Creamy Almond Mock Tuna Salad
Plant-based mock tuna salad made from soaked almonds pulsed to a flaked texture, combined with celery, spring onions, and vegan mayo enhanced with Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and umami-rich kelp or nori. Ready in under 15 minutes after soaking. Serve in sandwiches, wraps, salads, or lettuce cups.
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz raw almonds, soaked 4-8 hours
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 whole green onions, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 3 tbsp vegan mayo, mixed with splash of unsweetened plant milkregular mayo1:1contains_dairy
adds richness
- 1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard, or 1 tsp English mustard
- 2 tsp fresh or bottled lemon juice, to taste
- ¼ tsp salt, add more at end if necessary
- black pepper, to taste
- kelp granules or nori sprinkles, oceanic flavour(optional)dried seaweed powder1:1umami
deepens oceanic flavour
Instructions
- 1
Soak almonds in a bowl of water for 4-8 hours or overnight until plump. Drain and rinse well.
- 2
Add drained almonds to food processor and pulse in short bursts until finely chopped and resembling flaked tuna. Avoid over-processing into paste.
- 3
Transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add celery, green onions, garlic, vegan mayo thinned with plant milk, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and kelp or nori.
- 4
Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning and flavours as needed. Let marinate for several hours if time allows to deepen flavours.
- 5
Serve in salads, sandwiches, wraps, or lettuce wraps.
Tips
Soak almonds overnight for best plumpness and easier processing.
Pulse almonds in short bursts to achieve a flaked texture similar to canned tuna; over-processing creates paste.
Let the salad marinate for a few hours before serving to allow flavours to meld and develop.
Thin vegan mayo with plant milk to reach desired consistency; mixture will firm slightly as it sits.
Good to Know
Covered container in refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Prepare up to 2 days in advance. Flavours deepen if left to marinate several hours or overnight.
In salads, sandwiches, wraps, or lettuce wraps. Pairs well with fresh greens, tomato, and cucumber.
Common Mistakes
Over-process almonds to avoid creating almond butter instead of flaked texture.
Soak almonds for full 4-8 hours to avoid dense, hard texture in final salad.
Add salt gradually and taste before end to avoid over-salting.
Substitutions
Dairy-Free Swaps
adds richness
General Alternatives
deepens oceanic flavour