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Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa

April 3, 201814

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Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Plated

Recipe At-A-Glance

These Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa are just the thing when you need a flavorful, fancy dinner that’s still quick and healthy.

Paleo, Gluten-Free

Ready in 25 minutes

Jump Directly to Recipe

This recipe was originally published in March 2011. It was retested with reader feedback, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished for your enjoyment in April 2018.

One of my absolute favorite fish varieties to cook and eat is yellowfin tuna. Unfortunately, it is one of the more expensive fish types on the market, so we only eat it when it is on super sale.

This week the grocery gods were smiling and we snagged two tuna steaks for a (relatively) low price. My favorite way to eat tuna? Blackened on the grill!

Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Raw Tuna and Ingredients

Blackening seasoning can be used any number of ways, but typically it is put in a thick layer on a piece of meat and then that meat is seared (in a boatload of oil usually) to make a spicy and flavorful crust.

We choose to cook our tuna steaks on the grill. To achieve the same crust as searing in a pan, simply spray the seasoned steak with cooking spray before placing on the grill grates. Is it the exact same? Of course not, but it’s equally delicious and flavorful!

Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Overhead Shot

Blackening seasoning is available premixed at the supermarket and is easy and convenient. But since you need to put the seasoning on so thick to make the crust, it is easy to plow through a $5 bottle of spice in two meals! Not good for the wallet. Luckily, blackening seasoning is made up almost entirely of things you probably already have on your spice rack.

Just store the seasoning in a shake-top bottle for easy coating the next time yellowfin tuna is on sale. Blackening seasoning is great to kick-up the flavor of chicken or shrimp and I have my mind set on making a blackened portabella burger in the future.

Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Tuna Steaks with Seasoning

We topped our tuna steaks with a beautifully bright and flavorful mango-avocado salsa that is delicious on it’s own, but really shines when piled high on top of the spicy tuna.

Remember: When you’re cooking tuna, you want to only cook it until it’s warm in the middle, but still very rare. I know eating rare fish sounds scary, but tuna is a very lean fish that can turn incredibly dry when cooked through. If you are too nervous to eat rare fish, then make sure to include some sort of sauce (tartar sauce, mustard sauce, remoulade, etc.) with the tuna steaks to add moisture. Enjoy!

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Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Tuna Steaks with Seasoning

Blackening Seasoning


  • Author: Cassie Johnston
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 5 min
  • Yield: 1/4 cup
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Description

In addition to being perfect with grilled tuna steaks, this Blackening Seasoning is excellent on shrimp, chicken, and vegetables.


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. The mix should keep well for at least three months.

Notes

Try using smoked paprika instead of regular paprika (or one tablespoon of each) for a smokier, spicier flavor.

Using one teaspoon of cayenne pepper will lead to a medium spice level for the finished dish, so feel free to adjust the amount to suit your preferences.

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Tag @wholefully on Instagram and hashtag it #wholefully

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Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa - Plated

Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa


  • Author: Cassie Johnston
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings
  • Category: Entrees
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

These Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa are just the thing when you need a flavorful, fancy dinner that’s still quick and healthy.


Ingredients

For the Mango Avocado Salsa:

  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced into rounds
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 ripe ataulfo (champagne) mango, cut into small chunks
  • 1 ripe haas avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Grilled Blackened Tuna Steaks:

  • 2 yellowfin tuna steaks (6-8 ounces each)
  • 2 tablespoons blackening seasoning
  • Cooking spray

Instructions

  1. To make the mango avocado salsa, mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust the seasonings if desired.
  2. To make the grilled blackened tuna steaks, heat a grill over high heat (or a grill pan on the stove over medium-high).
  3. Coat the tuna steaks with the blackening seasoning on all sides, then spray the top and bottom with cooking spray.
  4. Add the steaks to the hot grill and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, or until black grill marks have formed but the inside is still rare. Serve hot topped with mango avocado salsa.

Notes

I know eating rare fish sounds scary, but tuna is a very lean fish and can dry out quickly. Cooking the fish completely makes it dry and not as tasty.

Ataulfo or champagne mangos (the small ones with yellow skin) are best here because they’re not as fibrous, but you can also use a red mango. If mangos are hard to find, the salsa is also delicious with pineapple, peaches, or strawberries. You will need about a cup of chopped fruit.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @wholefully on Instagram and hashtag it #wholefully

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14 Comments

  1. Reg@TatteredCookbook.com says

    March 24, 2011 at 10:45 am

    Looks amazing. And yes, yellowfin

    tuna can be quite costly.

    Have you ever tried this method

    with salmon? With the its

    strong flavor, I bet it would

    work well with spices.

    Cheers!

    Reginald

    Reply
    • Carol says

      March 23, 2018 at 1:06 pm

      It does work with Salmon really well. It works with cat fish and Walleye fillets.

      Reply
  2. Jenn says

    March 24, 2011 at 11:51 am

    That tuna looks great! I love cooking on the bbq. It’s our go to in the summer. Thanks for the ingredients for the blackening too… you are right how fast it can go!

    Reply
  3. Sweet T. says

    March 24, 2011 at 1:24 pm

    Looks delish! I could have used that blackening seasoning recipe last month when I was attempting to make blackened wings with white sauce (in honor of “Black Swan” being nomiated for best pic!). I couldn’t find any of the seasoning at the store, so I ended up using a steak season blend that that I had on hand. Don’t know why I didn’t think of looking up what went into blackening seasoning…duh! Thank you so much for sharing it!

    Reply
  4. Mary @ Delightful Bitefuls says

    March 25, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    This sounds and looks incredibly delish! Wow! Bookmarked!

    Mary xo
    Delightful Bitefuls

    Reply
  5. Judy says

    May 13, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    Thank you! This was exactly what I was looking for! We made the blackening season-amazing how inexpensive it can be – I had everything on hand!

    Delicious!

    Reply
  6. Rich Sp says

    August 19, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    You say spray it with a cooking spray. Is this something you buy? Or make? Can you give me an example of one you buy and one you make
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      August 19, 2012 at 2:40 pm

      Hi! Cooking spray is just something you buy in the grocery store near the other cooking oils. Like PAM. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Matt says

    August 23, 2014 at 6:26 pm

    Looks like a great recipe. Thanks for the blackened seasoning recipe. My one concern is that you should never spray cooking spray near a lit grill. You are asking for a dangerous explosion or flare up if you do.

    Reply
  8. Rita says

    March 20, 2015 at 7:09 pm

    We used blackening seasoning we bought rather than the recipe. We like hot and spicy, but this was too much and overpowered the tuna. Maybe if it wasn’t coated on all sides?

    Reply
  9. al silvestri says

    April 11, 2015 at 10:19 am

    Great recipe! But I never use a cooking spray such as Pam because it contains canola oil which is the worst oil you can put in your body. I only cook with organic coconut oil and since it’s solid when you buy it you can rub it on the grill with a paper towel.

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      April 13, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      I use coconut oil and avocado oil cooking sprays. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Charlotte says

    March 23, 2016 at 10:33 am

    Garlic BLACKENED Grilled Tuna Steaks. Used this with fresh tuna steaks from Costco. Easy and flavorful. Thanks for the post.

    Reply
  11. Anna says

    April 6, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    Looks great. I have a hard time properly cooking Tuna. I’m going to try this recipe with your suggestions. thanks.

    Reply

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