Simple Sardine Salad Recipe - Great For Beginners (2024)

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September 29, 2015

While I’m not scared to eat a sardine whole, I generally mash them into a simple sardine salad and enjoy with crackers or chips. Here’s my favorite basic recipe!

Today I’m sharing my favorite staple sardine salad recipe.

It’s quick and easy to make, and like most things, you can tweak the flavors based on what you have in your house.

Here’s how to make my simple sardine salad

Start with two cans of sardines – this recipe serves two. Feel free to halve it for a onesie!

I really like the Wild Planet brand, and sardines in a flavored oil have the most flavor.

Mash your sardines!

Dump them into a mixing bowl and look away while you mash with a fork.

Then you have something that looks like the tuna salad you’ve been eating for ages!

Chop some some veggies

The smaller the better.

I like peppers, celery and carrots, but today I used green pepper, red pepper and celery because that’s what I had on hand. Mix it up as you like! This was about a cup.

Add binders and seasonings

For my binders, I like a mixture of Greek yogurt to mayo instead of all of one or the other.

The Greek yogurt lightens and brightens, but the mayo adds a richness that I miss when I leave it out.

Mustard is also key for a little kick – Dijon or spicy brown – you pick!

Capers are a favorite flavor of mine, but you could swap them out for chopped pickles or jalapeños if you’d like.

And as for spices, smoked paprika and salt are the must-haves!

Mix it all together!

Mix it all together and you have your fancified tuna salad!

Best served with crackers or tortilla chips, but you can also put this on top of a salad or on bread as a sandwich.

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5 from 5 votes

Simple Sardine Salad

This simple sardine salad is quick and easy to make, and like most things, you can tweak the flavors based on what you have in your house.

Course Lunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword sardines

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 2 Servings

Ingredients

2 cans sardines in lemon drained
1 cup minced veggies
1.5 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tbsp mayo
1/2 tbsp mustard
1.5 tbsp capers
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Drain sardines of oil and dump into a bowl. Mash with a fork.
Add rest of ingredients and mix well.
Serve with crackers or chips.

Go fish!

More sardine salad ideas (and salmon too):

The Very Best Sardine Salad
Curried Sardine Tapenade
And a whole info post on sardines!
Every Herb Salmon Salad
Salmon Salad Pita Pockets
Curried Tuna Salad

