This vegan mediterranean un-tuna salad is unbelievably reminiscent of the real thing. Most vegan tuna salads use a base solely derived from mashed chickpeas. Although this version relies on the trusty beans as well, its base gets a helping hand from an unexpected veggie ingredient: artichokes. When pulsed in a food processor, artichoke hearts take on a flaky texture that both looks and feels a whole lot like flaked tuna. Although this vegan un-tuna salad can be made with a strictly artichoke base (i.e., sans beans), I quite like the texture and protein-boost that the combination of artichokes and chickpeas provides.
I've always been someone who loves to graze and snack. My inattentive taste buds long for a variety of flavors at every meal, hence the reason there is an entire chapter dedicated to Power Bowls in my cookbook. I'm just about certain this trait was garnered from my sweet mother.
Growing up, IÂ loved accompanying her on grocery shopping trips. Perhaps it was a sign of what was to come or maybe it was simply because it ensured my favorite snacks would end up in the grocery cart.
Either way, one of my favorite parts about shopping with her was when she would stop by the deli counter and pickout a variety of pre-made salads. Once when we arrived home, she'd prepare a feast with a bit of each salad piled on our plates and plenty of crackers, sliced veggies, and warm baguette to accompany the spread.
One of my all-time favorite salads back then was the Mediterranean tuna salad from Whole Foods.
In their version, flaked tuna is lightly dressed with mayo and tossed with a slew of briny, vinegar-kissed ingredients, like capers, olives, roasted red peppers, and the like. For years, I've been wanting to recreate a vegan version, but I knew that a straight-up chickpea base just wouldn't do the salad justice.
Well, in step artichoke hearts.
About a month ago, an intense craving for vegan tuna salad struck, but we were fresh out of chickpeas.
While searching the pantry for a suitable replacement, I spotted a can of artichoke hearts and figured what the heck. Perhaps finely chopped artichoke hearts could be a miracle substitute for flaked tuna. Crazier things have happened.
I tossed the artichoke hearts into the food processor and pulsed just a handful of times.
And I'll be darned, the texture looked a whole lot like flaked tuna to me...
Not only did the chopped artichoke hearts look like tuna, something about their brininess worked incredibly well flavor-wise, too.
Given that Whole Foods' mediterranean tuna salad has artichoke hearts in it, I figured this vegan tuna-like twist would make the perfect base for a knock-off salad.
And it did. It really, really did.
I've been enjoying this vegan mediterranean un-tuna salad by the spoonful, tucking it into pita bread, and scooping it up with crackers on the regular lately, and I'm so excited to share the recipe with you. It's truly everything (un)tuna salad should be:
Briny
Flaked
Dressed with just enough vegan mayo
Tangy
Salty
Veggie-packed
Cruelty Free
Plus, it comes together in less than 30 minutes (easily), and way faster if you're a speedy chopper.
To make it, you'll follow just a few simple steps:
- Pulse a can of chickpeas in a food processor until roughly chopped.
- Pulse a can of artichoke hearts in a food processor until flaky. Gather the artichokes in your hands or a piece of cheesecloth and press the excess water from them.
- Add the chickpeas and artichokes to a serving bowl along with red onion, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, a bit of fresh parsley, capers, vegan mayo (store-bought or homemade), fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, and s + p to taste.
- Toss to coat and serve.
This vegan mediterranean un-tuna salad is delicious all on its own, but for a heartier meal I recommend tucking it into pita bread with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.
Alternatively, serve it between toasted bread or alongside seeded crackers.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Mediterranean Un-Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed*
- 1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
- ½ small red onion, finely diced
- â…“ cup kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- â…“ cup drained and chopped jarred roasted red peppers
- ¼ cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped**
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 tablespoons capers, drained and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
- Juice of 1 lemon, more or less to taste (about 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the garbanzo beans to a food processor and pulse 5 to 10 times, or until they're chopped and take on a flaky texture. Do not over-process. Transfer to a large serving bowl.
- Next, add the artichoke hearts to the food processor. Pulse about 10 times, or until they're chopped and take on a flaky texture. Carefully gather the chopped artichokes within your hands or within a piece of cheesecloth, and press the excess water from them. They don't need to be completely dry, but you want to release any excess liquid to ensure a more "tuna-like" texture. Add to the bowl with the garbanzo beans.
- Stir in the red onion, olives, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, capers, vegan mayonnaise, lemon juice, and oregano.
- Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. (Note: depending on how salty your olives, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. are, you may not need to add much salt.)
- Serve on its own, tucked into pita bread, or on top of sandwich bread, baguette slices, crackers, cucumber slices, etc.
- Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.
