Vegan Tuna Salad

4.95 from 152 votes

This Vegan Tuna Salad will have you saying “I can’t believe it’s not tuna!” It’s made with chickpeas and hearts of palm for the perfect texture, full of classic American flavors like celery and pickle relish, and seasoned with nori for a taste of the sea. Ready in 10 minutes and perfect for lunch meal prep.

Prep Time5

Cook Time5

Total Time10

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Nisha Vora

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce/425g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned hearts of palm, drained and rinsed and roughly chopped (165g)*
1/3 cup (75g) vegan mayo**
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (or spicy brown mustard)
2 celery ribs, diced
2 teaspoons celery seeds
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish (or sweet pickle relish)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 nori sheets, crumbled with your hands into small pieces
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

For serving (sandwich)

8 slices of hearty sandwich bread or sliced baguette
Sandwich fixings of choice: romaine or leaf lettuce, sliced or shaved cucumber, sliced tomatoes, fresh dill sprigs, pickles

Instructions

In a food processor bowl, combine the chickpeas, hearts of palm, mayo, mustard, celery, celery seeds, relish, nutritional yeast, crumbled nori, lemon juice, salt, and several cracks of pepper.
Do not blend! Pulse about 10 to 15 times, until incorporated and combined but still chunky.
Taste, adding more salt and pepper as needed. But stir them in by hand instead of pulsing to avoid over-blending.
If making sandwiches, spread the tuna salad onto four slices of bread. Top with your desired sandwich toppings. Top each with another slice of bread (for extra richness, add a thin layer of vegan mayo to this slice of bread). Enjoy!

Notes

*If hearts of palm aren't available, sub with more chickpeas.

** We like Follow Your Heart Vegenaise and Sir Kensington's vegan mayo in the RPL kitchen.

Nutrition