10 Side Dishes That Pair Well With Tuna Steaks

Whether you know your way around a kitchen and can sous vide the perfect 115-degree Fahrenheit rare tuna, or you're the weekend warrior looking to fire up a fast meal that's guaranteed to please a backyard crowd, tuna steaks are easy to work with, as they can be pan-seared, baked, boiled, or poached. In addition to their versatility, online forums like Reddit host hearty discussions on an array of sides to serve with tuna steaks. 

But before we get into what to eat with your meal, it's recommended to start things off by selecting the best tuna steaks at your local fish market. Once you've done that, you're halfway there. And just like any meal, you'll also want to choose your side and ingredients wisely — a decision that should involve considering all five senses. For expert insight on perfectly pairing flavors and textures together with a tuna steak main dish, we spoke with Captain Clay Brand Jr. of one of South Florida's most popular seafood destinations, Captain Clay and Sons Seafood Market. 

Generally speaking, Brand suggests going with something a bit lighter to balance out the fish's dense texture. Now, let's delve into some delicious and easy side dishes that pair well with the tuna steaks.

Let's start with one of the best and easiest grilling companions any protein could ask for: grilled asparagus. Grilled asparagus could fall into the category of a "no-brainer" side dish, as it not only takes very little time to prepare, but it also provides a healthy dose of folic acid, potassium, and vitamins A, C, and E. Not to mention, if you grill your tuna steaks, the asparagus can be cooked alongside them. When picking out the best asparagus at the store, be sure you find stalks that snap easily, with bright green spears and closed tips. If you prefer your asparagus tender, you can go with thicker ones; but for a tuna steak, thinner asparagus will offer more crackle and crunch once charred and might even be preferable to play against the tuna's texture.

After you trim, rinse, and otherwise prep your asparagus for cooking (some also prefer blanching asparagus before grilling), place it in a bowl or freezer bag and ensure each stem is covered in olive oil. From there, you can season the asparagus to your liking. Then, the asparagus should take only a few minutes on the grill, giving both sides some flame time for charring — how much char is up to individual taste. 

Before plating your asparagus alongside your tuna steak, you can elevate the spears with your preferred toppings. Clay Brand Jr. says, "I like to doctor my grilled asparagus up with a bit of salt, lemon, and some Parmesan." The grilled asparagus' smoky taste and crunchy texture will be the perfect sidekick to your meaty tuna steak.

White rice and risotto may be familiar seafood bedfellows, but we will explore substituting these heftier sides with a nutritious helping of quinoa. A good grain option for gluten-free folks, quinoa also boasts a high protein and fiber count, is natural source of several vitamins and minerals, and could even benefit one's cardiometabolic health. As for the pairing with your tuna steak, quinoa fills the bill that rice more commonly would, adding a nice starchy component to your meal while acting as a neutral base to let the tuna flavors shine through. 

Quinoa can be easily purchased at your local grocery store, though you can forgo the package's instructions saying you should boil it at a ratio of 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. Instead, use the so-called golden ratio that calls for only 3/4 cups of water, alleviating some mushiness, giving it a puffier consistency, and improving its flavor. Adding steamed or wok-cooked vegetables like broccoli, bok choy, or green beans to go with your quinoa, along with a delicious sesame-soy sauce, can bring an Asian influence to the forefront of your tuna steak meal, letting the quinoa act as a brilliant sauce catcher.

Seaweed salad can add a range of gestures and flavors to your tuna steak meal. It may rank highly for some, as it's said to offer a long list of nutritional benefits, from stabilizing blood sugar to improving heart and gut health. For Clay Brand Jr., it's a side dish that's almost too good to be true, as he jokes, "I think seaweed salad was created in a laboratory for me." He explains, "I'm not sure that there's another dish that does it all so well. The seaweed itself has a pleasant umami flavor. The dressing sweet, salty, and bright."

