A Houseful of Love

Looking for a high-protein, on-the-go lunch or snack? You’ll love these keto tuna melt dippers. They’re delicious whether they’re warm, room temperature, or cold, with a dipping sauce or without. Perfectly versatile, perfectly portable – what’s not to love?

We don’t eat meat on Fridays throughout the year, or on Wednesdays during Lent. That means that we eat a lot of beans and fish (especially canned fish!) on those days. Out of all my Friday and Lent recipes, these tuna melt dippers are my husband’s favorite work lunch. That’s because he, being considerate of his coworkers, doesn’t want to heat up fish in the communal microwave, but he still wants to have animal-based protein. He loves their flavor on their own, so he eats them cold and never packs a dip.

The keto tuna melt dippers are also great for my toddler son and me, whether we’re hanging out at home or out and about. I tend to prefer a warm lunch, especially in the colder months. However, they’re great cold for a quick snack when the hanger strikes. My son especially loves them drowned in the yogurt dipping sauce, though he will demand one plain when I’ve pulled a fresh batch out of the oven. I enjoy them with the yogurt dipping sauce, with hummus, or just plain on their own.

And since getting pregnant, I’ve loved keeping a stash of tuna melt dippers in the freezer that I can quickly heat up and eat when I need a little snack. Small volume but high protein snacks were a life-saver when it came to warding off the first trimester nausea. Eating too much at once was a huge nausea trigger, but so was fluctuating blood sugar (apparently super common in the first trimester!). A few tuna dippers gave me a good dose of protein, which stabilized my blood sugar and settled my stomach quite nicely!

Now that I’m past the worst of the queasiness, they’re just a good, whole-food, high-protein snack to keep around.

Do I have to shape the tuna melt dippers into stick shapes?

Nope, I shape them into sticks for easy dipping and to make them easy for little hands to hold. They work great as little patties as well, or in whatever shape you like. When baked in patties, cooking time remains about the same because they’re still flat. If you shape them into balls or some other shape, they may need more or less time. I find that it’s easy to keep an eye on them because I can tell how close to done they are when I flip them halfway through.

My tuna melt dippers are falling apart. What is going wrong?

These tuna dippers should not fall apart when you go to flip them halfway through their baking time, so if they crumble, you may need to do a bit of troubleshooting.

My first recommendation is to wait just a moment after taking them out of the oven to flip them. Since cheese and egg are the main binders, they will firm up more as they cool. Just wait a minute or two – that should be enough.

Also, make sure that you drain the tuna really well and then double-check your ingredients! I use chunk light tuna, packed in water, so I can’t speak to how well this would work with other types of tuna or canned fish. You will also want to make sure that you have the right amount of cheese (freshly shredded is ideal) and right number of eggs, as these help to bind the dippers together.

Do these keto tuna melt dippers make good leftovers?

Yes – they’re great, especially because they can be eaten warm or cold. They’re good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The yogurt dipping sauce is best either made fresh or kept in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. It does not freeze as well as the dippers.

Ingredients

Tuna Melt Dippers

• 2 12oz cans of chunk light tuna in water, drained
• 1/2 onion  (about 70g), finely diced
• 2 cups (about 150g) shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup (about 60g) Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp dried parsley (or 3 tbsp fresh parsley)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt (or Old Bay Seasoning)
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Yogurt Dipping Sauce (optional)

• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp dried garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix all tuna melt dipper ingredients in a big bowl until uniformly mixed.

Step 2: Shape into sticks, about 3” tall and 0.75-1” wide

Step 3: Bake 10 minutes, flip, then bake 8-10 minutes more. The tuna dippers should not fall apart when you (gently) flip them. If they start to crumble, allow them to cool for a minute or two before you continue.

Step 4: While baking, mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce.

Step 5: Eat immediately, refrigerate dippers & sauce for 3-4 days, or freeze dippers for up to 3 months. It is better not to freeze the dipping sauce – only make what you plan to eat fresh.

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Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Dipper (does not include dipping sauce)
Calories: 41 kcal
Fat: 2g
Total Carbohydrates: 1g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 5g

The nutrition data provided here is for informational only and is only an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It cannot be verified or guaranteed, and should not be used in the treatment of medical conditions. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice This data should be interpreted and used at your own risk.