Move Over, Nicholas Sparks' Splenda Chicken Salad—Matthew McConaughey's Tuna Has Fans Divided

Matthew McConaughey's tuna salad recipe has divided the internet for including unconventional ingredients such as frozen peas, corn, wasabi, Italian dressing, apples and agave.

By Gabrielle Chung Nov 23, 2024 12:07 AMTags
Watch: Matthew McConaughey Reveals Why He Left Hollywood With His Family

The internet is not alright, alright, alright after learning about Matthew McConaughey's tuna salad recipe.

The Oscar winner and self-described "tuna fish salad master" has fans split after revealing his polarizing take on the dish, which he makes every Sunday night in order to "clean out the fridge."

"It's a long list of all kinds of things," Matthew said of its ingredients during a recent appearance on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast. "It starts with the base. You get your good tuna. Next, you got to watch how much lemon and vinegar you add."

That's because Matthew revealed his recipe also incorporates mayonnaise, wasabi and Italian dressing, which he'll pour onto the tuna to let it "soak" before adding the other fixings such as chopped red onions, finely diced dill pickles and "crispy jalapeno chips" seared in hot oil for crunch.

"At the end, I'll go with some apples for some sweetness," the 55-year-old continued, "a touch of agave to balance out that wasabi."

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Matthew McConaughey Reveals Why He and His Family Moved Away From Hollywood

But the must-haves in his unique creation? Corn and frozen green peas.

"As every redneck knows, is it better right then or is it better covered after you put it in the fridge?" Matthew quipped, explaining that he prefers his salad to have a "coagulated" texture. "All the tastes are sitting right."

As a bonus, the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days alum will eat his salad with more pickles on the side.

"I love to dip my pickle," he added. "Take a bite of tuna and bite the pickle with Heinz ketchup."

And though the podcast's host Tom Segura thought Matthew's food hack was brilliant, other fans were simply dazed and confused by his recipe.

Rick Kern/Getty Images

"I'll just be the one to say that McConaughey’s tuna salad recipe sounds awful," wrote one user on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It's too busy."

Several TikTokers even tried recreating Matthew's recipe, though it still didn't win over the harshest critics. As one social media user put it, "I'm seeing so many people making tuna salad after that mcconaughey interview and I gotta say….man, Even the 'best' tuna salad looks terrible."

But Matthew's tuna dish isn't the only salad raising eyebrows with its unconventional ingredients. Recently, author Nicholas Sparks' chicken salad recipe featuring 16 packets of Splenda sweetener created what he called quite the "hubbub."

"The depth of flavor in this chicken salad is truly out of this world," Nicholas said in an Instagram video defending his viral recipe. "All those who are picking on my Splenda-sweetened chicken salad, you’re missing out."

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