This vegan tuna is simply amazing. It’s so easy to make and tastes remarkably close to actual tuna, no really it does. It’s wonderful on sandwiches for a vegan tuna salad sandwich!
So what is this craziness? Vegan tuna? What’s next? Hahaa, I don’t know, I’m just getting started with the vegan meat substitutes.
And let’s just say this vegan tuna is not only completely delicious it also tastes like real tuna. The taste is spot on. But the texture? Well, the texture isn’t very tuna-like at all. But the taste is so good, you won’t mind.
The base of this recipe is mashed chickpeas and I think you can already guess that mashed chickpeas will not equal the texture of real tuna in any universe.
However, when you add all kinds of deliciousness to your mashed chickpeas, like vegan mayo (of course), finely chopped nori, lemon juice, chopped capers, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, tamari and white vinegar, well it tastes a LOT like tuna salad.
And spread thickly on an open sandwich this makes a really tasty and filling meal.
How To Make Vegan Tuna
- It’s super easy and fast! Drain a can of chickpeas and add them to a container or mixing bowl.
- Mash the chickpeas with a fork and then add in vegan mayonnaise, finely chopped nori, finely chopped red onion, lemon juice, finely chopped capers, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, tamari, dijon mustard, white vinegar and salt and pepper.
- Mix in and you’re ready to serve!
Vegan Tuna Ingredients:
- Canned Chickpeas: These form the base of our recipe and create the texture so we can then add all our flavorings.
- Nori Sheets: A chopped up sheet of nori adds some ‘fishy’ flavor (in a good way).
- Vegan Mayonnaise: What is a vegan tuna salad without mayonnaise? Use any vegan mayo that you like. Some good brands are Hellmans and Just Mayo. Or you can even make your own vegan mayo!
- Red Onion: Chopped red onion provides crunchy texture and plenty of flavor. A regular white or brown onion will also work fine, but I love the flavor of a red onion for this recipe.
- Lemon Juice: Provides the tang!
- Capers: Chopped capers also provide some wonderful ‘fishy’ flavor (again, in a good way!).
- Garlic Powder: Adds depth of flavor.
- Nutritional Yeast Flakes: This has so many uses, it can create cheesy flavor or it can create eggy flavor or, in this case, it can add to the fishy flavor. No really, it’s amazing stuff! Nutritional yeast flakes might as well be called magic flakes when it comes to vegan recipes.
- Tamari: We used tamari for this recipe but you could also use soy sauce if that is what you have on hand.
- Dijon Mustard: Like nutritional yeast, this can be quite a magic ingredient creating amazing flavor in vegan recipes.
- White Vinegar: This must be white vinegar, it can’t be subbed for apple cider vinegar (okay, it can, in a pinch). White vinegar adds the perfect tang to this and strikes just the right note.
- Salt and Pepper: Because, of course. Enough said.
How To Serve Vegan Tuna
This is really delicious served on slices of bread with lettuce and sliced tomato and a generous amount of vegan tuna on top! It’s also divine served on crackers.
Vegan Tuna Salad
If you want to add more ingredients to make it more of a ‘salad’ then chopped up celery and cucumber is the way forward!
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers keep very well in a covered container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Just give it a good stir again before serving in case any slight separation has occurred (it’s okay if this happens).
You can also freeze some if you like. Just freeze in a freezer safe container and when you want to use it again, thaw it in the fridge.
More Delicious Chickpea Recipes!
- Vegan Chickpea Burgers
- Vegan Chickpea Salad
- Vegan Chickpea Curry
- Vegan Omelette (made with Chickpea Flour)
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Vegan Meatballs
Vegan Tuna
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 4
Description
This vegan tuna is simply amazing. It’s so easy to make and tastes remarkably close to actual tuna, no really it does. It’s wonderful on sandwiches for a vegan tuna salad sandwich!
Ingredients
- 1 15oz (425g) Can Chickpeas (Drained)
- 1/4 cup (60g) Vegan Mayonnaise
- 1 Nori Sheet (Finely Chopped)
- 1/4 cup Red Onion (Finely Chopped)*
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 10 Capers (Finely Chopped)
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Tamari*
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp White Vinegar
- Sprinkle Sea Salt
- Sprinkle Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl and mash them with a fork.
- Add in vegan mayonnaise, finely chopped nori, finely chopped red onion, lemon juice, finely chopped capers, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, tamari, dijon mustard, white vinegar and salt and pepper.
- Taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Mix in and you’re ready to serve!
