Tofu egg salad is an easy egg-free alternative to traditional egg salad. It’s protein-packed and excellent in sandwiches and wraps.
For more easy summer recipes, try our tofu salad, mashed chickpea salad, and vegan potato salad.
Louise and I have made this vegan egg salad recipe more times than we can count. It’s one of our go-to lunches at home. It’s our simple, tasty twist on the traditional egg salad, but made with tofu instead.
We’ve cooked with tofu for years, and it’s one of our favorite ingredients (you’ll find it in a lot of our recipes, including our 50 easy tofu dishes).
In this salad, tofu takes center stage. It has a soft, eggy texture, and when you cut or crumble it just right, it looks a lot like chopped boiled eggs.
Tofu doesn’t have much flavor on its own—that’s what makes it so fun to cook with. We mix it with a creamy, flavorful dressing made with mustard, garlic, fresh dill, chives, and a splash of vinegar.
The result? A rich and zesty egg-free salad that’s perfect for sandwiches, wraps, or just eating by the spoonful.
This recipe is not only delicious but also super healthy. Tofu is full of plant protein, so it keeps you full and energized. Plus, it has no cholesterol and almost no saturated fat.
For more fun egg-free ideas try our vegan frittata, chickpea muffins, and even vegan pancakes!
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Firm tofu: Replaces eggs with a similar texture and plant-based protein. Use firm or medium-firm tofu. Extra-firm is okay if you like a chewier bite. Avoid soft or silken tofu—it won’t hold together.
- Vegan mayonnaise: Store-bought or homemade (try our easy 5-minute vegan mayo). Optional: Add 1 tbsp tahini for extra creaminess and umami.
- Mustard: Adds a rich, savory, eggy flavor. Use yellow, American, or Dijon mustard.
- Celery: Finely chopped for crunch and freshness to balance the creamy dressing.
- Fresh dill & chives: Adds herby flavor and aroma. Substitute parsley for dill if needed, or use ½ tsp dried herbs to start.
- Garlic: Finely grated fresh garlic boosts flavor. Or use red/green onion, garlic powder, or onion powder (start with 1 tsp).
- Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar works best. Sub with white vinegar or lemon juice for tang.
- Turmeric: For that classic yellow egg salad color—mild in flavor, rich in antioxidants.
- Salt & black pepper: Season to taste. Pepper also helps your body absorb turmeric’s benefits.
- Kala Namak (optional): Also called black salt, it adds a sulfurous “eggy” flavor. Great for authenticity, but still tasty without. A small jar lasts years—store in an airtight container.
How to Make Tofu Egg Salad
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
To a mixing bowl, add all ingredients except the tofu: vegan mayo, finely chopped celery, finely chopped dill, chopped chives, apple cider vinegar, mustard, a finely grated garlic clove, salt, black pepper, turmeric powder, and black salt or Kala Namak for the eggy taste.
Mix and stir with a spoon until the ingredients are well combined. This is the dressing for your tofu egg salad.
Drain and pat dry the tofu with a paper towel.
Then, with another paper towel, apply some pressure on top of the tofu to remove some of its moisture. Do this a couple of times, turning the tofu upside down once or twice.
There’s no need to press it down for too long. You just have to squeeze out excess moisture.
Cut the tofu into small dice (¼ inch, 0.6 cm). It doesn’t have to be perfectly cut.
Transfer the tofu to the mixing bowl with the dressing.
While you do so, crumble some of it with the tip of your fingers to make it look like crumbled egg yolk.
Mix the tofu with the dressing until well combined. Taste and adjust for salt and acidity.
Serving Suggestions
You can use vegan egg salad like you’d serve a classic egg salad.
It’s a meal-prep-friendly recipe, brilliant as a lunch box idea.
For example, have it as part of a quick and healthy breakfast or lunch with lettuce leaves, on toast, in a sandwich with some relish, or a wrap.
You can also have it as a starter on canapés, crackers, or cucumber slices.
Variations
- Tofu egg salad (no mayo): There are two ways to make a vegan egg salad without mayonnaise. One is to use dairy-free yogurt. This method is also low in fat.
The other is to use ripe mashed avocado. I would not add Kala Namak and Mustard to the dressing if you use avocado. Both ways are very healthy, nutritious, and creamy.
- Curry tofu egg salad: This one is our favorite variation of a tofu egg salad. Add 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder (add 1 tsp if you like the curry flavor) to the dressing, and you’ve got a delicious oriental-tasting vegan egg salad with curry.
- Chickpea egg salad: To make a vegan chickpea egg salad, you can replace tofu with canned chickpeas. All you have to do is to drain and rinse a can of chickpeas.
Then, put them in a bowl and mash them with a fork until you have a chickpea mash. Not too fine. Mix in the vegan salad dressing, stir, and you are done.
Tips
- Black salt: Kala Namak makes this salad taste like an authentic egg salad.
We put this ingredient as optional because not everyone has it in their pantry and because tofu egg salad tastes delicious without it.
Some people might prefer it without that eggy taste. But if you love an eggy taste, get yourself some black salt, and you won’t regret it. - Add a little Kala Namak at a time: black salt has a pungent smell and can be overpowering if you add too much, especially if you just bought it. So add a bit at a time and add more if necessary.
Questions
Yes. You can eat raw tofu straight out of the package.
However, tofu has a neutral, bland taste on its own, so it is advisable to either use a dressing or cook it to make it more flavorful. We made a list of tofu recipes for you to get some ideas.
