Air-Fryer Tuna Melt
Whole-wheat bread, tuna salad with chopped pickle and dijon, two slices of melting cheddar, four minutes at 380°F. The diner classic, made at home, browner on top because the air fryer hits both sides at once.
The tuna melt is the diner sandwich. The one that's not on the menu in fancy places but lives in glass cases at every honest American breakfast counter, between the patty melts and the open-face turkey sandwiches. Tuna salad — the bound-with-mayo kind, not the trendy lemon-and-oil version — pressed between bread with melted cheese on top. The cheese is the part that turns "tuna sandwich" into "tuna melt." Take it seriously.
The air fryer beats the pan for one specific reason: heat from both sides simultaneously. In a skillet you have to flip the sandwich, and by the time the second side has crisped, the first side has gone soft again from sitting on the pan. The air fryer crisps both sides in the same window. The cheese melts evenly. The bread keeps its structural integrity all the way to the last bite.
The photo is the cross-section — golden whole-wheat bread, tuna mixture visible (slightly pickle-flecked, which is the point), two layers of melted cheddar spilling out the sides. Stacked sandwich halves on a wood board. You eat this with chips on the side and a dill pickle spear, which the recipe doesn't tell you to make but you should.
Method
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01
Drain the tuna properly
Open the cans, press the lid down hard, and tilt to drain. Then press
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02
Mix the salad
In a bowl, flake the tuna with a fork. Add the mayo, pickle, mustard,
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03
Assemble
Lay 2 slices of bread on a board. Top each with one slice of cheese,
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04
Air fry
Heat the air fryer to 380°F (193°C). Place the sandwiches in the
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05
Cut and serve
Move to a board, let rest 1 minute (the cheese sets slightly so it