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What Sauce Goes With Tuna Steak? ⋆ 5 Delicious Options! ⋆

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Are you looking to serve Tuna Steak for dinner? Or perhaps seared tuna? Wondering what sauce you can pair alongside it? Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve gathered some of the best recipes for sauces that pair best with tuna steak. Thankfully a lot of them are very easy to make, too.

So what sauces go with tuna steak? Both Asian and more classic western recipes go well with tuna steak. For the former, a spicy ponzu sauce or an orange-ginger sauce–both containing soy sauce work well. As for more Mediterranean and Nordic style sauces, a creamy lemon sauce or a garlic-herb sauce work beautifully. Aioli /lime aioli are great too!

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Can you serve tuna steak without a sauce? It’s not really recommended.

Even if you have strips of seared tuna, you’d likely want to dip them in something like aioli or soy sauce. 

Now, let’s have a look in more detail at the various options for sauces to serve with tuna!

Best Sauces For Tuna Steak (Tuna Steak Sauce Options)

  • Garlic-herb sauce–a creamy garlic and herb sauce that also contains spinach, making it a bit more healthy (and delicious!)
  • Garlic-lime aioli–if you love aioli, this is a good option for you!
  • Spicy ponzu–this sauce combines spice with lemon and soy–it’s a traditional Japanese sauce and goes well with tuna.
  • Orange-ginger sauce–this is another Asian-inspired sauce, but with a base of orange juice–fruity and spicy!
  • Creamy lemon sauce–unlike many of the other sauces on this list, this sauce is served warm.

Tuna Steak With Garlic-Herb Sauce

This sauce is both fresh and creamy. Plus, it’s deliciously garlicy!

Ingredients

  • ⅓ Cup fat-free half-and-half 
  • ¼ Cup garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese (such as Alouette®) 
  • 1 Tsp lemon juice 
  • 2 Cups fresh spinach (chop if it’s not baby leaf spinach–baby leaf spinach can be used as-is)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Step One: In the skillet where you fried the tuna, add the half-and-half and spreadable cheese and heat over medium heat. Stir until the half-and-half and cream cheese has been incorporated. 

Step Two: Stir in the lemon juice. 

Step Three: Set aside two tablespoons of the sauce. 

Step Four: Add the spinach to the skillet and cook till wilted–one to two minutes. Taste and season with salt and (freshly ground pepper) if needed.

Step Five: Divide the cooked spinach sauce between two plates. Put the tuna steaks on top. Drizzle the sauce you set aside atop the steaks. Serve immediately. 

Tuna Steak With Garlic Lime Aioli

Aioli is a classic, and if you’re an aioli fan, you’ll probably argue that aioli goes with just about anything and everything. This particular aioli calls for lime, which is a nice addition, especially when serving it with fish.  

Aioli can be made in advance and kept in the fridge, so it’s nice if you want something that’s ready to go. 

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup mayonnaise
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste with salt
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Step One: In a mortar, smash the garlic cloves with salt. Alternatively, mince them and mix them with some salt. 

Step Two: Grate the zest off the lime and then juice it. 

Step Three: Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Step Four: Let stand for at least ten minutes for the flavors to blend. Alternatively, if serving later, put the sauce in the fridge. 

Note: If you want a milder aioli, boil the garlic cloves before you smash them with salt. That will also make them easier to smash without a mortar! The main point of boiling them, however, is that the aioli will be less spicy and your mouth less stinky after eating it… 

Tuna Steak With Spicy Ponzu Sauce 

This Japanese sauce packs a bit of a punch but is also very refreshing, thanks to the lemon juice. Soy is the base ingredient, however, so it’s definitively a sauce that goes with an Asian-inspired meal. Perfect if you’re having seared tuna steak or a seared tuna salad. 

If you need a sauce that takes little time to make, this is a great option. It does taste best if you leave it to stand for 30 minutes, though, as it will allow the flavors to blend better. 

Ingredients

  • ½ Cup soy sauce
  • ¼ Cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tsp chile-garlic sauce
  • Pinch sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Step One: Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together. 

Tuna Steak With Orange-Ginger Sauce

This is another Asian-inspired sauce that packs a punch, and quite a good punch at that! It contains a lot of freshly grated ginger. While it does contain soy sauce, the main ingredient is orange juice, so it’s definitively a fruity sauce. It also calls for lime. 

This orange-ginger sauce is nice if you’re serving the tuna with a salad or cooked rice. 

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 2 Tbsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
  • ¼ Tsp red chile flakes
  • 1 ½ Cups fresh orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 Tsp grated orange zest
  • 1/4 Tsp grated lime zest
  • 1 Large scallion (white and green part), thinly sliced
  • 1 Tsp toasted white sesame seeds

Method

Step One: Use a medium saucepan to heat the canola oil over medium heat. 

Step Two: Once the oil is hot, add the ginger and red chile flakes. Cook till the ginger is soft and fragrant–about two minutes.  

Step Three: Turn the heat to high. Add the orange juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Cook for about eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally–the sauce should reduce by about one-quarter. 

Step Four: Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the lime and orange zest, as well as the rice vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate it if serving the tuna later in the day, but take it out, so it warms up to room temperature before serving. 

Step Five: Add the green onions and sesame seeds just before serving.

Tuna Steak With Lemon Cream Sauce

A creamy lemon sauce goes well with most fish, and tuna is no exception. This sauce is, unlike the Asian sauces, served warm, so it needs to be prepared right after you fry the tuna or while frying the tuna. If you’ve already fried the tuna, you can use the same pan to get the tuna flavor in the sauce, too. 

Ingredients

  • 1 Tsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter 
  • ⅛ Cup sweet onions, minced
  • 1 Clove of garlic, finely minced
  • ¼ Cup white wine
  • 1 Tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste 
  • ¼ Cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp capers, drained 
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

For Serving: 

  • Fresh dill, chopped
  • Lemon wedges, or lime wedges, for garnish

Method

Step One: Mince the garlic and chop the onions. Juice the lemon. Drain the capers. 

Step Two: In the pan, you cooked the tuna in, add a tablespoon of butter and cook over medium heat. 

Step Three: Once the butter has melted, add the onions and sautée until translucent. 

Step Four: Add the garlic and cook for one minute (the garlic should become fragrant), stirring continuously.

Step Five: Pour in the lemon juice and white wine. Cook while stirring until the sauce is reduced by half. It should take two to three minutes. 

Step Six: Stir in the cream and heat up, then let simmer for three minutes–the sauce should thicken. 

Step Seven: Stir in the capers. 

Step Eight: Plate the tuna and pour or spoon the sauce on top. Garnish with dill and lime wedges. 

The Side Salad

If you’re serving your tuna steak with a side of potatoes and vegetables and opt for the garlic-herb sauce or creamy lemon sauce, a nice spinach side salad works really well. 

You might want to add some cocktail tomatoes. 

If you’re going for more Asian-style tuna and serve it with the ponzu sauce or orange-ginger sauce, look for ideas for Asian salads. 

Or you could grate some carrots and slice some white cabbage to keep it simple. Maybe add some pineapple, too, if you are feeling fruity! 

You can also look up classic recipes for Ahi tuna salad. 

While an Ahi tuna salad contains, well, tuna, you can omit the tuna as you’re serving that as the main meal, but keep the other ingredients of the salad and serve it as a side salad. 

Any salad you choose should complement your meal, so first, decide on that and then look for a side salad that would help bring out or balance the flavors of that meal. 

Looking for the best fish sauce pairings? Then check out my definitive guide below:


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