Notes
*This is roughly half a small red onion.
*You can switch tamari for soy sauce if you prefer.
*Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
*This is divine served on open faced sandwiches with lettuce and sliced tomato and makes enough to top 4 slices of bread.
- Category: Savory, Side, Gluten-Free
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the Recipe
- Calories: 181
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 677mg
- Fat: 10.3g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 16.6g
- Fiber: 4.8g
- Protein: 5.8g
Keywords: vegan tuna, vegan tuna salad
Best sandwich spread ever. Didn’t change a thing. It has become my favourite quick lunch recipe.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing!
Absolutely delicious. Tastes just like tuna if you add Nori. Loving It Vegan are my favourite recipes. Thank you for sharing them.
So happy to hear that! Thanks Doris! 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! I tried it today for the first time and it’s delicious.
I love your blog and I am already excited to try out more recipes! 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Yas!
super easy, super fast and super delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks Isa!
Delicious! My husband, who tends not to care for vegan “knock-offs,” loved it. It’s a recipe that I will definitely make again. And it’s one to keep in mind when I’m preparing food for non-vegan friends and family. A real crowd-pleaser, I think. Yes, it really does taste very much like tuna!
★★★★★
Awesome, thank you!
Loved it. Added it to shell pasta and had my own, vegan tuna mornay.
Awesome! 🙂
This is better than actual tuna! Thanks so much.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Vicky! 🙂
Used this as the filling in maki. Was hard to stop eating it on the way from the mixing bowl to the rice. Probably going to try it on a baked potato tomorrow. Unbelievable how satisfying it is.
★★★★★
That sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing Liam!
THIS IS INCREDIBLE! I’m eating it as we speak! I’ve wanted to make chickpea tuna for ages but never got around to it. I didn’t have any nori and it still tastes amazing, I’ll definitely add it next time though. I’m going make a ‘tuna’ melt tomorrow with vegan cheese and the leftovers, I used to love them and this will definitely hit the spot!
Thanks so much for the recipe! 🙂
★★★★★
Yay! So happy to hear that, thanks Anouk!
So delicious! I had my doubts about putting nori in, but boy did it offer that fishy tuna taste! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s a keeper.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks Iris!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times now and love it with a jacket potato. Do you think it would work as a tuna pasta bake?
★★★★★
So glad you like it! I’m not sure how well it would work in a bake, another commenter (Salto) used it on a pizza and said it wasn’t as good cos it dried out a bit.
Yey! Another 5 star review. Since the family went vegan over a year ago my husband and teen son (aka the “ravenous teen”). missed the taste of tuna mayo in their sandwiches. I made this yesterday and they’ve requested it again today! We are calling this “Vuna”. I didn’t use nori ( we find it a bit too fishy) but used all the other ingredients. Today we’ll add some chopped black olives and some chopped red pepper. Thank you Alison!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! Chopped black olives and red pepper will be great additions!
The taste of the vegan tuna was awesome on a sandwich!
I’ve also tried it on a pizza, but when the vegan tuna gets oven baked, the chickpeas become dry and crumbly and the flavor of chickpeas takes over. Do you have any advice how I can use the vegan tuna as a pizza topping?
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! I’m thinking it might be good to just put it on as a topping right at the end when all your other toppings are already baked and just let it bake for a couple of minutes to prevent it drying out.
We made this tonight and it was fantastic! Definitely add the Nori, I think it adds an interesting flavor to it. Super delicious! Your recipes are my go-to for everything!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Laura! xo
I just made it today. I am a very fussy eater but this is absolutely delicious! Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Ludmila!
forgot to rate (comment below)
★★★★★
Thanks so much! 🙂
this was absolutely delightful! thanks for the great recipe
Hi Alison. This looks great, thank you! I don’t have any chickpeas (and can’t get hold of any right now) & was wondering if you think it would work with some other kind of pulse, maybe black beans or butter beans? Also, I don’t have nori sheets, I have flakes…does one sheet equate to about one teaspoon, or do you think more than that? Grateful for any advice you have. Thanks! Best wishes, Sophie
Hi Sophie, I think you could try it with another mild/neutral tasting bean such as butter beans or white beans. And about 2 tsp of chopped nori should be fine. 🙂
Hi! Looking forward to making this. I’ve got nori flakes rather than sheets. Would you recommend 1/4 flakes to equate one sheet? Thank you!
Just add a couple of teaspoons.
Best vegan tuna recipe I have discovered so far!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Terry! Thank you so much!