Abby says
This looks like perfection. I used to be obsessed with tuna salad (I had it for lunch nearly everyday). My love for tuna salad almost matches my love of olives and artichoke hearts. I can't wait to try this!
Abby @ Heart of a Baker says
Ohh artichokes?!I'm all over this goodness!
Samantha says
Lunch next week! Thank you! And I love your cookbook.
Ashley says
You're welcome! Hope you enjoy, Samantha! And thank you for the kind words—thrilled to hear you're enjoying the book.
Jessi says
Wow, that dish looks amazing in those pictures!!! Definitely going to be my tomorrow. Thanks for sharing:)
Celeste says
You had me fooled! I thought for sure you had given in to actual tuna salad. The first thing I thought of was The Whole Foods version you mention. This looks equally delicious if not better. I can't wait to make it. And yes.... I loved those visits to WFoods too😉
Ashley says
Haha, no way! Once you go un-tuna (and vegan), there's no reason to go back. :)
Deryn | Running on Real Food says
So smart to use artichokes! I know what you mean about chickpeas, they're awesome for "tuna" salad but never quite 100% hit the mark. And yes, yes, yes to all those vinegary ingredients. This looks so good. And healthy! Thanks, girl!
Molly says
I made this last night and it was as delicious as the photos are beautiful. I omitted the roasted red pepper, subbed scallion for red onion and dill for parsley. I think you could do many different versions of this and still enjoy the outcome. The artichoke hearts are brilliant and really do give it that briny flavor. Very excited for my Blissful Basil cookbook to arrive!
Robert says
My wife and I are recent vegan converts. Love your recipes. Just made this and it blew us away.
Ann Fritz says
this was fabulous!
i added chopped celery.
thanks for the great blog and recipes.
i have passed on to others!
Marilyn Wilson says
Absolutely hooked on this salad! Delicious! Even tried it with regular olives and tomatoes, still delicious! Thanks
Madeline says
Do you use marinated artichoke hearts for this?
Ashley says
Just plain canned artichokes!
Brynna says
This is now another one of my go-to recipes especially because it is so quick and easy to make. It's been great for meal prepping!
It's perfect as is, but my bf isn't an onion/tomato person, so lately I've had to leave those out - Happy to report that it's still awesome either way! We've been eating it with Dave's Killer Good Seed Bread which has this slight sweetness that perfectly compliments the Un-Tuna Salad.
We've found that this is a great party dish people have really liked with crackers also :-)
Amanda says
Yum! I added red pepper flakes and some hot sauce too :)
Ashley says
Glad you enjoyed it, Amanda!
Anne E Faasse says
This was delicious! Such a great deviation from the other chickpea sandwich fillings that I have made before. Really enjoyed, thank you!
Ashley says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Anne! Thanks for taking time out of your day to come back and share your thoughts and rating—means so much to me and is helpful for others considering making the recipe, too. :)
Ann Davis-Rowe says
Oh, man! I am not vegan, love canned tuna, hate mushy tuna salad. But this..... this is divine. I love all things antipasti and this will 100% be in regular meal prep rotation. Having it right now with Wasa crispbread and Persian cucumber, and am already looking forward to lunch tomorrow! Very filling and light, perfect texture.
Ashley says
What wonderful feedback to receive, Ann! Thank you for taking time out of your day to share it. Means so much and I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying the recipe.
Allyson says
Hands down the BEST "tuna" salad I have ever tasted. Thank you for sharing!
Ashley says
Such wonderful feedback to receive! Thank you for taking the time to share it, Allyson. :)
Ella says
I kept the basic gist of the recipe (artichokes + chickpeas + capers + red peppers + salt/pepper + onions + olives), but omitted lemon juice and mayonnaise and instead put a small amount of dijon mustard in the mixture. I skipped the sun-dried tomatoes because they were a bit expensive. For seasoning, instead of parsley and oregano, I used the fresh basil, dill, and chives I had on hand. I served it in a pita with romaine lettuce. It came out extremely well. Very excited to have found this recipe and pleased to report that it works well even if you adapt to your specific tastes.
Ashley says
So happy to hear you're enjoying the recipe, Ella! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts, rating, and adjustments. Means a lot!
Tiffany says
This was delish! I made a few changes based on what I had on hand but for the most part stayed true to the recipe. Subbed a medium shallot for the red onion, omitted the olives (not a fan), used dried parsley and added to liking, juice of 1/2 lemon, about 3 heaping tablespoons of homemade vegan mayo. I don't like my salad overly wet so I added the may as I mixed along to get the consistency I wanted. I did not add any salt but find that the sodium from the other ingredients brought plenty of saltiness. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. The artichokes really elevated this salad!