This Creamy Tuna Mousse Recipe is the perfect hors d’oeuvre for a dinner party. Served on a roasted potato base, these Italian-inspired appetizers are rich and creamy with ricotta cheese, fresh herbs, parmesan, and crispy pancetta.
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Note: You may have seen this recipe first on our Instagram, as a partnership with Wild Planet Foods!
If you've ever tried Spuma di tonno, which is a traditional Italian tuna mousse appetizer, you will love these tasty morsels! Inspired by this classic recipe, we built on that base and added lots of other delicious ingredients. They'll make the perfect first course or appetizer during the holiday season.
You may also like these steak appetizers with blue cheese and bacon, this whipped ricotta recipe, or these marinated mozzarella balls.
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Creamy texture & amazing flavor - Take canned tuna up a notch. You will love the rich and luscious texture and flavor of this tasty appetizer. It's one of our favorite recipes with tuna!
- Simple ingredients - This recipe uses high-quality ingredients, that are also easy to find at your local grocery store or in your pantry.
- Naturally gluten-free - Made with wholesome ingredients that are naturally gluten-free, and served on a crispy potato to keep this suitable for multiple diet types.
🐟Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Good-quality tuna - This is the main flavor component, so choose something that you love. Our favorite is Wild Planet Foods' canned albacore tuna. It's delicious, and is sourced sustainably, which is important to us! You can use yellowfin or skipjack tuna in place of albacore if you prefer.
- Extra virgin olive oil & unsalted butter
- Garlic & shallots
- Fresh herbs - We used sage and thyme.
- Lemon juice & lemon zest
- Honey
- Kosher salt & black pepper
- Balsamic vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Potatoes - We used russet potatoes and sliced them about ¼-inch thick. We chose russets since they are sturdy and hold up well to roasting. No need to peel them.
- Diced pancetta
- Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Serve as a dip - If you prefer, you can always serve the tuna mousse as a dip in a bowl and serve it with a fresh baguette, bread sticks, small toasts or crostinis, or even veggies like celery stalks, cucumbers, and bell peppers.
- Serve as a sandwich - This dip would also make a great tuna sandwich if you prefer!
- Swap the meat used - If you like, you could use crispy prosciutto or bacon in place of pancetta.
- Pescatarian - If you don't eat pork, feel free to just omit it.
- Herbed - Feel free to add more herbs to suit your personal taste. We love using basil, rosemary, parsley, chives and/or green onions in addition to thyme and sage.
- Swap the vinegar - While balsamic vinegar is a favorite addition, you can also use white balsamic vinegar, or even red wine vinegar instead.
- Swap the Worcestershire - You can use soy sauce in place of Worcestershire sauce.
🔪Prep work
- Wash and thinly slice potatoes lengthwise to a ¼-inch thick size with a mandoline slicer (affiliate link) to make things easier.
- Thinly slice shallots, and roughly chop garlic and herbs.
- Zest and juice the lemon.
- Grate parmesan cheese.
- Measure out all remaining ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
📋Instructions
Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Image 1) Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes, flipping halfway thru until potatoes are golden and crispy. (Image 2)
Meanwhile, add a bit of olive oil and the diced pancetta in a hot skillet. Cook, stirring frequently until pancetta is crispy and cooked through, about 5 minutes. (Image 3) Remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, without draining the pan, add butter to the skillet, followed by shallots, and garlic with lots of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring every minute or so until the shallots are translucent about 5 minutes. (Image 4) Then, add in the herbs and stir constantly for 30 seconds or so. (Image 5) Remove the skillet from the heat.
Add tuna to the food processor, (Image 6) followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, ricotta cheese, parmesan, a drizzle of honey, the cooked herbs, shallots, garlic, and most of the cooked pancetta, reserving some for garnishing later. (Image 7)
Food process and add remaining olive oil in a thin stream until smooth, adjust salt and pepper to taste. (Image 8) Spread tuna mousse over top of the crispy potato slices. (Image 9)
Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, more herbs, and crispy pancetta.
✨Tips & tricks
- Adjust seasonings to taste. Make sure everything is well seasoned, but don't go overboard, as some of the salty elements will come into play when garnishing at the end.
- If you don't have a food processor, you can use a high-powered blender or an electric hand mixer.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
Store any leftover tuna mousse in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. We don't recommend freezing.
More Recipes To Consider
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📖 Recipe
Tuna Mousse Appetizer
Equipment
- food processor
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 3 large russet potatoes, sliced lengthwise & ¼-inch thick
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided (or to taste)
- 4 ounces pancetta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 medium shallots, sliced
- 10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 15 ounces canned albacore tuna (3 cans)
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey (to taste)
- 1 whole lemon, juice and zest
- 2 ounces freshly grated parmesan
- garnish with fresh thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan, and pancetta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes, flipping halfway thru until potatoes are golden and crispy.
- Meanwhile, add a bit of olive oil and the diced pancetta in a hot skillet. Cook, stirring frequently until pancetta is crispy and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet, without draining the pan, add butter to the skillet, followed by shallots, and garlic with lots of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring every minute or so until the shallots are translucent about 5 minutes. Then, add in the herbs and stir constantly for 30 seconds or so. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add tuna to the food processor, followed by the lemon zest, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, ricotta cheese, parmesan, a drizzle of honey, the cooked herbs, shallots, garlic, and most of the cooked pancetta, reserving some for garnishing later. Food process and add remaining olive oil in a thin stream until smooth, adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Spread tuna mousse over top of the crispy potato slices. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, more herbs, and crispy pancetta.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Do not freeze.
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Notes
- Season well, but keep in mind that some of the end garnishes will impact the final flavor and salt level, so don't add too much salt to the mousse!
- Feel free to add more seasoning to taste.
- You can swap pancetta for prosciutto for bacon, or leave this recipe meatless if you like.
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