Yes. Tofu egg salad is gluten-free because none of the ingredients contains gluten. However, if you are allergic to gluten, read the label of each ingredient you’re using to be 100% sure.
Also, if you make a sandwich with it, use gluten-free bread.
You can double or triple all ingredients to scale this recipe up. In this case, use a large bowl to combine the mixture. To scale this recipe down, you can divide everything in half.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: This recipe is perfect for meal prep as it keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days, so you can make a batch and use it as needed.
If you make this with the intention of keeping it for a few days, the one tip we’d give you is to press the tofu a little longer to remove more of its moisture. As the salad sits in the refrigerator, it can get soggy if the tofu has a lot of water.
Refrigerator: Store tofu egg salad in a bowl or an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. We don’t recommend freezing this as the salad can get watery as it thaws.
More Creamy Salads
Get more creamy and lunch-friendly salad inspiration. You can make all with vegan mayo or regular mayo:
- Coleslaw
- Vegan chickpea tuna
- Vegan potato salad
- Curry chickpea salad
- Broccoli salad
- Dill potato salad
- Creamy pasta salad
If you tried this tofu egg salad or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Tofu Egg Salad
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup vegan mayo
- ¼ cup celery finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons dill finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chives finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon mustard Dijon or yellow
- 1 small clove garlic grated
- 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 2 twists black pepper freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon black salt or kala namak is optional. Recommended to get that eggy taste
- 8 ounces tofu firm or extra firm
Instructions
- To a mixing bowl, add: ⅓ cup vegan mayo, ¼ cup celery, 2 tablespoons dill, 2 tablespoons chives, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ tablespoon mustard, 1 small clove garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 twists black pepper, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and optionally ¼ teaspoon black salt.
- Stir with a spoon until the ingredients are well combined.
- Drain and pat 8 ounces tofu dry with a paper towel. With another paper towel apply pressure on top of the tofu to remove some of its moisture. Do this a couple of times, turning the tofu upside down once.Cut the tofu into small dice of ¼ inch or 0.6 cm.
- Transfer the tofu into the mixing bowl with the dressing. While you do so, crumble some of it, to make it look like crumbled egg yolk. Mix the tofu with the dressing until well combined. Taste and adjust for salt and acidity.
- You can use vegan egg salad like you’d serve a classic egg salad.It’s a meal-prep-friendly recipe, brilliant as a lunch box idea.For example, have it as part of a quick and healthy breakfast or lunch in a sandwich with a few leaves of lettuce and sliced radishes or tomatoes.
Video
Notes
- Tofu: Use firm or medium-firm; extra-firm for more bite, avoid soft or silken tofu.
- Vegan mayo: Use store-bought or homemade; add 1 tbsp tahini for extra creaminess.
- Mustard: Yellow, American, or Dijon all work well.
- Celery: Swap with cucumber or green bell pepper for similar crunch.
- Fresh dill: Replace with parsley or ½ tsp dried dill.
- Fresh chives: Use green onions or ½ tsp dried chives.
- Garlic: Sub with red/green onion, garlic powder, or onion powder.
- Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar can be swapped with white vinegar or lemon juice.
- Turmeric: Optional—adds color; omit if unavailable.
- Salt: Use sea salt or kosher salt.
- Black pepper: Adds flavor and boosts turmeric benefits—regular pepper works fine.
- Kala Namak (black salt): Optional—skip or replace with sea salt if not using.
Nutrition
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I challenged my mom and brother to go 30 days vegan. Today, the second day, I made this. I was completely blown away. So light and delicious! Even got approval from mom whose the pickiest eater ever. The only difference is I omitted the extra salt after reading the comments. Thank you Nico & Louise!
Hi Tiffany, that sounds like a fun experiment. I’m so happy you enjoyed this meal with your (picky) family.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment here. Kindest,
Louise
Easy and delicious. We had it on toast with radish, lettuce and avocado slices. We all loved it. I will reduce the salt a smidge next time. Thank you.
Wonderful Joan, that sounds like a delicious and fresh serving suggestion. I’m delighted you all enjoyed it!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating here. All the best,
Louise
I like the recipe it’s great and versatile you can adjust it to your own taste . I doubled the Kala Namak I wanted a strong eggy flavor and didn’t use any salt , it was a tad too salty for me , I can’t imagine adding 1 tsp Salt and 1/4 of the Kala namak salt . This is an easy fixed I added more celery , onions and tofu it was still salty with the bread I think it will be perfect . Taste wise it’s a 10 don’t forget mayonnaise and mustard is already salty so better use less than too much . I didn’t have fresh dill just dried I bet it tasted even better with it . Thank you for a wonderful recipe
Fantastic, Brigitte. I’m very happy you enjoyed the egg salad.
Thank you so much for your tips on the kala namak and saltiness. We really appreciate taking your time to comment.
Kindest,
Louise
This was absolutely delicious! I didn’t make it Vegan because I used regular mayo. I also added some smoked paprika to add to the flavor! 😊
How can i substitute the vegan mayonnaise to make it healthier? Lowee in fat? Soy yoghurt?
Hi Emanuela,
you can substitute it with yogurt for sure 🙂 Of course it won’t taste exactly the same as the mayo adds a velvety mouth feel. But it will work 🙂
You can also do half vegan mayo and half soy yogurt.
I hope this helps.
Nico