Visually, seaweed salad adds a vibrant nest of bright neon green to the plate, while texturally, its natural pop plays well with the moist and slightly sticky texture of the tuna. The underlying saltiness of the seaweed can draw out the oceanic qualities of both the tuna and seaweed salad itself. This side is a convenient grab-n-go item that can usually be purchased at local supermarkets or specialty grocery stores. But if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, you can make a homemade seaweed salad and impress your friends and family. 

For a final touch, Brand simply adds a bit of seasoning. "I like to add chili flakes and extra toasted sesame to mine," he says, "rounding it out with a spicy, nutty flavor and a tiny bit of crunch."

Mashed potatoes aren't just a popular side dish for diners of all ages; its mild taste and texture can be an excellent counterpart to any tuna steak. "Tuna has a firm, dense texture," Clay Brand Jr. reminds us, "and I usually try to avoid pairing it with something too close in texture." In the vein of not letting your protein get lost, the more subtle tuna steak gets help from the creamy mouthfeel of well-mashed or whipped potatoes and can take center stage.

But rather than plain mashed, whip in a touch of Asian flair into your meal in the form of wasabi. Wasabi has a rich Japanese history dating back centuries as both a medicinal plant and a preservative used to prevent fish from spoiling. In modern times, it's used in Japanese food to enhance flavors and give them a bit of a kick. For our purposes, the slightly pungent flavor of wasabi mashed potatoes cuts through the creamy potatoes' richness, as well as elevates the tuna steak's umami taste.

Here's one for the fruit lovers. While the grill is already fired up for your tuna steaks and the grates are oiled, why not make dinner easy and toss on some sweet pineapple slices, as well? Grilled pineapple isn't just a simple side to prepare; it delivers a mouthwatering blend of sweetness with some smoke and slight bitterness of the char. 

Clay Brand Jr., who's a big fan of grilled fruits in general, says of his prep, "I cut the pineapple into strips and coat it with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon before grilling." Though, he adds, "It might be better baked because the pineapple cooks in the juices." In addition to leaning into the pineapple's natural sweetness, one trick for grilling fruit includes adding a bit of spice to your sweet and smoky creation by sprinkling on a touch of chili powder, Tajín, or cayenne pepper. 

Putting a skewer through the pineapple makes it easy to flip and get grill marks on both sides, which brings up another common practice: making kabobs. Cutting the tuna into chunks and skewering them with the juicy pineapple gives your meal a Hawaiian flare. Now that you've entered the world of grilled fruit, don't stop there! Grilled watermelon, for example, can add a Caribbean vibe to your meal, and grilled stone fruits like peaches and mango can make any tuna steak sing.

Greek lemon potatoes need no introduction if you're reading this in Greece or grew up in a Greek household, as patates lemonates are a popular palate-pleaser throughout the country. There's actually a long lineage of seafood paired with lemon, with this culinary marriage dating back to the Middle Ages. These days, it's commonplace. And when served with a tuna steak, lemon can work double duty, with its acidity not only lifting the flavor of the fish but also balancing out any saltiness, giving your tastebuds something to dance to. Meanwhile, whether combined in a New England clam chowder, a hearty fish stew, or fish and chips, potatoes in many forms are also a frequent companion to seafood. 

Basically, it's no surprise why lemony potatoes work here as a great tuna steak side dish. When baked in the oven, the potatoes' crispy exterior delivers an opposing texture to the tuna, just like opposites attract. Sprinkling a bit of Parmesan cheese over the potatoes just before serving will enhance your meal with an added bit of sharpness and umami.

Beans are widely considered to be a staple food that offer several health benefits by adding a boost of protein, fiber, and other nutrients to a meal. They're also delicious and filling. White beans, for example, have a subtle, earthy, nutty flavor. If not over-cooked and mushy, their firm exterior and creamy interior will fall into place with your tuna steaks, as well as Clay Brand Jr.'s recommendation to not combine like textures and flavors too closely. "Of course, the flavors have to 'go,'" he says, "but tuna is so adaptable, it can work with almost any kind of cuisine or set of flavors." 

