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Refreshing Tuna Peaches (Pêches au thon)

Name: Tuna Peaches (Pêches au thon)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 200 g canned tuna in olive oil; 400 g conserved peaches; 3 tbsp mayonnaise; 1/2 tsp paprika (sweet or spicy); 1/2 handful chives; salt and pepper

PublishedJune 17, 2024April 19, 2025 UpdatedApril 19, 2025

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Tuna peaches, or Pêches au thon in French, are a popular summer dish for families in Belgium. You will fall hard for this surprising combination of canned peaches and tuna salad!

Pêches au thon, which translates to tuna peaches, is a beloved childhood favourite for many Belgians. It is perfect for a quick and healthy summer lunch for the whole family. You can create a fresh, sweet, and salty meal with just seven ingredients and 10 minutes of your precious time. When I first heard about it, I was skeptical about this combination of ingredients, but I dare you to try it—this fresh dish will become an everyday go-to lunch or starter!

Origin

This sweet and salty dish originated in Belgium during the ’50s – ’60s, coinciding with the rise of canned foods. It offered an easy way to enjoy exotic and off-season fruits year-round. Also, symbolizing the start of feminism in Belgium, it gave working moms a quick and easy way to feed their families. Still popular today, this dish is one of the top classic Belgian dishes on Wikipedia and was even transformed into a refined gourmet version on Top Chef.

Sweet and Salty

This combination might be odd for some, but you’ll love it if you are adventurous enough to try it! It’s a dynamic duo of sweet and salty, and some recipes don’t use paprika, but others do. For my part, I’ve used a spicy paprika. I think this touch of spice is just fantastic with the sweet peach. However, this is up to you. Most traditional recipes contain sweet paprika or nothing, so this is up to you. You can use any mildly spicy chilli pepper powder: spicy paprika, Chipotle, Espelette, Kashmiri, Piri Piri, etc.

A Picnic or Camping Dish

This dish is eaten cold and, therefore, easy to make outdoors. It is a lifesaver for the whole family while camping or on a picnic; there is no need to cut or refrigerate anything. The kids will ask for more!

Variations

As previously mentioned, some Tuna Peaches recipes use paprika; others do not. In my case, I’ve used a spicy type of paprika, which I think highlights the dish. It’s not spicy per se; it just gives it a little sharpness. The type of canned tuna could be in water, but I always prefer olive oil-preserved tuna. But it’s up to you to make this choice. If you want to learn more about finding the best sustainable tuna for your family and more information, check out this link! You could also use chive, parsley, a little paprika sprinkle, or nothing for the topping.

Other Summer Dishes

5 from 11 votes

Tuna Peaches (Pêches au thon)

By: Marie Breton

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Belgian, Keto, Low-carb, Plant based

Servings people

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Total Time 10

This summer, try this easy Tuna Peaches dish, called Pêches au thon. It's a beloved Belgian classical dish for the whole family: conserved peaches filled with a simple tuna salad—so refreshing!

Ingredients

200 g canned tuna in olive oil
400 g conserved peaches
3 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tsp paprika sweet or spicy
½ handful chives
salt and pepper

Instructions

Add the tuna, mayonnaise, paprika, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix.
Add on top of conserved peaches and top with chives.

Video

Notes

This dish is served cold with fries, salad or veggies.

Nutrition

Keywords: cold, easy lunch, fish, fruit salad, healthy, peaches, peches au thon, summer, tuna

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Refreshing Tuna Peaches (Pêches au thon)

Marie Breton

Marie is a professionally trained cook and the creator of Little Nomads Recipes, sharing easy, family-friendly meals inspired by her expat life and love of traveling through food with your family. A French Canadian mom of two living in Spain with her German husband, Marie blends her culinary expertise with international flair to create globally inspired comfort food that even picky eaters love. From her multicultural kitchen to yours, she makes exploring the world's flavours simple, delicious, and achievable for busy families.