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.
Anne says
One of the best “substitute” recipes I’ve found yet. I’ve made it everyday for the past several days. I add celery a little sweet relish.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Anne! Thanks so much for the great review.
Luba says
Thanks for this recipe! Delicious and healthy! Love your recipe. Luba
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Luba!
Angela says
Hello, I have just made this Tuna mayo and I am in love with it! It’s so real like, I had it with a jacket potato for dinner. An absolutely gorgeous recipe, thank you so much.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Angela! Thanks for the great review!
Victoria says
Over the last three years I have transitioned through pescatarian to vegetarian to trying my very best new vegan. One of the things I have really struggled with is what to put in a sandwich since cutting out cheese and as I try not to eat processed meat alternatives very often. I found this recipe, had everything except capers in my kitchen and decided to make this. Well, I had to sub lime juice for lemon, and wholegrain mustard for Dijon but I stuck as close as I could to the recipe and really had no idea how the finished product would taste. I don’t usually write reviews for recipes I find online but WOW this was tasty! I mixed in some sweetcorn and made a sandwich with toasted wholegrain bread. It was so yummy! I discovered your website via your scrambled tofu recipe and noted someone above mention adding black salt to their chickpea tuna, I might also try this next time! Thank you so much for your ideas, I look forward to trying more of your recipes soon.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Victoria, so happy to read your awesome comment! Thanks so much for the wonderful review, so glad the recipe was a success!
Tamara says
Delicious recipe! The capers and nori really add flavor. I added a little chopped celery for crunch and then topped with sunflower seeds. A real keeper, thanks
Alison Andrews says
Sounds awesome! Thanks Tamara!
Pete says
I don’t really bother to write many reviews for recipes I find online, but this was an exception!
One day I was doing my annual cleaning of the cupboards and found 2 cans of chickpeas in the back. (They were still within the “best by” date.) To be honest, finding chickpeas was as about as exciting as finding a can of beets that expired in 1952! I was going to throw them out, but found your website and decided to give this a try. I kept it very simple and omitted most things like the seaweed, capers, vinegar. I used regular Hellman’s mayo, some dried minced onion, some salt, and some thyme. Really, about as lazy as one can get! I mashed the chickpeas until no hulls were visible, mixed it up, and put it in the fridge. Next day I was shocked at how good such a simple concoction was!! It disappeared, then I used the second can of chickpeas and added some MDH curry powder from India. Wow, this made another great concoction as well!
Then I did something unthinkable the other day. I intentionally purchased 2 more cans of chickpeas! Some vegan co-workers are wanting to try some of this so I will be working on coming up with a mix that is a bit more complex than what I have done so far. Since I am not a vegetarian/vegan person, they are surprised that I even tried it!
Although I will never attempt to recreate the “Everybody Loves Raymond” episode with the tofu turkey, this discovery is making me explore the world of vegan food. I made a sandwich with a nice piece of naan bread instead of eating a meat based meal one night. And I honestly did not miss the meat at all!
Thanks very much Alison!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for the awesome comment and review Pete! That was really fun to read! 🙂
Beth says
Just made this last night, served on a whole grain bread, and it turned out really good. I tried making the vegan mayo, which was not such a success (it didn’t really emulsify). Due to time constraints and not wanting to waste anything, I used it in the recipe all the same. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly and will do so again in the future — no tweaks needed! Though I do hope for better luck with my next batch of vegan mayo 😉
Alison Andrews says
Hi Beth, so glad you liked the tuna! And also hope you’ll have better results from the mayo next time, we have lots of troubleshooting tips in that post. 🙂
Chandana says
I made it yesterday. I didn’t have any capers and didn’t want to wait to go shopping. I had a lot of seaweed to put in. An extra half sheet. Soooo delish! Hummus used to be my go-to but now I’ve found a new one! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Great! So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Krista says
I just made this recipe and it was so delicious. this will now be a staple in my house. Awesome flavour
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Krista!
Adrienne says
Delicious! I was in the mood for a late night sandwich and this nailed it. Very quick to make. I pulsed it all in the food processor. All in all this took MAYBE ten minutes to make. I didn’t have any vegan mayo on hand so I just tossed in some soft tofu with a dash of black salt for that eggy flavor. Quick perfection.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it Adrienne!
Akos says
This is so simple and delicious. Thank you!!!
Alison Andrews says
You’re so welcome!
Jamie says
How about it…WoW. A vegan tuna sandwich recipe:) Tuna sandwich was a staple. Eating in our house is different now, It’s been a long time having a really great tuna sammy. A positive review is in order…
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thanks Jamie!
Tom says
This recipe is the best one I have found. It nails it and maybe even surpasses real tuna mayo.
Alison Andrews says
Thank you so much Tom!
Shannon says
This is one of the best things I’ve made on my journey as a new vegan. It’s definitely better than tuna salad and I’m sure I’ll be making it all the time. Thank you!
Yifat says
Delicious. I really enjoyed it. The seaweed gives it that fish flavor. And so easy to prepare. Definitely going to make this again.