Don't Toss That Tinned Seafood Oil. Turn It Into Salad Dressing Instead

There are actually a number of benefits when you opt for seafood in tins rather than the fresh kind. To start, it's almost always more cost-effective than fresh seafood. Plus, canned fish is often loaded with nutrients, just like the fresh stuff, and it lasts much longer, so it's easy to stock up if there's a sale. But, beyond that, some canned seafood comes in oil. Rather than throw the oil out, you can use it to make an easy, homemade salad dressing.

The leftover oil in canned tuna is the best for this because tuna has so much flavor for the oil to absorb. Since oil is an essential part of a vinaigrette, swap the olive oil that's called for in your salad dressing recipe for the tuna oil and you'll immediately add a ton of flavor to your next salad. To complement the flavors even more, use the canned tuna itself as your protein for the salad.

For the best salads, the trick is to use ingredients that work well with that subtle seafood flavor. The seafood vinaigrette won't pair well with everything due to its stronger taste, so just build your salad using ingredients that will work. For the dressing, you can pair the oil with mayonnaise and lemon juice. For some extra acidity and zing, you can use a little Dijon mustard, and don't forget seasonings — try fresh dill and black pepper. You can add some salt, too, but the oil might be salty from the fish, so just add a small amount, to taste, and go from there.

Red onion adds some crunch, and roasted red peppers taste great with a little seafood; it's a common pairing in antipasto salad. In addition to a green salad, this dressing would also pair nicely with an easy pasta salad. Adding some seafood in with the pasta makes sense here, too — especially tuna.