Searing tuna steaks is one of the best ways to cook them. With a delicious Italian marinade, fresh tuna steaks, and 10 minutes of cooking time, you can make these Italian tuna steaks that are full of flavor and perfect on their own or with a side of grilled zucchini and peppers or Italian white beans.
Why This Recipe Works
- Authentic Simple Italian Cooking At Its Best! This simple dish is one that I learned to cook in Cetona, Italy, a small hilltop town in Tuscany. I met the fishmonger at the weekly market in the square (who drives in from the coast with the freshest seafood that is available each week.) Tuna is often abundant along the Italian coast and this seared Italian tuna steak recipe was what he recommended I cook. It is pure simple Italian cooking at its best and so delicious.
- Quick dinner! Tuna is the ideal dish if you need a quick dinner. I love cooking it because it is so easy and the perfect quick meal that I can cook up for my family after a long day exploring the Tuscan countryside or when we are at home and we are too tired to cook.
- Simple Ingredients: This entire dish has just a handful of ingredients and nothing fancy. It is a meal anyone can make.
How To Make Pan Seared Italian Tuna Steaks
The full detailed recipe is at the bottom but I wanted to show you the steps in pictures so you can see what the process looks like.
- Make the marinade: Before searing those tuna steaks, the first thing you want to do is get that delicious Italian flavor infused into the tuna steaks. To do this you make a really simple Italian marinade by mixing garlic, lemon, olive oil and salt in a medium bowl. It is similar to what I use with my Italian chicken skewers. If you have parsley, chop some up and add it! I do like to add parsley if I have it and as a bonus, it is said to aid in digestion but I love the color it adds.
- Marinate the tuna: Add the marinade into a pie dish or deep dish, the add the tuna and flip them around n the marinade to coat both sides. Let those tuna steaks sit in the marinade for about 30 minutes so the flavors infuse into the tuna.
- Cook: Once that is done, you preheat a flat bottom pan over medium heat on the stovetop and then sear the tuna for about 3-4 minutes a side depending on how well done you like your tuna steaks. As you can see in the picture below, this is what the sear will look like- a nice brown crust on the tuna!
Pan Seared Tuna Cooking Tips
- Choose the freshest tuna you can find. You can use ahi tuna, yellowfin tuna, or sushi-grade tuna for this recipe.
- Let the tuna marinate for the full 30 minutes for the best flavor.
- Preheat The Pan! I like to let my pan preheat for a good few minutes before searing to make sure the pan is nice and hot and evenly heated.
- Doneness Of Tuna Steaks: My family prefers I sear the tuna steaks for 2-2.5 minutes per side which will leave some pink in the center when you are cooking 1 inch thick tuna steaks. Cook this to your preference though and remember that the thickness of the tuna will vary from store to store. Here are some other cooking times in case you want to change it to suit your taste:
- 30-45 seconds for rare
- 1 - 1½ minutes for medium rare
- 2 -3 minutes for medium
- Thawing Frozen Tuna: I usually buy tuna frozen since it is easiest and I can have it anytime since I store it in my freezer. My favorite method of thawing tuna is to take the frozen tuna out of the freezer and place it in a container in the fridge over night. This allows the tuna to thaw gently.
- Make The Marinade Ahead Of Time: I like to make the marinade the night before so that when I am making this meal, I can have this ready from start to finish in no time. If you don't have time, no worries, it is still wuick and easy.
Italian Pairing Ideas For Tuna Steaks
We often eat these seared Italian tuna steaks on their own, depending on how much we ate earlier in the day. If I want a bigger meal, we might add:
- Angel hair pasta with tomatoes and herbs. Italians love their tuna and tomatoes together and this pasta is a great way to do it. It is similar to making my Italian pasta with tuna and tomatoes.
- A side of ciabatta garlic bread. We love slicing up this tuna and serving it on top of that delicious garlicky bread.
- As a side to Cannellini beans with tomatoes , Italian green beans and potatoes in tomato sauce or Swiss chard and white beans.
Storing
If you have leftovers, here is how you can store it so it stays its freshest:
- Fridge: If you are storing leftovers, place the cooked then cooled tuna in an air-tight container in the fridge and store it for up to 2 days.
- Freezer: You can also freeze the cooked tuna. Just allow it to cool then place it in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
More Italian Recipes!
Pan-Seared Italian Tuna Steaks
With a delicious Italian marinade, fresh tuna steaks, and 10 minutes of cooking time, you can make these Italian tuna steaks.
Ingredients
- 2 tuna steaks about one inch thick. Yellowfin or Ahi tuna are perfect.
Italian Marinade
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 lemon cut into quarters
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon olive oil plus a little extra for cooking
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian parsley minced (optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the marinade into a bag and mix well.1 lemon, 3 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon Italian parsley
- Add the tuna steaks to the bag and mix around so they are well coated.2 tuna steaks
- Seal the bag and allow the tuna steaks to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a large flat bottom pan on the stove over medium heat.
- Heat the pan for a few minutes.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil and the tuna steaks to the pan and sear for 2-3 minutes per side depending on how pink you like your tuna in the center.
- Remove from the pan and serve with lemon on the side.1 lemon
Nutrition
Calories: 142kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 20gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 709mgPotassium: 263mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1887IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
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