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.
For more vegan seafood-y recipes try our vegan fish, vegan shrimp, vegan scallops and vegan crab cakes. You’ll also love our vegan chicken salad (also made with chickpeas).
How To Make Vegan Tuna
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- 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 Ingredient Notes:
- 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). An easy way to ‘chop’ it is with a scissors.
- 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 distilled 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
- Chickpea Meatballs
- Vegan Falafel
- Vegan Chicken Salad
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Tuna
Ingredients
- 15 ounce Can Chickpeas Drained, or 1 and ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ¼ cup Vegan Mayonnaise (60g)
- 1 Nori Sheet Finely Chopped
- ¼ cup Red Onion Finely Chopped (about half a small red onion)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 10 Capers Finely Chopped
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tbsp Tamari or Soy Sauce
- ½ Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ½ 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!
Video
Notes
- We used one 15-ounce (425g) can of chickpeas, drained. If you would prefer to use cooked chickpeas (not canned) then the amount to use is 1 and ½ cups.
- Nori – an easy way to ‘chop’ nori is with a scissors.
- 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.
Delicious!
Thank you!
This is the best vegan tuna I have ever made. I will make this again and again. Thanks for this recipe .
Woohoo! Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe and for your awesome review!
Delicious recipe – great flavour and texture! I subbed mashed avocado for mayo to make it oil free – great in a vegan tuna melt!
Thanks for sharing Catherine!
OMGoodness – I was really really skeptical of this Mock tuna but it was really good – surprisingly delish and even tuna salad hating hubby liked it. Definitely would make this again – might want to include a link to what to do with that precious aquafaba liquid leftover – I am making whip cream with mine. Could also use to make vegan mayo btw.
Thanks so much for your great review Lisa! Thanks for the tip about the aquafaba. You can make sweet treats like vegan meringues! However, we have a recipe coming soon that also uses Aquafaba. Keep an eye on our socials! 🙂
Ex-chef here. This recipe is A-MAZING! Fantastic flavour profile. Thanks for sharing it. I’ll be coming back to this one time and again.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Pete! Thanks for your great review!
This is indeed a GREAT recipe since I used to LOVE tuna. I use seaweed flakes, called Dulse, to save chopping/cutting. Dulse flakes also come in red so the end result of your “tuna” actually looks pink. Thank you for all your great recipes – love this site 🙂
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review Pauli! And thanks for the tip on the seaweed flakes!
Amazing! Great taste and great texture. Thank you
Awesome! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Sandra!
Not exactly tuna but tastes really good. We loved it and I will definitely make it again.
Thanks for your review Elisabeth.
Not exactly like tuna salad, but very flavorful in its own right–I would make it again. I’m curious about the actual measurement of the nori.The “sheets” I have are about 8″ x 10″. Had I used a full sheet, it would have turned the entire dish black and “fishy,” basically inedible. I realized this right away, and so I was able to decrease the amount considerably. Can you be more specific, in weight or volume, of what amount of nori you recommend? Thanks.
This is a wonderful recipe for mock tuna salad. I found smashing the chickpeas with a fork to be really difficult, so I used a food processor. Just a couple of pulses and they were the perfect size, still chunky but smaller. I also added chopped jalapenos (the kind in a jar) and a tsp of dill weed. i didn’t have a sheet of nori, but I did have granulated kelp and granulated dulce, so I added 1/4 tsp of kelp. Either one is a perfect substitute for the nori. I didn’t have white vinegar, so I used a tsp of the juice from the capers jar since it’s mostly vinegar anyway.
Thanks so much for your great review KC!