‘Chickpea Of The Sea’ Tuna Salad Sandwich
Chickpea Tuna Salad – This classic vegan ‘tuna’ salad is the BEST and so easy to make! It’s a fan favorite and loved by all types of eaters!
This ‘Chickpea of the Sea’ Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich is easy, healthy, delicious and sustainable!
Of course, it’s not going to taste exactly like tuna, but it will give you the mouth feel and fullness that its predecessor, the ‘tuna salad’ sandwich, gave you. Add some nori sheets or flakes to add more of a sea flavor.
This is a wonderfully simple mock vegan ‘tuna’ salad that can be served in a variety of ways! Enjoy it alone, on crackers, with leafy greens, or fresh veggie slices for scoopers.
My favorite part of sharing recipes, is trying all these different foods and sharing them here in hopes to inspire others looking to make changes seeking new inspiration. It’s not difficult eating a plant-based diet – in fact, it’s a joy!
I never tire of these simple recipes and I hope you like this easy chickpea tuna salad as much as I do!
Ingredient Notes
Here is everything you’ll need to make the best chickpea tuna salad. Includes optional add-ins as well.
- Chickpeas – Ues canned or freshly cooked.
- Onion – Use red or green (scallions) both work great.
- Celery – Adds a nice texture, but can be optional.
- Vegan Mayo – This will be the binder, you can sub with thinned hummus as well.
- Salt + Garlic Powder – Salt brings out the flavors and garlic powder is a flavor booster.
- Nori Sheets – An optional way to add ‘sea flavor’.
- Chia Seeds – Will add a dose of heart-healthy omega’s that’s also found in tuna.
How Do You Make Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad?
- Roughly mash the chickpeas; about 3/4 of them are good, with the back of a fork or potato masher. Mashing the chickpeas helps hold the salad together; once the binder is added and the ingredients are all mixed, it will be a nice thick mixture.
- Next, add the celery, onion, garlic powder, vegan mayo (or hummus mix), lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and mix well, adding any extra ingredients you like to taste. Alternatively, you could use a food processor, starting with the beans, pulse a few times, add the remaining ingredients, and pulse again a few times until the desired consistency.
That’s all it takes to make this delicious recipe. It’s healthy, versatile, quick, easy, and delicious!
This vegan chickpea tuna salad sandwich is my kind of wonderful!
Top Tips
- Change up the binder. I love using thinned plain hummus in place of vegan mayo. If using store-bought hummus that is thick, add a few heaping tablespoons to a small bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of water at a time until desired thinness. It works perfectly!
- Add a sea flavor. Try adding a little seaweed, such as a sprinkle of dulse flakes or crushed nori sheet, to the mix for a taste of the sea.
- Add heart-healthy omegas. Tuna is full of omega; add 1 tablespoon or so of hemp hearts or chia seeds to the no-tuna mix for added nutrients.
- The recipe can easily be doubled. The one shown is a double batch. Feel free to double up; you’ll be glad to have leftovers.
How To Store + Meal Prep
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, in a covered container. Stir well before using.
- Meal prep: For meal prep, make the salad as directed and store it in the refrigerator. Meal prep with leafy greens, or make sandwiches or wraps.
Serving Suggestions
This vegan tuna salad is versatile and can be served as is or used as a filler. Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Salad: Serve with leafy greens as a salad.
- Wraps: It’s great for making tortilla wraps, tucking into pita bread, or making lettuce wraps.
- Sandwiches: It’s perfect as a sandwich filler or served as an open-faced sandwich. Try it with this homemade Artisan Bread!
- Crackers: Scoop up with a variety of crackers, pita chips, or rye crisps. Try these gluten-free Almond Flour Crackers.
- Veggie sticks: It’s delicious with fresh vegetable sticks for scooping. Use red bell pepper, celery or carrots, cucumber, zucchini, etc.
More Easy Chickpea Salads!
Because you can never have too many variations of creamy mashed chickpea salads, try these other wonderful recipes. You may just find a new favorite for the meal rotation!
