This vegan take on a classic deli style chickpea tuna salad recipe will blow your mind. Derived from chickpeas, this recipe uses nori to mimic the salty fish taste from seafood. Deli style vegan tuna salad will soon become your go-to favorite any day of the week.
Move over canned tuna, chickpeas are stealing the show in this deli-style vegan chickpea tuna salad recipe. Making this is so easy and it is delicious – crunchy, creamy, fishy, salty…it hits all of the right notes. You can serve this on sandwich bread, on lettuce wraps or in a salad. Who needs a deli anymore when you can make your own vegan tuna salad?
While this might not taste exactly like tuna, it tastes pretty darn close to it. With each bite you get chunky pieces of smashed chickpeas, fresh diced onion and celery, creaminess from vegan mayo and saltiness from nori sheets. I promise if you are new to vegan eating, this recipe is a must try as it won’t disappoint!
Ingredients Needed to Make Deli-Style Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
Wait until you see how easy it is to make this recipe. The ingredients are pretty much staple items you probably already have in your house. The great thing about this recipe is that you can throw in whatever ingredients you have on hand. For the ultimate deli-style tuna salad, here are the ingredients you will need:
- CHICKPEAS – This is the main ingredient in the salad. Make it easy and used canned.
- ONION – Red or white onion.
- CELERY – Classic ingredient in tunafish salad and adds a nice crunchy texture.
- VEGAN MAYO – This is the creamy binder for the salad.
- NORI SHEETS / NORI FLAKES – This is the seaweed that you see wrapped around sushi. It provides a fishy taste.
- SPICES – Fresh cracked black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.
- LEMON – Adds a nice brightness to the dish.
What is Nori?
Nori is seaweed. Nori is the stuff found wrapped around sushi rolls. Sound familiar? You can buy nori sheets, which is a big giant square sheet of seaweed or in flakes. The large nori sheets are the better buy because they are so inexpensive. All you have to do is cut it up into little flakes for this recipe.
How Do you Make Deli-Style Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad?
Time needed: 10 minutes.
Steps to make Deli-Style Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Mash the chickpeas.
Mash the chickpeas with the back of a fork or a potato masher. This might require a little bit of elbow grease. I generally mash about 3/4 of the chickpeas for texture. Mashing the chickpeas mimics the texture of canned tuna.
- Combine ingredients
Add in the vegan mayo, nori flakes, diced onions, diced celery, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice and mix well. You can add in anything else you may want like capers, olives, vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, or relish.
…and the salad is ready. I told you it is quick. Just a few ingredients is all it takes to make this simple, delicious versatile recipe.
Extra Ingredients to Spruce Up Deli-Style Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Chia seeds for omega’s.
- Relish or chopped kosher dill pickles.
- Diced tomatoes.
- Shredded vegan cheese.
- Avocado (you can substitute this for the mayo.)
- Diced red peppers
- Capers
- Chopped olives
- Nutritional yeast
Meal Prep and Storing Vegan Tuna Salad
Making this recipe in advance is great for those of you who are always on the go. A great benefit of deli-style vegan tunafish salad is that you can make a big batch for meal prep and it lasts a long time in the fridge.
- MEAL PREP – You can double, triple or quadruple the recipe to have enough vegan tuna salad on hand for the entire week.
- STORAGE – Make a batch of the tuna salad and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight contained. The salad lasts up to 7 days in the fridge.
- TIPS – If you are using avocado instead of vegan mayo, make sure there is lemon juice in the salad or the avocado will turn brown (it will oxidize.) Also if you are making sandwiches or wraps to scoop out the vegan tunafish salad each day and spread it on the bread. Meal prepping pre-made sandwiches with this salad will make the bread soggy.
Serving Suggestions
Tunafish salad is great straight out of the bowl or sandwiched in between two pieces of bread. Here are some serving suggestions for this recipe:
- Sandwiches – Smeared right into between two toasted pieces of artisan bread served with lettuce, tomato, pickle and slaw.
- Wraps – Make a giant wrap, deli-style.
- Salad – Scoop a large amount into a bowl and grab a fork.
- Dip – Serve vegan tuna salad as a dip and pair with crackers, veggie sticks, or pita chips.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Tuna Salad
Yes. Quickly pulse the chickpea mixture. You do not want it to turn into a paste. Keep the salad chunky for a tuna texture.
Nori sheets are found at most grocery stores in the international aisle. If you can’t find flakes, buy a whole sheet and use scissors to cut them into flakes.
Of course not, but nori is what gives this recipe a fishy taste like tunafish.
You can use avocados, hummus or even mustard.
I have always used canned organic chickpeas. They are usually $1 at the store and save a ton of time. If you have dried chickpeas, they work just as well to make vegan tunafish salad. Follow the directions on the package to cook.
A TON! Check out one of my favorites, my Chickpea Salad Wrap. It tastes just like a Buffalo Chicken Wrap. Yum.
I hope you enjoy this classic deli-style vegan tunafish salad as much as I do. If you try this recipe, please rate and leave us a comment to let us know how it tastes!
Deli-Style Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 14 ounces canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) [2 cans drained]
- ¼ cup vegan mayo [or avocado / hummus]
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped celery [1-2 stalks]
- ¼ cup chopped onion [red or white onion]
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon crushed nori flakes
Optional ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds [for Omega's]
- 1 tablespoon dill relish
- ½ tablespoon capers
- ¼ cup diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Drain the canned chickpeas and add to a large mixing bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash the ¾ of the chickpeas.
- Finely chop the onion and celery and add to the mixing bowl with the mashed chickpeas.
- Use scissors to cut the nori sheet into small flakes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and seasonings to the mixture. Mix well with a large spoon.
Notes
Meal Prep and Storing Vegan Tuna Salad
Making this recipe in advance is great for those of you who are always on the go. A great benefit of deli-style vegan tunafish salad is that you can make a big batch for meal prep and it lasts a long time in the fridge.- MEAL PREP – You can double, triple or quadruple the recipe to have enough vegan tuna salad on hand for the entire week.
- STORAGE – Make a batch of the tuna salad and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight contained. The salad lasts up to 7 days in the fridge.
- TIPS – If you are using avocado instead of vegan mayo, make sure there is lemon juice in the salad or the avocado will turn brown (it will oxidize.) Also if you are making sandwiches or wraps to scoop out the vegan tunafish salad each day and spread it on the bread. Meal prepping pre-made sandwiches with this salad will make the bread soggy.
Serving Suggestions
Tunafish salad is great straight out of the bowl or sandwiched in between two pieces of bread. Here are some serving suggestions for this recipe:- Sandwiches – Smeared right into between two toasted pieces of artisan bread served with lettuce, tomato, pickle and slaw.
- Wraps – Make a giant wrap, deli-style.
- Salad – Scoop a large amount into a bowl and grab a fork.
- Dip – Serve vegan tuna salad as a dip and pair with crackers, veggie sticks, or pita chips.
Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Tuna Salad
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