Name: Tuna and Avocado Salad
Ingredients: 2 large eggs, hard-boiled; 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce; 1 cup mashed avocados (1 ripe avocado); 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, to taste; 1/4 cup minced red onions; 1 (6.5 ounces) can tuna in water, drained; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, to taste (Best Foods, Hellmann\'s, or Vegenaise); 2 tablespoons dill relish; salt and black pepper, to taste

Why it works: Lemon and dill match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 976 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tuna and Avocado Salad

Ingredients

2 large eggs, hard-boiled
1/2 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce
1 cup mashed avocados (1 ripe avocado)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/4 cup minced red onions
1 (6.5 ounces) can tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, to taste (Best Foods, Hellmann\'s, or Vegenaise)
2 tablespoons dill relish
salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Prepare

Peel eggs and mash really well with a fork (more or less mince them).
Peel, pit, and cube the ripe avocado, then place in bowl.
Add the fresh lemon juice (helps keep the avocado from discoloring) and mash really well with a fork.
Mix the egg mixture together with the avocado mixture and stir well.

Combine and serve

Drain water from tuna and mix with onions, avocado/egg mixture, dill relish, salt, hot sauce, and mayonnaise.
Serve over lettuce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

600Calories

32 gProtein

41 gFat

31 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Relish	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lemon + dilltop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together976 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Dill + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,630 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Avocado + oniontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,653 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Avocado + dilltop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together60 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Mashed into the salad, they add body and a creamy, rich texture.
Avocados: Mashed to form a creamy base that adds moisture and richness.
Fresh lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens flavor and slows browning of the avocado.
Tuna: Provides the main protein and flaky texture of the salad.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and moisture that bind the salad together.

The step that matters

Mash the avocado with lemon juice. Lemon juice is added before mashing so its acid slows oxidation, which otherwise turns cut avocado brown. Mashing well gives an even, creamy texture that binds with the tuna.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sauce, avocado, lemon, dill, pepper):

Spinachfits better
Shallotfits better
Cucumberfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sauce, avocado, lemon, dill, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Chicken Salad623 recipes

Salad Dressing491 recipes

Tomato Salad179 recipes

Cold Slaw160 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Tuna and Avocado Salad