When I went vegetarian two years ago, I naturally gave up tuna fish. This was hard since for years, I would eat a tuna fish sandwich every day. No lie. I am a creature of habit. But, honestly, I missed tuna. In that vein, I went through many “faux” vegan tuna recipes relationships in search of my soul companion mock tuna.
Finally, I have settled on the below recipe from a hub page featuring Mike’s vegan recipe. Does it taste like tuna? Not really but it is quite tasty. Watch the video below or read the recipe.
The Recipe
Ingredients:
1 can of Garbanzo beans, drained. (I cook my own beans and store them in the freezer.)
2 medium pickle, chopped. (You can make your own pickles here.)
2-3 artichoke hearts, chopped. (I use frozen artichokes.)
¼ c chopped onions (Optional since raw onions and I don’t get along.)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
Spicy brown mustard, Dijon, and/or Vegenaise to taste. (Yellow mustard works too. It really makes the “tuna” zing. I tend to use more mustard and less “mayo” to reduce my fat intake.)
Pepper and sea salt to taste
Dill. (I use alot because I love it. If you used dry, you have to use alot since it isn’t as strong as fresh. Just sprinkle it on.)
¼ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp celery seed (I use more since I love celery seed. You can use celery too but the seed is so much stronger.)
1 Tbsp cold milled flax. (Sometimes I put in 2 Tbsp for more Omegas.)
To make it more fishy tasting, you could add 1/2 tsp of kelp. I haven’t tried this yet.
Additional Add-ins:
You can also add apples, carrots, or real celery too. Green apples are my favorite add in. Only add the apple on a per sandwich basis; otherwise the apples will brown in the salad.
If the tuna is too dry, you can add veganise. I tend to add more mustard since I like the taste.
Steps:
Drain the beans and mash them either with a fork or in your room processor. You don’t want humus so don’t over process. Then add all the other ingredients. I love pickles so I like to add more than Mike did with his original recipe. (He only used one pickle.)
Let me know if you try the recipe and what your “add-ins” are. Always looking to improve the recipe.
Join the conversation:
- Do you make a mean mock tuna salad? If so, let us know your recipe.
- Do you love tuna as much as me?
- Do you make your own pickles and/or vegan mayo?
Mary Hunt says
August 23, 2012 at 11:11 pmI’ve used boiled and skinned almonds before and liked the texture better than the garb beans. I blended half to a hummus like texture and then the second half leaving it more chopped up.
Just for grins I tried a version of yours tonight with my homemade pickles (should have used bread and butter, not dill) It was very good stuffed inside a big tomato.
I can live without tuna having either of these as back ups.
Anna@GreenTalk says
August 24, 2012 at 11:16 amDid you use the kelp? Was wondering if it taste more fishy with it? So sub the chickpeas with almond 1:1? Thanks for trying my recipe. What did Mikey have to say about it???
Mary says
August 24, 2012 at 12:16 pmMikey – found that the almonds were too hard on his digestion at this point, he has to be a careful eater. He hasn’t tried the garbo combo yet. I personally liked the almonds better especially in a lettuce wrap or to take the beach for a picnic snack. Both are better alternatives to wiping out tuna!