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Comments

Jeri says
September 29, 2015 at 9:18 am
I wonder how this would taste with smoked trout or salmon. Have been getting tired of tuna salad and want something different.
Reply
cara says
September 29, 2015 at 9:23 am
Ok, you might have me semi convinced to try this, haha! Looks really good!
Reply
kim says
September 29, 2015 at 9:59 am
I very much enjoy when you post your recipes Kath- you make the best looking food! Thanks for sharing…will be trying this one for sure.
Reply
Annie says
September 29, 2015 at 10:17 am
I make versions of this all the time, depending on which mix-ins I have on hand, because of your past posts! Love the Wild Planet brand … but lately I can’t find it in my grocery store!
Reply
- Kathleen says
  August 16, 2017 at 11:48 am
  Wild Planet sardines and tuna are both at Costco at a great price.
  Reply
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
September 29, 2015 at 10:26 am
I wish sardines came already mashed up like tuna or salmon because I have the hardest getting myself to even THINK about sardines because I can’t get over how they look and I know it will freak me out…but your sardine salads always look so good and make me think that I can actually do that!
Reply
Rose says
September 29, 2015 at 10:49 am
There is a great sardine recipe that I’ve tweaked over time from Alton Brown. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sherried-sardine-toast-recipe.html
Instead I use ciabatta bread and split it horizontally, broil the bread, mash avocado, and add sardines marinated in red wine vinegar and franks hot sauce. It’s so good! We have it for dinner about twice a month. Just a suggestion from one sardine lover to another!
Reply
Rachel says
September 29, 2015 at 10:54 am
what kind of crackers are those? they look buttery and delicious!
Reply
Shel@PeachyPalate says
September 29, 2015 at 11:08 am
So darn satisfying! I’m actually on a canned mackerel kick at the moment! Literally eating it daily!!!
Reply
- Braxton says
  January 11, 2017 at 12:24 pm
  Thanks for the recipe
  Reply
Kristabel says
September 29, 2015 at 11:25 am
I love sardines! I have fond memories of sharing sardines, that we put on top of a saltine with a small slice of Monterey Jack Cheese, with my Dad. Since we were the only ones that liked it, it was our special treat.
Reply
Amanda says
See Also
Overnight French Toast Casserole Recipe
September 29, 2015 at 11:47 am
What are the health benefits of sardines? I’m weirdly afraid of them, but if I knew they were super good for me, maybe I could get behind it!
Reply
- KathEats says
  September 29, 2015 at 1:15 pm
  they are super good! Packed with omega-3s, calcium, vitamin D and protein. And they’re pretty inexpensive.
  Reply
Bethany @ Athletic Avocaod says
September 29, 2015 at 12:32 pm
I’m actually a HUGE fan of sardines so this salad is right up my alley!
Reply
Kate says
September 29, 2015 at 12:56 pm
I am fan of sardines, but I tried herring recently and was not as pleased! This will be great to switch up my normal tuna routine.
Reply
Kelsey says
September 29, 2015 at 1:32 pm
I know this is really anal, but I’ve tried those sardines before and I can’t get passed the fact that sometimes I find little bones in there. Do you find that there are bones in your’s too, or is it just me?
Reply
- KathEats says
  September 29, 2015 at 2:04 pm
  Yes there are bones, but they are soft and not crunchy like a fish bone in a big fish, so if you just try to mash them up well you don’t notice them when you chew.
  Reply
  - Kelsey says
    September 29, 2015 at 2:44 pm
    That’s really helpful! Thank you.
    Reply
Melissa says
September 29, 2015 at 2:14 pm
Haha for a minute I had flashbacks to your April Fool’s sardine oatmeal post, but this looks good! 😉
Reply
Dani @ Dani California Cooks says
September 29, 2015 at 2:34 pm
Hhhaha at first I was thinking that you had put together a recipe for oats and sardines!
Reply
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
September 29, 2015 at 4:20 pm
YES! Sardine lovers unite!
Reply
Kelly says
September 29, 2015 at 4:44 pm
haha, I thought you were going to put oats and sardines together too!….whew!
“look away while you mash with a fork” LOL
Reply
Nikki says
September 30, 2015 at 8:17 am
Oh my God. Are you pregnant? The only time I ever craved sardines was when I was pregnant!
Reply
Sarah says
October 1, 2015 at 9:04 am
Ah, thank you for this! I have a tin in my pantry I keep meaning to use but get scared every time I look at it! Trying it!!
Reply
jill says
October 2, 2015 at 9:15 pm
I finally made sardine salad on celery because of YOUR post. Thanks for the constant inspiration!!!
Reply
Brian Kirk says
March 8, 2016 at 11:55 am
I’m totally trying this, thank you for sharing. I fell back in love with tuna fish salad while in Telluride…a place called The Butcher and The Baker make such a refreshing tuna fish salad and the secret ingredient is lime zest. Also, I once used cottage cheese as the binder…it added a bit more bulk and texture than mayo or yogurt.
Cheers!
Reply
Arcadio says
July 23, 2018 at 11:52 pm
I like to mix in pico de gallo and make a sardine taco with some corn tortillas. And a bit of cheese…yummy
Reply
Stephanie says
January 20, 2019 at 12:19 pm

I make a version of this with the smoked paprika but not with so many chopped veggies. I love them so I can’t wait to make this as an appetizer for my family. I tend to buy Trader Joe’s wild caught sardines in spring water or olive oil but they don’t have the added lemon that Wild Planet offers. I might try to add a little fresh lemon juice and let the sardines marinate a bit before proceeding with the recipe.
Reply
Alyssa says
February 2, 2019 at 1:39 pm

I didn’t feel like chopping up veggies so I just mashed the sardines, added the Greek yogurt, the Dijon mustard, the Smoked paprika and sent it as is on some rice crackers and it made a great quick snack, thanks for the inspiration!
Reply
Stephanie says
March 8, 2019 at 1:45 pm
I’m going to try this. I eat sardines on a salad 3-4 times a week and this will be a nice variation to mix it up a little. For anyone that doesn’t like sardines, I urge you to try Seasons brand. They have no bones and are the mildest sardines I’ve ever tried. We buy them by the case at Costco 🙂
Reply
Sue says
December 4, 2019 at 10:17 pm

Yum! Stuffed this into avocado halves. Used sardines canned with piri pepper for a kick (but not lethal). What a great salad!!
Reply
Maren says
June 9, 2020 at 9:53 pm

It’s rare that I make a recipe exactly as written but that’s what I did with this one and it was just delicious! I had it on crackers with a squeeze of lemon and will definitely be making it again.
Reply
- Kath Younger says
  June 10, 2020 at 5:50 am
  Thank you!
  Reply
Barbara Cooper says
November 21, 2021 at 3:51 pm

I like this recipe! Recently bought the exact same sardines on sale at Costco. They have a nice smokey taste, thought they could be used in a salad, and here it is. I even have the capers!
Reply