If you asked me what’s my go-to healthy and nourishing meal, I’d say my Vegan Chickpea No-Tuna Salad! Why?
It’s packed with protein, healthy fats, essential nutrients and fibre. It tastes better with age, which makes it a perfect meal prep meal. And you can have it as it is or in the sandwich. I prefer to eat it with crackers!
Let’s look at the key ingredients:
- Mashed chickpeas combined with fresh celery and red onions make a good combo of textures and flavours.
- My homemade tofu-based vegan mayo adds a tasty punch of protein and nutrients.
- Dried nori sheets provide a hint of umami.
If you want this salad to taste like a classic tuna salad, I recommend adding chopped gherkins and/or capers. Combining these two ingredients with seaweed, mayo, and chickpeas makes a missing tuna in the salad unnoticeable.
Originally this salad was supposed to resemble a tuna salad, but in my opinion, it’s so much better and deserves its spotlight.
As I mentioned earlier, this salad is packed with goodness. Every ingredient in this dish is a source of various vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For example, chickpeas contain healthy fibre, protein, Folate, Copper and Iron. Likewise, tofu-based mayo is an excellent source of protein, healthy fats and minerals like Calcium, Selenium and Manganese. Also, celery and red onion are excellent sources of antioxidants, along with seaweed which is also a source of Omega 3.
Hot tip: When preparing your chickpeas, I recommend removing their skins. It will help achieve a smoother texture after you squash them. The goal is to mash 80% of the chickpeas, leaving some unbroken. A fork works well, but you could also use a food processor.
Vegan Chickpea No-Tuna Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 stalk celery finely chopped
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp capers finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp gherkins finely chopped (optional)
- 2 sheets nori chopped
Vegan mayo:
- 1 block tofu soft
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the chickpeas in a large bowl, and mash them through with a fork.
- Add in the chopped celery, onion, capers, gherkins and nori sheets.
- Add soft tofu, nutritional yeast, mustard, chia seeds, lemon juice and salt to a blender or a food processor to make the vegan mayo. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Taste the salad and adjust seasoning by adding a pinch of salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.
- For the best experience, chill the salad in the fridge overnight before serving. Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
