but a bit more exciting and fun Let me know how it goes.

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