Whether you use lima beans, great northern beans, cannellini beans, and so on, white beans are generally similar flavor-wise to the aforementioned mashed potatoes, bringing a more behind-the-scenes neutral base that doesn't take focus away from the tuna steak. Best of all, you can customize a white bean stew or casserole to your seasonal needs. Serving your tuna steak with a hearty helping of creamy braised white beans with Parmesan, spinach, and garlic offers a level of comfort that's most appreciated on a cold, wintery evening.

If you prefer a sweeter, acidic approach to your white bean creation in the summer months, you can make Italian-style white beans with stewed tomatoes. Or, go the Peruvian route by cooking up a bag of Mayocoba beans with some bacon and tomato paste.

Very little selling is involved when throwing corn on the cob onto a list of best sides, no matter the main dish, as it brings a uniqueness to any meal through color, flavor, and texture. While there are many ways to cook corn on the cob, which can be roasted, boiled, broiled, steamed, grilled, or microwaved, for the purpose of pairing this side with tuna steaks, let's fire up the grill again. You can opt to grill the corn when its left in the husk or wrapped in foil, but grilling this veggie shucked and directly on the grate alongside the tuna is more convenient and will elevate the charred flavor of the fish.

So, what will these ears of corn bring to your tuna steak meal? For one thing, contrasting textures, with the crunch of the corn versus the tenderness of the tuna. Tuna steaks (and fish dishes in general) also love butter, with the marriage of seafood and butter bringing enhanced flavors and added moisture. So, don't be afraid to lather the butter on your grilled corn. You'll enjoy the melding of flavors it will deliver to the fish. 

If you prefer your grilled corn on the cob with a bit more pizazz, there are many variations of this side. Take, for example, a lead from grilled Mexican street corn for some extra citrus from lime, contrasting heat from chili powder or Tajín, and creaminess from cotija cheese. All of these flavors and textures will only work to elevate your tuna steak main.

Tuna steaks, meet aglio e olio! "I love spaghetti or linguini aglio e olio with a tuna steak because it's a quick, easy, and delicious side dish," Clay Brand Jr. says. Indeed, translating to garlic and oil, this simple pasta dish includes staple ingredients that most Italian households would already typically have, making it particularly ideal for citizens of fewer means since it was first invented back in the '50s.

Anyone with young kids knows the convenience of having pasta hanging around the cupboard. And while pasta with olive oil is a slightly more benign side dish in both aroma and taste, it will work well for highlighting your tuna steak's flavors. And just like your tuna steak, spaghetti or linguini aglio e olio is easy to work with, reinvent, and expand on. "You can make almost anything look nice if you're willing to take the time," Brand explains. "That's really important in my house — I think it's worth taking the extra time to make sure dinner looks great."

Typical additions to brighten this ordinary dish might be parsley or cilantro for color and dimension, Parmesan cheese to add to the tuna's umami flavors, bright green olives for some briny saltiness, or chili flakes for an added kick of spice. Or, you can crisp things up by sprinkling on some croutons.

Salads can make a fun side dish because of the countless colorful ingredients you can add to them, and it's best to pick a salad dressing that will pair well with the meal. Clay Brand Jr. prefers serving tuna steaks to his guests with a cold cucumber salad, saying, "I thinly slice cucumbers and a red onion or shallots, then soak them in a well-combined mixture of water, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt" — the latter of which was previously warmed in a small pot. He adds, "I let that sit in the refrigerator for a while as the flavors combine, then serve alongside (or spooned over) grilled tuna steaks. The bright, sweet flavor complements the meaty texture and flavor of tuna." 

As nutritious as they are appetizing, cucumbers not only promote hydration, but can also improve bone, heart, and gut health, all while helping to lower blood sugar. They're also very customizable. For cucumber salad, Brand notes, "It's delicious with chilis added to the mix, but that's audience-dependent." If your audience indeed likes to walk on the spicy side, we recommend serving your tuna with a spicy Korean cucumber salad that's guaranteed to please. 

Not a fan of cucumbers? Brand also suggests a Caesar salad or serving your tuna steak with diced avocado and pickled red onion with an avocado cream sauce.