Vegan tuna or chickpea tuna is an easy and fun recipe that uses mashed chickpeas and vegan mayo to recreate the flavor of tuna salad.
It takes 20 minutes to prepare, and it is delicious in a sandwich, in a microwaved sweet potato, and on a slice of no-knead homemade bread.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Like vegan egg salad, vegan ricotta, and vegan frittata this vegan tuna recipe is really fun to make and excellent if you want to try something different.
The flavor is 100% sure to satisfy vegans and non-vegans alike. It’s approved by my spoiled Italian palate 👌.
For me the best way to eat vegan tuna is between two slices of toasted bread with a slice of tomato, some lettuce and extra mayo. A perfect spring recipe and snack idea.
Louise loves it to stuff a microwaved sweet potato. It’s such a good idea for a 15 minute lunch or as a snack.
The main ingredient in this recipe is chickpeas, making the recipe healthy and nutritious. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did 😊.
Ingredients
Find complete ingredient list, quantities, and substitutions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Chickpeas: You can use canned chickpeas or dried chickpeas that you cook yourself. We have a guide on how to cook chickpeas on the stovetop, Instant Pot, or slow cooker if you need it. While we generally prefer dried chickpeas to canned ones, in this recipe the flavor of canned chickpeas is more similar to that of canned tuna.
- Nori Sheets: Use nori sheets to add a pleasant sea flavor. You can find nori sheets in most supermarkets as they are commonly used as a wrap for sushi and onigiri.
Nori sheets contain generous amounts of vitamins A, B, and C, minerals like iodine and manganese, and are a great source of EPA omega-3 fatty acids. - Red Onion: Red onion adds a touch of sweetness and color to the dish. Substitute shallots or spring onions for red onion.
- Pickles and capers: They add freshness and acidity that makes the other flavors pop.
You can use pickles or dill pickles. If your capers are stored in salt, rinse them before use. Substitute pickle relish for pickles. - Lemon juice: Adds brightness and makes the recipe light and fresh. Substitute apple cider vinegar for lemon juice.
- Soy sauce: For umami, that bold, savory flavor. Substitute tamari sauce or coconut aminos to make the recipe gluten-free.
- Mustard: You can use American mustard or Dijon mustard. Mustard is essential because it adds a rich, savory, and pungent taste.
- Vegan Mayonnaise: Adds silky and creamy mouthfeel, and makes the dish irresistible. You can use a store-bought vegan mayo or make our quick vegan mayo recipe.
- Fresh herbs: Add in some chopped fresh parsley or dill for freshness. You can substitute dried dill for fresh dill.
How to make vegan tuna
Step 1: Blend the nori sheets in a blender for a few seconds or chop them finely with a knife.
Step 2: Mash rinsed and drained chickpeas until you get a coarse texture. You can use a fork or potato masher.
Step 3: Add finely chopped red onion, celery, capers, pickles, and herbs.
Then add the blended nori sheets, lemon juice, vegan mayo, mustard, soy sauce, salt, and black pepper.
Mix well until combined and creamy.
Important tip about the chickpeas
It will take you a couple of minutes to mash all chickpeas. Make sure there aren’t any whole chickpeas in the mix.
Mashing chickpeas in an oven dish rather than in a bowl is easiest. A bowl has tall edges that get in the way.
Depending on the brand, some canned chickpeas can be harder than others. If you think your canned chickpeas are too hard and you struggle to mash them, boil them in water for 10 minutes to soften them.
Although we do not recommend it, you could mash the chickpeas with a food processor. If so, pulse the chickpeas; do not blend continuously, or you’ll end up with hummus instead.
Serve it as…
- Appetizer: in lettuce leaves, on canapés and slices of cucumber, or to stuff cherry tomatoes.
- Sandwich: with a slice of tomato, lettuce, and cucumber.
- Filling for a baked potato or sweet potato for a healthy lunch.
- As a salad in bowl with bread and lettuce.
- Vegan tuna melt with non-dairy cheese slices.
More easy vegan recipes
If you tried this vegan tuna recipe 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!
Vegan Tuna
Ingredients
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup vegan mayo
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 sheets nori 1 tablespoon blended
- ½ medium red onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 handful fresh parsley or dill, chopped
- ½ lemon the juice
- 1 tablespoon pickles or capers, chopped
- 2 pinches salt or more to taste
- 2 twists black pepper
Instructions
- Blend 2 sheets nori in a blender for a few seconds or chop them finely with a knife.
- Mash 2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas until you get a coarse texture. You can use a fork or potato masher.
