Cooks making mixed dishes
If tuna will be stirred into a pasta bake, filling or fishcake mixture, ready-to-use tinned pieces avoid planning a steak’s defrosting and cooking steps. Princes describes its drained tuna as ready to use.
Who each format suits
Cooks planning fillet-centred meals
For a meal built around a separate tuna steak, consider a frozen steak or a chilled pack labelled as suitable for home freezing. Preparation differs by product: Tesco lists some methods from frozen, while its shallow-fry method requires refrigerator defrosting.
Households preparing portions ahead
If several cooked portions will be stored, plan fridge and freezer space as well as the recipe. GOV.UK advises a fridge temperature of 0–5°C, a freezer around −18°C, and eating refrigerated leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them.
What to check before buying
Tinned tuna
Choose it when: Tuna will be mixed into a dish and you want to use it straight after opening.
Allow for: Tinned pieces will not remain a separate fillet; check the liquid medium and instructions for any unused contents.
Frozen steaks
Choose them when: Each cooked portion is planned around a tuna fillet and you have freezer space.
Allow for: Cooking-from-frozen options and defrosting requirements vary by method and pack; Tesco specifies both for its frozen steaks.
Chilled steaks for home freezing
Choose them when: You want to buy chilled fillets and freeze them for a later cooking session, where the pack permits it.
Allow for: Check the date for freezing and the exact pack’s defrosting and post-defrost instructions; Sainsbury’s says to eat its named steaks within 24 hours of defrosting.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Check whether the tuna is ready to use, needs draining or requires cooking. For steaks, read the preparation method for the exact pack. | I want to assemble several mixed meals without adding a steak-cooking step. |
| Meal format | Choose tinned pieces for a mixed recipe or a steak for a separate fillet. Compare the stated pack size and, for tinned tuna, the drained weight where given. | A distinct fillet matters more to my planned meal than tuna stirred through it. |
| Storage | Read the unopened, post-opening and post-defrost directions separately. GOV.UK advises a fridge at 0–5°C, a freezer around −18°C, and using refrigerated leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them. | I am preparing portions ahead and need a storage plan for both the ingredients and the cooked meals. |
| Pregnancy guidance | For someone pregnant or trying for a baby, NHS guidance sets weekly limits of no more than 4 cans of tuna or 2 tuna steaks. | Someone eating these portions is pregnant or trying for a baby, so I need to count their tuna across the week. |
Meal-prep mistakes to avoid
-
Treating tins and steaks as interchangeable
Ready-to-use tinned pieces suit a mixed dish, while a tuna steak is a separate fillet with its own preparation directions.
Decide whether the finished portion calls for tuna mixed through the food or a cooked fillet before choosing the format.
-
Assuming every steak can be cooked from frozen
Tesco gives oven and grill methods from frozen for its 400g steak pack, but specifies at least eight hours of refrigerator defrosting before shallow frying.
Check the method on your chosen pack and set aside defrosting time if that method requires it. Follow any instruction not to refreeze after thawing.
-
Keeping opened tuna in its can
John West and M&S give product-specific directions to transfer unused tuna to a non-metallic container, refrigerate it and consume it within two days.
Transfer any unused contents and follow the use period on the selected label.
-
Overlooking tuna across a week of meals
Several prepared portions can add up for someone pregnant or trying for a baby. The NHS advises no more than 4 cans of tuna or 2 tuna steaks a week for this group.
Count the relevant tuna format across that person’s weekly meals when planning the batch.
Relevant brand and retailer examples
John West
Its Joybuy-listed springwater chunks provide a tinned option for mixed dishes.
- The listed 4 × 125g format keeps unopened cans separate until needed.
- For this product, transfer unused tuna and liquid to a non-metallic container, refrigerate and consume within two days, according to the Joybuy listing.
Princes
Princes describes its drained tuna as ready to use and also lists tuna chunks in spring water.
- Its springwater chunks list tuna and spring water as ingredients, with 23.5g protein per 100g drained, according to Princes.
- Check the label of the particular Princes product rather than applying one line’s ingredients or nutrition to another.
Tesco
Tesco’s 400g frozen tuna-steak pack illustrates how cooking directions can differ by method.
- The pack lists oven and grill methods from frozen.
- Its shallow-fry method requires at least eight hours of refrigerator defrosting, and the pack says not to refreeze after defrosting.
Sainsbury's
Its named two-steak yellowfin pack is a chilled example labelled as suitable for home freezing.
- The product directions permit freezing before the use-by date for later preparation.
- Sainsbury’s says to defrost these steaks thoroughly, consume within 24 hours of defrosting and not refreeze them once defrosted.
M&S
M&S provides both a tinned tuna steak product and raw yellowfin steaks, with different handling requirements.
- The tinned product is labelled for cool, dry storage before opening.
- M&S says its named raw yellowfin steaks must be cooked and eaten within 24 hours of refrigerator defrosting; follow that pack’s directions rather than the tin’s.
Joybuy tuna options
These options include tinned chunks for mixed dishes and frozen steaks for fillet-centred meals. Check each product’s label for the preparation and storage directions that apply to it.
Image unavailable
John West No Drain Tuna Chunks in Springwater, 3 × 100g
A tinned-chunk option for mixed meals when you want to skip draining. The pack contains three 100g cans; use the label’s directions for any tuna left after opening.
Image unavailable
John West Tuna Chunks in Springwater, 4 × 125g
Four separate cans offer tinned pieces for pasta bakes, fillings and other mixed dishes. The Joybuy listing says to transfer unused tuna and liquid to a non-metallic container, refrigerate and consume within two days.
Image unavailable
Morrisons Fad Free Tuna Chunks in Spring Water, 6 × 145g
This six-can format lets you open tinned chunks as needed for mixed dishes. Check the drained weight for your recipe and follow the label’s directions after opening.
Image unavailable
Princes Tuna Chunks in Brine, 4 × 145g
These tinned chunks suit recipes where tuna is mixed in rather than served as a fillet. The pack contains four 145g cans in brine; check its drained weight and drain according to the product directions.
Image unavailable
Super Frozen Tuna Steaks, 2 steaks, 260g
Choose the two-steak format for a planned fillet-centred meal rather than a ready-to-use tinned ingredient. The Joybuy listing specifies storage at −18°C or colder and says not to refreeze after thawing; follow its preparation directions.
Common questions
Can I freeze a cooked tuna pasta bake?
Yes, if the cooked dish is cooled and stored safely. GOV.UK advises eating refrigerated leftovers within 48 hours or freezing them; divide a large batch into smaller portions to help it cool promptly.
Does unopened tinned tuna need freezing?
No: follow the unopened-storage directions on the tin. M&S specifies a cool, dry place for its tinned tuna steak; after opening, transfer unused contents to a non-metallic container, refrigerate and follow the stated use period.
Can I cook frozen tuna steaks without defrosting?
Only where the selected pack gives a method from frozen. Tesco lists oven and grill methods from frozen for its 400g steaks, but requires at least eight hours of refrigerator defrosting before shallow frying.
Can a thawed tuna steak go back in the freezer?
Follow the exact pack’s instructions rather than assuming it can. Tesco’s named frozen steaks and Sainsbury’s named chilled steaks both say not to refreeze after thawing or defrosting.
How should tuna portions be planned during pregnancy?
For someone pregnant or trying for a baby, NHS guidance says no more than 4 cans of tuna or 2 tuna steaks a week. Count tuna across the week’s meals when deciding how many batch-cooked portions to prepare.