This easy Seared Ahi Tuna recipe is a simple and delicious main dish that is ready in minutes! Perfect as-is with some dipping sauce, serve in a taco with salsa or in a delicious tuna poke bowl!
The Best Seared Ahi Tuna
This super simple seared tuna is one of our all-time favorite recipes ever! It is a light and refreshing ahi tuna steak recipe that you are going to LOVE enjoying by itself or add it to your favorite tuna recipe. Personally, we love serving it on a salad with a sesame ginger dressing! That umami flavor from the soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds just pair perfectly together in this easy recipe. Looks fancy but is such an easy dinner idea, a fun weekend lunch, or a cute date night at home!
What You Will Need
- raw ahi tuna steaks: ahi tuna is known for its firm texture and beautifully mild flavor. Feel free to reach for a sushi grade or sashimi grade (read more about those labels below) of either yellowfin tuna or bigeye tuna (both types of ahi tuna).
- salt and pepper: ahi tuna has such a mild flavor, so we don’t want to over-season them. But they definitely need a little salt and pepper to bring them to life.
- sesame seeds: you will press these into the ahi tuna right before you sear them in a hot pan.
- oil: I generally reach for the olive oil, but avocado oil works just fine here too.
Does Seared Tuna Need to be Sushi Grade
In short – most likely, yes. But, there isn’t an official “sushi-grade” that fish can earn by meeting certain standards. Some grocery stores will sell fresh fish with that label, meaning that it is the best, highest-quality fish the store is offering and they would feel safe eating it raw. Parasitic fish (like salmon) are required to be frozen (at a temp much lower than your own freezer can provide) to kill any parasites before being consumed raw. Additionally, tuna is actually graded by wholesalers. There is a Grade 1, which is the best grade tuna you can get and is, most likely what your local grocery store would consider “sushi-grade ahi tuna”. Go to a reputable store and check out this list of questions to ask from The Kitchn to help find high-quality tuna. It’s also important to use it right away after purchasing and make sure your cutting board and utensils are super clean!
How To Make Seared Ahi Tuna
The first steps to making this delicious ahi tuna recipe are to make sure your tuna steaks are fully thawed and patted dry with clean paper towels.
Season the outside of each tuna steak with salt and pepper (you can also rub a little sesame oil on top too if you want).
Next, press the sesame seeds on the top and bottom of each steak.
Now bring a large nonstick skillet to a medium high heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Once the pan is hot, quick sear the seasoned ahi tuna on both sides. About 30 seconds (and up to 1 minute) per side to get that perfect sear. For best results, watch closely and be ready to flip because they sear very quickly.
Carefully remove them from the large skillet and let rest for about 5 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve however you wish!
Best Way To Serve Pan Seared Tuna Steaks
Now that you have this perfectly cooked tuna steak, what’s next? Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy it:
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce – simply cut eat tuna steak into thin slices and serve with a small dish of soy sauce, coconut aminos, or tamari sauce!
- Make a slaw or salad – we love this Sesame Ginger Slaw or on top of a Poke Salad.
- Tacos – serve on your favorite flour tortillas or corn tortillas with some mango pineapple salsa for a light and refreshing dinner option!
- Guacamole – create a delicious chip dip by serving sliced tuna over some chunky guacamole.
- Poke Bowl – build a tuna poke bowl with a bed of white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, sushi rice, or jasmine rice and the tuna on top with all your favorite toppings!
- Side dish – and if you are just looking for a simple side dish recipe, we highly suggest some roasted broccolini or braised bok choy.
Recipe FAQ
Typically, we find the highest-quality tuna at Whole Foods or another local, specialty grocery store. Do some research to find a fish market or fishmonger near you!
It is important to note that the inside of the tuna steaks will remain raw. The inside is not supposed to be fully cooked. As long as you find the highest quality piece of tuna from a reputable store and cook it the same day as buying it, you shouldn’t have a problem. As always, consuming raw fish is done at your own risk. Personally, we LOVE using raw tuna in this recipe and so many sushi recipes!
Made this Ahi Tuna recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Seared Tuna Rice Bowl
Tuna Poke Bowl
Salmon Sushi Bowl
Shrimp Spring Rolls
Seared Ahi Tuna Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 7 minutes
- Yield: 2–4 servings 1x
- Category: Fish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Seared Ahi Tuna Recipe – Your go-to seared ahi tuna recipe! So simple and always delicious!
Ingredients
- (2) 1 inch raw ahi tuna steaks
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil)
Instructions
- Pat tuna steaks dry with a clean paper towel.
- Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds per side.
- Pat seasoning into each side to make sure they stick.
- Bring a large cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat and add oil.
- When oil just starts to smoke, place tuna steaks in skillet.
- Cook for 30-45 seconds per side (or up to 1 minute if you just barely want it rare in the middle) – this will create a nice crust on the outside.
- Remove and let rest on clean plate for 5 minutes.
- Slice against the grain & serve immediately with sauce of choice (see notes below).
Notes
- Paleo/Whole30: serve with coconut aminos. Otherwise, feel free to use soy sauce.
- Gluten-Free: serve with tamari sauce!
- How to Serve: we love these Seared Tuna Rice Bowls or these Ahi Tuna Tacos!
- Storage: it is best to consume this dish immediately – if you have leftovers store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and consume within 24 hours.
- eat undercooked or raw foods at your own risk (see full blog post above for discussion about sushi-grade tuna, etc)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 piece tuna
- Calories: 83
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 315.7 mg
- Fat: 7.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.7 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 4.7 mg
Originally published April 2, 2019.
Hayley says
The ONLY way to make tuna (besides sushi 😉)! Make sure your pan is super hot first to ensure you get that perfect sear and don’t cook it for more than a minute! The sesame seeds add a nice crunch! Can’t wait to make it again!
Erin says
yay! So happy you enjoyed this, Hayley! One of my favorite recipes! Thanks for coming back to leave a review!
Lily says
Did you thaw the tuna first? Or cook it when it’s still frozen? Thank you. I just bought a package and would like to try your recipe. Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Lily – thaw your tuna first before cooking! enjoy!
Lisa Carr says
I have a question and did not know where else to post it. Can I buy “Frozen Ahi Tuna” to use for this recipe or any of your “sushi style” recipes if I cannot get “sushi grade fresh fish”?
Tom says
I’ve had seared ahi tuna in restaurants many times, but this is my first try at home. Very simple, but oh, so delicious!
Erin says
Yay!! So glad to hear that, Tom!!! It’s a favorite recipe of mine! Thanks for the feedback!
courtney Costello says
It’s wasabi whole 30 compliant?
Erin says
Hi Courtney! That depends on the ingredients – just read your labels carefully! I believe there are a couple brands out there that are compliant.