- Add ½ medium red onion, 1 stalk celery, 1 tablespoon pickles, and 1 handful fresh parsley, all chopped. Then add the blended nori sheets, the juice of ½ lemon, ⅓ cup vegan mayo, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mustard, 2 pinches salt, and 2 twists black pepper.Mix well until combined and creamy.
- Serve as:– Appetizer in lettuce leaves, on canapés and slices of cucumber, or to stuff cherry tomatoes.– In a sandwich with a slice of tomato, lettuce, and cucumber.– As filling for a baked potato or sweet potato for a healthy lunch.– As a salad in bowl with bread and lettuce.– Vegan tuna melt with non-dairy cheese slices.
Video
Notes
- Canned chickpeas: substitute dried chickpeas that you previously soaked, then boiled in water until tender. Here’s our guide on how to cook chickpeas from scratch.
- Red onion: substitute shallot or spring onions.
- Pickles: substitute capers.
- Lemon juice: substitute apple cider vinegar.
- Soy sauce: substitute tamari for gluten-free.
- Mustard: you can use American or Dijon mustard.
- Parsley: substitute fresh or dried dill.
- Chickpeas: Mash chickpeas thoroughly, ensuring no whole ones remain. Use an oven dish instead of a bowl for easier mashing. If chickpeas are too hard, boil them for 10 minutes. A food processor can be used, but pulse instead of blending to avoid making hummus.
- Nori: Nori sheets are added to give a sea flavor to the vegan tuna. If you don’t have or don’t like nori seaweed you can omit it. The best way to add nori is to blend the sheets in a blender at full speed until the sheet turns into dust or flakes. You can store the leftover nori flakes into an airtight container for months, and use it sprinkled on salads or other meals
- Make ahead: You can make vegan tuna up to 3 days ahead.
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.
- Freezer: We don’t recommend freezing, but if you do so, do it in a freezer-friendly container, then thaw in the refrigerator. Do not freeze multiple times.
Nutrition
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Recetta velocissima e super buona
Very quick and delicious salad.
Best sandwich I’ve had in a long time, we pimped it up with some sweetcorn and a couple of basil leaves, easy 5 stars. Next time I’m making twice as much and sticking in in a massive baguette!
Maurice, it sounds absolutely delicious with a serving of the salad in a baguette 🎉
Wonderful idea with sweetcorn and basil leaves; what a spring-friendly serving suggestion!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment here. Kindest,
Louise
I loved this recipe and the idea to serve it on a baked sweet potato! It was so full of flavor and much better than tuna both to me and the fish!
I used capers and gherkins and was generous with lemon juice. Can’t wait to have on toast as well.
Hi Susan, I’m so happy you enjoyed this vegan tuna. It’s really a fantastic match with a baked sweet potato 🎉
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment here – and have a great rest of your week!
Kindest, Louise
This is phenomenal! I made it today for the Super Bowl tonight and plan to tell no-one it’s not tuna and they’ll never guess! Just a suggestion; I used Trader Joes Dill Pickle Mustard and it works great! Thx for this recipe. I’m checking out the website now for more!
Amazing, Izzy, you’re very welcome! I hope vegan tuna (and the game) was a success 🎉
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. All the best,
Louise
Delicious! As good as the real thing. Even better, really.
Hi Louise and Nico,
This recipe is very good (with or without nori sheets). I am just eating it while writing this comment, and the mayonnaise! I don’t like the vegan mayonnaise you find in the store (it just tastes like oil and not the good one) and even if I don’t usually eat a lot of mayonnaise, it’s always nice to have one on hand for toast, chickpea salad, etc. And this one is very good.
And for the other recipes I tried so far, all are so good that they became favorites, and my non-vegan friend’s favorites as well. The black lentils on toast! OMG. The sweet potato salad with lentils (…and with oven-backed Brussels sprouts) Delish! I’m going to try many more, that’s for sure.
So thank you! You are good 🙂
Hi Nancy,
thank you so much for your kind message. We are so happy you liked the vegan tuna and the other recipes 🙂
It makes our week when you guys send messages like this!
We wish you a wonderful day and happy cooking.
Nico & Louise
This is my favorite sandwich when traveling…!
Happy New Year Nico and Louise. God bless you.
Wonderful, Eliana – it’s a very handy meal on-the-go 💪
Happy new year, and all the best!! Kindest,
Louise
Fantastic. Couldn’t stop eating it. Great recipe! Thank you.
Yay, thank you for taking the time to leave a review and a comment.
Happy new year,
Louise
If I do not like the Nori sheets, what can I replace them with?
Hi Denise,
You can omit the nori sheets and still enjoy a delicious mashed tuna salad 🙂 I hope that helps!