5-minute Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe

5-minute Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe. Delicious plant based filling for sandwiches or wraps and perfect to scoop onto a salad. This Chickpea Tuna Recipe uses just 4 ingredients and is totally meal-prep friendly. A healthy vegan lunch has never tasted so good or been so easy.

This post was updated from the original posted April 29, 2015.

Upgrade your bagged (or work from home) lunch with this easy, healthy and delicious Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe! You’ll love this simple mock vegan ‘tuna salad’ to make a hearty sandwich, to scoop onto a salad or to use with crackers or veggies.

Mock Tuna Salad is the perfect plant-based protein that takes just 5 minutes to make. If you have enough time to open a can of tuna and turn it into salad, you have enough time to make this instead.

Personally, my favorite way to enjoy this vegan chickpea tuna is in a lettuce cup with plenty of pickles on the side! I’d love to hear how you like yours best.

How to make Vegan Tuna in 3 EASY steps

1. PREP YOUR INGREDIENTS: Rinse and drain a can of chickpeas. Cut celery stalks into small dice. Mince one small shallot. Measure your mayo…or make your own (recipe included below).
2. MASH CHICKPEAS: Use a potato masher or fork to mash chickpeas into a paste. It’s OK for some pieces of chickpeas to remain. Kinda like authentic tuna…you may have some that mushes up and some that remains chunky.
3. Mix everything together until desired consistency. Add more mayo, if needed. Or add some diced pickles or relish…if that’s the flavor profile you’re used to in tuna fish.

Vegan Mayonnaise

Vegan mayo is EASY to make and uses just a few simple ingredients. It will stay good in your fridge for 2 weeks and I’ve included the vegan mayo recipe below. You will need cashews, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and garlic. That’s it. No oil, no eggs, no salt, no preservatives.

There are also many healthy brands on the market. If you buy already made vegan mayonnaise, be sure to read the list of ingredients carefully to make the best selection.

Vegan Chickpea Tuna is perfect for Healthy Meal Prep

This is an awesome recipe to include in your weekly meal prep. It is quick and easy to make, and it will stay good in your fridge for a week.

With a batch of this in your fridge you’ll be able to put something together in no time. This mock vegan tuna is the perfect vegan protein addition to greens, grains, wraps…you name it!

How to serve Vegan Tuna:

Vegan tuna salad is so tasty and versatile. You can add in all the same things you would add to regular tuna. Fresh dill or parsley, chopped pickles or pickle relish, fresh or pickled jalapenos, whole grain mustard or garlic powder all are great choices.

• Make your favorite green salad and put a scoop or two of this faux tuna on top.
• No time to make salad? No worries, just scoop onto a lettuce leaf, slice a tomato and don’t forget the pickles on the side!
• Chickpea Tuna Sandwich holds up well in a bagged lunch….plus it doesn’t smell like fish!

Do you enjoy sandwiches or wraps, but haven’t figure out many vegan options to include inside? Tired of the same old veggies and hummus for plant-based fillings? Vegan Mock Tuna Salad to the rescue! Use your favorite bread or wrap…or I’ll show you how to use a collard green for some added nutrition to go with your garbanzo bean tuna salad.

More Plant Based Sandwich Fillings

• faux chicken salad.
• black bean veggie burger
• baked falafel
• Quinoa Veggie Burger
• Crispy Baked Tofu
• Vegan Meatballs. Oh…if you’re craving a meatball sub, this is for YOU!

How to make a vegan tuna wrap

1. Collard greens make awesome wrappers for vegan tuna sandwiches. They’re naturally vegan and gluten-free and loaded with all the good leafy green stuff like Vitamins A, C, D, K and calcium, iron and magnesium…plus all the fiber and antioxidants. To make a leaf of collard green pliable without blanching (really, who wants to do all that work?), simply trim down the woody stem as shown below.

2. Place filling ingredients in a line along the bottom ⅓ of collard. Here I’ve scooped mock tuna, some julienned slices of red peppers and avocado slices.

3. Time to wrap. Fold the bottom up, the sides in and then roll.

Why make mock tuna salad?

It’s really simple. Feed yourself whole, real food if you want to feel your best. Canned tuna fish has high levels of mercury. that is toxic. When there’s a tasty option that’s just as easy…and loaded with solid nutrition instead, the best choice is obvious.

I modified and streamlined this chickpea tuna recipe so you can whip up a batch in 5 minutes. It’s important to have quick and easy…but also nourishing choices available with ingredients you have on hand…AND something that TASTES GREAT! Healthy and simple food…is good food too!

More Healthy Meal Prep Ideas:

• Raw Cauliflower Salad: will stay good in fridge all week and doesn’t lose its flavor or texture.
• Healthy Apple Muffins: So easy to make and you can enjoy a healthy muffin any time of day!
• Mexican Pinto Beans: A batch of these means tacos, tostadas, burritos, enchiladas, rice and beans, juevos rancheros (even if you make them with tofu scramble) are just one step away.
• Vegan Stuffed Cabbage: These freeze and reheat beautifully…perfect to make on a day when you DO have time, for a day you do not.
• Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing: This deliciousness takes just 5 minutes to make and you’ll eat more salad when you have a batch at your fingertips. It elevates some chopped up romaine, or whatever you have on hand instantly. OR…use it for dipping veggies…so delish, you’ll want to drizzle it on EVERYTHING.
• Quinoa Breakfast Bake: A wholesome and simple breakfast at your fingertips makes even hectic mornings run more smoothly.

Continue to Content

Yield: 2 servings

Vegan Tuna Salad

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Quick and easy recipe for vegan tuna. Perfect for a plant based sandwich filling, a vegan wrap or scoop it onto a salad for a healthy lunch.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Vegan Tuna

• 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 small shallot, minced 
• 2 small stalks celery, small dice
• 3 Tablespoons vegan mayo (see recipe below)

Instructions

1. In a medium sized bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork or potato masher. It's ok if there are a few chunks of chickpeas mixed into the paste like mixture.
2. Add shallot, celery (any additional optional ingredients) and mayo. Mix well.

Notes

OPTIONAL ADD INS: (all the same stuff you might add into tuna salad): fresh dill, chopped pickles or pickle relish, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, fresh parsley.

IDEAS for your VEGAN TUNA:

Sandwich: Toast the bread, add slices of avocado + lettuce and tomato. Serve with pickles!

Wrap: Use a collard green, spread with hummus or guacamole, add a big scoop of vegan tuna salad and some julienne veggies. Wrap and roll.

Salad: Make your favorite green salad and add a big scoop of vegan tuna on top.

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO USE PROCESSED MAYONNAISE, MAKE THIS EASY VERSION:

Vegan Mayonnaise (makes approximately 1 ¾ cup)

• 1 ½ cups raw cashews
• 1 clove garlic, grated or pressed
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons water

1. Pour boiling water over raw cashews and let them soak for 15 minutes. Drain and discard the water.

2. Add cashews, garlic, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and water to food processor or high speed blender. Blend on high, scraping down sides several times to be sure all cashew pieces are incorporated and mayonnaise is smooth and creamy.

3. Add in additional water, 1 Tablespoon at a time until mayo is desired consistency. It will thicken a bit as it cools, so make it slightly thinner than desired. Store in glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Recommended Products

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• 
  KUKPO Stainless Steel Potato Masher with Broad and Ergonomic Horizontal Handle – Fine-grid Mashing Plate for Smooth Mashed Potatoes, Vegetables and Fruits

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

½ cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 254Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 97mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 7gSugar: 7gProtein: 8g

The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag me @dkhealthcoach and use #debraklein on Instagram so I can see it!