- Cranberry Walnut Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwich
- Vegan Sonoma Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad
- Mashed Chickpea Salad Sandwich (The Original)
- Curried Chickpea ‘Chicken’ Salad Sandwich
- Mediterranean Smashed Chickpea Salad
- Chickpea ‘Egg’ Salad Sandwich
If you try this vegan tuna salad recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
Print‘CHICKPEA OF THE SEA’ TUNA SALAD SANDWICH
This is a great mock ‘tuna’ salad sandwich using chickpeas. Alternately, serve this as lettuce wraps or use sliced vegetables like bell pepper and cucumber as scoopers.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 10 min
- Yield: Serves 3
- Category: Salad, Entree
- Method: mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- juice of 1/2 lemon + some zest if you like
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup of vegan mayo (or 3 – 4 tablespoons hummus or white bean hummus + 2 – 3 tablespoons water)
- 1/4 cup celery (about 2 small stalks, leaves ok too), chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion (about 1/2 small), chopped
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- himalayan salt & cracked pepper, to taste
- dash of cayenne, optional
Other optional ingredients:
- crushed nori sheets or dulse (seaweed)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or hemp hearts for some omega 3 & 6
- sweet or dill pickle relish
To Serve
- 6 slices whole grain, sprouted whole grain flourless or artisan bread, to serve
- leafy greens, to serve
- nori sheets, to serve (optional)
- pickles, optional
Instructions
Mash chickpeas: Drain and rinse chickpeas, place in a medium-size bowl, and roughly mash about 3/4 of the chickpeas with the back of a fork or potato masher until desired consistency.
Assemble salad: Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, adding any extra ingredients you like. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to start with the beans, pulse a few times, and add the remaining ingredients, pulsing again a few times until the desired consistency.
Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Ways to serve:
- Serve on bread of choice, along with some leafy greens and the optional 1/4 sheet of nori.
- For a gluten-free meal, you can also serve it on bibb or romaine lettuce like a wrap instead of bread.
- Try serving with sliced fresh scoopable veggies like cucumber, red bell peppers, zucchini, etc.
- Lastly, pair it with your favorite crackers.
Salad serves 3 generously.
Store: Leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days. Stir before serving.
Notes
If using thick store-bought hummus, thin it with water, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring, and repeating until desired consistency. This will make for a really nice, creamy binder. If using the hummus recipe link in the ingredient list, omit the cumin.
The chickpea of the sea salad is great on leafy greens as a wrap. It’s cool and crunchy!
Nutrition facts are for the salad only (bread not included). Using the right bread may add another 10 grams of protein. Not too bad for a vegan sandwich!
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Hi! this is Mari. I tried this today (as I read it I got a craving for tuna salad and figured since you instigated it hopefully your recipe could satiate it ;). OMG – SOOOO GOOOD!! I added some baby dills because I used to use relish in tuna salad but had none in the house and just pulsed them in with the onion and celery (I used food processor on high for chickpeas, veganaise, lemon, and spices). I will DEF make this again and I only ate about a third so will have some for lunch tomorrow too!! yay!!
Thanks for sharing this (and for your blog), it is so good. The nori knocked it up a notch, great suggestion. I love how you share the nutritional information. I made this for my mom, who is neither vegan nor vegetarian, and myself, a vegetarian/vegan for 20+ years, and we both really enjoyed it, my mom says, “I think I actually prefer this to tuna, Kris”, lol.. Thank you!!! Peace.
This is such a great recipe. I used an avocado instead of the mayo and at it came out delicious.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, this is now my go to lunch!
Just made this. Really good!
Oh wow!! Found a new lunch friend!! Made a batch for work week and may not make it until Monday! So nummy. I needed quicker lunch ideas and came across this looking what to do,with nori, didn’t want to fuss with veggie sushi. This is a very versatile recipe.
So quick and yummy- definitely one of my favorite lunches now! I added humus by the spoonful to get it to the consistency I wanted and also added sriracha instead of cayenne pepper. Wanted to eat the whole batch. Thanks for the recipe :)!
I made this yesterday for both my husband (who is doing vegan before 6 with me) and myself and we loved it. We put in a wrap and I added a little mustard. Yum!
Do you think I could just blend maybe about 1/4 of the can of chickpea with lemon and some water to make up for the tahini or hummus? And then mash the rest of the chickpeas with everything? This looks delicious! I need something to pack on the go for helping at vacation bible school!
I suppose you can try it and see how it goes. You could also use vegan mayo if you have that on hand. Would love to know how it all went. :)
This is awesome! I also added 1 tablespoon of capers to make it even more flavorful and it tastes great!
A little soupy on my first attempt but tasty. I held back some of the chickpea brine and combined with with powered kelp, lemon juice, and soy sauce. It has a very nautical flavor!
Superior in texture to "tofuna", which is too spongy.