Vegan Egg Salad

side view of egg salad sandwich on a wooden cutting board.

4.99 from 58 votes

With an uncanny eggy flavor and a rich velvety mouthfeel, this creamy Vegan Egg Salad puts an indulgent, plant-based spin on the classic! Easy to throw together and perfect to meal prep for lunch!

Prep Time25

Total Time25

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Nisha Vora

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce/400g) block firm tofu, drained (see Note 1)
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (70g) vegan mayo (see Note 2)
3 tablespoons (15g) nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dill pickle relish (or sweet pickle relish, see Note 3 for sub)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kala namak (AKA Indian black salt) (see Note 4)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon sweet or hot paprika
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon capers, drained
¼ cup (24g) roughly chopped scallions, (or 1/4 cup / 15g chopped chives)
¼ cup (5g) tightly packed fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped
Kosher salt or sea salt, as needed
¼ cup (30g) very finely diced red onion (optional)

For egg salad sandwiches (see Note 5)

1 medium or large avocado
A couple squeezes of lemon juice
A dash of Dijon mustard (optional, to taste)
8 slices of bread of choice
Sandwich fixings: lettuce leaves, cucumber ribbons or slices, sliced tomatoes, pickles or pickled red onions

Instructions

Press the tofu. Slice the tofu lengthwise into 4 slabs. Cover the tofu with a thin dish towel or several paper towels. Weight down the tofu with a heavy cookbook. Press for 15 to 20 minutes, changing the towels in between if possible (if using a tofu press, press as normal before slicing into slabs).
Slice the tofu. Slice each of the 4 tofu slabs lengthwise into about 8 slivers, so you have 32 slivers. Now cut each sliver into pea-sized cubes (very tiny cubes).
Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together mayo, nutritional yeast, pickle relish, Dijon mustard, kala namak, turmeric, paprika, and black pepper to taste.
Chop or blitz the herbs: In a food processor, pulse together the capers, scallions, and dill until well chopped but still a bit chunky.
Or, use a knife to very finely chop the ingredients together.
Make the egg salad. Stir the herb-caper mixture into the dressing. If using red onion, add it in as well.
Add the finely diced tofu and fold gently into the dressing without crushing the tofu.
Taste, adding a pinch of salt as needed.
While you can eat it now, it's best if you refrigerate it (covered) for 30 minutes (or more).
For egg salad sandwiches: make the avocado spread just before serving.
Using a fork, mash the avocado in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a dash of Dijon mustard. Taste, adding more lemon juice or mustard as desired.
Lightly toast each slice of bread using your preferred method.
Assemble the sandwiches. Spread some of the avocado spread on one slice of bread, then add your sandwich toppings of choice. Follow with a generous amount of the vegan egg salad. Top with the remaining slice of bread.
Serve sandwiches with pickles on the side, if desired.
If keeping leftovers, store the egg salad separately from bread/avo mash/toppings (it will stay good in the fridge for 5 to 6 days).

Notes

If you can’t find firm tofu, use extra firm tofu instead. Once you slice it into four slabs, just pat it dry a few times with towels.
In the RPL kitchen, our favorite vegan mayos are JUST Mayo and Follow Your Heart Vegenaise.
If you don't have this, you can try finely chopping some whole dill pickle (you may need to adjust seasonings with a bit more salt and lemon juice).
Kala namak is what gives the egg salad its distinctive eggy taste. You can buy it from Indian grocers, South Asian grocery stores, or online (affiliate link).
General note: The nutrition info is just for the egg salad and does not include the sandwich.

Nutrition