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Want a new fun way to get your kids to eat their Omega 3s? Look no further. these mini tuna balls are not only delicious but also nutritious!Â
My daughter has been loving her MOMables Tuna Salad sandwiches in her lunches, so I wanted to find a new fun way for her to enjoy this omega-3 and vitamin b6 packed food item!
Whether you have food allergies or not, this is a delicious recipe with only three ingredients!
They can be eaten warm from the oven at dinner, cold on a salad or room temperature for lunch! They are perfect for school lunches!  Another twist? Add them to your favorite macaroni & cheese recipe. My daughter calls them Tuna Flavored Chicken Nuggets!
We use homemade gluten-free bread crumbs so they’re allergy friendly. They are also free from nuts, peanuts, and eggs.
Tips: They can be rolled any size, we prefer them mini (around 1″ in diameter) so they are bite size. The mini’s will yield approximately 24 tuna balls. I also like to bake them in a mini muffin pan, so they each have their own place and won’t be tempted to roll around on the baking sheet.
Ingredients
- 5-6 oz of Tuna, pouch or canned - drained
- 2 Tablespoons. of bread crumbs (gluten free if necessary)
- 1.5 Tablespoons of sundried tomato dressing (or favorite Italian dressing)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line a baking sheet.
- In a medium size bowl, work the tuna with a fork breaking apart the chunks.
- Add breadcrumbs and dressing. Mix thoroughly until tuna is moistened and smooth enough to roll.
- With your hands, roll the tuna in to 1" diameter balls then place on to baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes (check for doneness around 15 since oven temperatures vary). Flip once in the middle, to keep one side from browning more than the other.
- Serve warm in a thermos with mac and cheese or room temperature in lunch container.
I arrived here at your blog because of a friend’s recommendation and because the name of the recipe intrigued me. After reading the recipe, I am a little disappointed. Calling it a three ingredient recipe but using ingredients which themselves have multiple ingredients is a little deceiving and really doesn’t feel like an allergy friendly recipe. Using tuna as the meat in your meatball is a great idea though. :)
Shelly, the only ingredient with multiple ingredients is the dressing. I use Newman’s own brand. Because it’s such a small measurement, it was difficult to write out: 1/2 tsp olive oil, 1/8tsp balsamic, dash of this and dash of that. I hope this doesn’t discourage you from trying out some of our other recipes. let us know how your family likes them!
Hi Shelly! I never post recipes to be deceving in any way shape or form. My daughter has food allergies and intolerances, so it’s something I take very seriously. I’m terribly sorry you felt that way.
Most “meatball” recipes, or other tuna ball recipes I’ve come across, have eight or more ingredients and also require the use of eggs. These do not.
Plus they’re easily adaptable to be gluten-free. That’s how we make them for our house, since my daughter is not only allergic to peanuts but gluten intolerant. Being egg-free on top of that is great for those families facing multiple food allergies.
I hope this helps explain the terminology used more clearly.
Thank you for your comments and I hope you enjoy all the wonderful recipes MOMables has to offer!!! :)
I am going to make these this week! My kids love tuna and I know they will enjoy these.
Thanks for the recipe!
So great! Hope the love them, Sally!!
These sound great! I’m going to make them using my homemade Italian dressing, and Epicure Selections sundried tomato seasoning. I know they’ll be a big hit with my 8 year old son, and the rest of us all as well. Thanks for posting this!
I am really looking forward to making these, but I am trying to think of what to par them with as far as a noodle is concerned. My son loves noodles but hasn’t yet acquired a taste for mac and cheese. So how else can I prepare a dinner using these tuna balls?
what about simple noodles with butter? I also make these ahead of time and “skewer” them for the little ones. they dont necessarily need to be paired with pasta.
These sounded good, so we tried them, but none of us were big fans. Guess it’s back to the regular Italian meatballs for us.
I’m sorry to hear that Marla! My family loves them and I’ve had other great feedback on Instagram from other who’ve made them. How did you end up serving them? My daughter loves to eat them by themselves and also with her mac’n cheese. I love them on my salads!