This vegan tuna salad recipe can be made into a vegan tuna melt or used in a tuna salad sandwich. It’s creamy, delicious comfort food that will bring you back to your childhood days of tuna sandwiches packed in school lunches.
A tuna sandwich is one of those recipes that reminds me of my childhood, and for some reason, I just feel like my vegan kids need to know what one tastes like as well.
Vegan chickpea "tuna" salad sandwiches are delicious and I make them frequently as well. However, I craved the taste and texture of that classic tuna sandwich that I ate as a child.
I fiddled around with ingredients and proportions until I came up with something pretty darn close to the taste and texture that I remember! This basic recipe for vegan tuna can be used to replace canned tuna in any recipe and works great in a vegan tuna casserole too!
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❤️ This recipe is
- quick and easy to make.
- packed with protein.
- gluten-free if you use GF bread.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- TVP (textured vegetable protein) or Butler Soy Curls - this is a dehydrated soy protein that will absorb the flavor of any broth that you rehydrate it in. (If you use soy curls, you will have to break them into smaller pieces.)
- Water - to make the broth.
- Kelp Flakes - to give it the fishy flavor. You can also use crushed-up nori.
- Oil - to give it a little moisture and mouth feel of tuna. Any neutral-flavored oil will work or you can leave it out for an oil-free tuna.
- Salt - to give it the saltiness of tuna.
- Vegan Mayo - to make it creamy. You can use any vegan mayo that you want or easily make your own with my vegan mayo recipe. For a lower-fat version, you can use my homemade vegan sour cream instead. You can even spice it up by using vegan Chipotle mayo instead.
- Pickle Relish - for added texture and flavor. You can also use sweet relish if you prefer.
- Vegan Cheese - Use any vegan cheese that you want for a tuna melt. I like my homemade vegan mozzarella.
- Bread - Any vegan bread that you like will work.
🥄 How to make vegan tuna
Step 1 - Add 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon of kelp flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a small saucepan.
Step 2 - Heat until it boils, then turn off the heat and add 3/4 cup of TVP (or Butler Soy Curls). Stir, cover, and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it absorbs all of the water.
Step 3 - Fluff with a fork and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
Step 4 - Add vegan mayo, chopped celery, pickle relish, salt, and pepper, and stir.
Step 5 - Spread it on your choice of bread, toast, or crackers.
To make a vegan tuna melt
Step 1 - Add a meltable vegan cheese-like, vegan mozzarella, and butter on the outsides of the sandwich.
Step 2 - Grill it over medium-low heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted inside.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Be sure to allow the TVP mixture to cool down before adding the mayo.
- Put the tuna salad on toast, on a lettuce wrap, or eat it on quinoa crackers. Whatever way you choose, it will be delicious!
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: The vegan tuna salad will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: If you don't think that you can use up all the vegan tuna salad in a few days, store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🌟 More vegan sandwiches
- Tofu Egg Salad
- Vegan BLT
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich
- Vegan “Fish” Sandwich
- Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Tofu Wrap
- Falafel Gyro
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan tuna melt recipe
Vegan Tuna Salad - Vegan Tuna Melt
Ingredients
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon kelp flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup TVP crumbles
- ½ cup vegan mayo
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery optional
- 2 tablespoons pickle relish optional
- 1 dash salt and pepper to taste
For a tuna melt
- 1/4 cup vegan cheese like Tofutti or Daiya shreds or slices optional
- 16 slices bread of choice
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter optional (for tuna melt)
Instructions
- Add 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon kelp flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a small saucepan.
- Heat until it boils, then turn off the heat and add 3/4 cup of TVP (or Butler Soy Curls).
- Stir, cover, and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it absorbs all of the water. Fluff with a fork and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
- Add vegan mayo, chopped celery, pickle relish, salt, and pepper then stir.
- Use as you would tuna salad.
- Store unused tuna salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
For tuna melt
- Put 2-3 tbsp of tuna salad mixture and vegan cheese of choice between 2 slices of bread.
- Spread vegan butter on the outsides of the bread and grill in a skillet on medium low for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cheese is melted.
Notes
- Make sure to allow the TVP mixture to cool before adding vegan mayo.
- To make a tuna salad sandwich, put sliced tomatoes and lettuce and 2-3 tbsp of tuna salad mixture between two slices of bread.
- Vegan tuna salad will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
*This recipe was originally posted on July 11th, 2017. It was updated on August 31 2021 to include new images and more detailed instructions.
No one else has asked about this so I'm feeling a bit TUPID but, could you clarify the ingredients ? When you say 1/2 cup boiling water, I'm assuming that is what we add the tvp to. Do we then add another 1/2 cup water with the other ingredients ?
Great comments so I'm looking forward to trying this. Thanks, Anna Belle
No, you are going to add 1/2 cup of water to a pan with the kelp flakes and salt and boil it. Then add the TVP and let it soak up the broth that you made with the water. After it cools you add the mayo and celery. Hope that helps1
I am going to marinate chickpeas in this kelp brine (I just need to get hold of some kelp first 🙂 to make it even healthier, should be great I think 🙂
Sounds delicious! I usually find my kelp at Whole Foods or my local Asian Market.
Sounds like a winner. I don't have TVP, but I do have Butler Soy Curls, I wonder how this would work with them? I do plan to try it out, as my husband was not raised vegetarian (I was, so no idea of the 'real taste' of tuna).
Thanks for this recipe. Enjoy, everyone!
Blessings.
Hi Chrissie, you can use Soy Curls instead of TVP, you probably just want to break it up into smaller pieces before adding it to the broth. Enjoy.
this is craaaazy good!! so simple & reallyreally reminds me of og tuna salad! thanks so much
Thanks so much, Grace! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
If you can concoct a vegan crab salad recipe, I'll be your biggest fan forever more. Lobster salad gets you in my will.
That sounds amazing Jennifer! I have a few ideas of how to do it. I'll work on it. 🙂
Can I substitute nori for the kelp?
Yes, you can. Just chop it up small or you can let a sheet soak in the hot broth and then take it out. Enjoy! 🙂
I also found the recipe a bit too "chewy" so I added unsweetened soy milk which made it creamier and more tuna salad "ish" since my vegan mayo was store bought and very thick. I also added dried celery and dried dill and used left over pickled juice instead of pickle relish.
I was amazed how much this tasted like real tuna salad. Thank you so much for the recipe.
You're welcome! Glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
This time I made it with some mashed pickled capers and a little bit of their juice,
It made it taste even more like tuna!!
Capers can add a fish taste to many vegan things.
You should experiment with them in your wonderful recipes.
Yes, I love capers too! They are a great addition to this tuna salad for sure! 🙂
This is about as close to tuna salad as you can get. This is my second time using TVP so still getting the hang of using it. I think it could have used a bit more water as it was too chewy. Otherwise the flavor was amazing! Will definitely make it again and add a bit more water to the mix. Thank you!
So happy that you liked it! The amount of water may vary slightly depending on the size of the TVP pieces you have. It's my favorite way to make "tuna!"
This is the closest tasting recipe to real tuna salad that I’ve tried!
This is soooooo good