Jackfruit Tuna Salad
For Vegan Tuna Salad, Jackfruit has the BEST texture and flavor in my opinion, not to mention when paired with that zippy dressing!
I’ve been making this Vegan Tuna Salad for years, and I really love how jackfruit works for the texture and taste. That said, I also have a Chickpea Tuna Salad as well as a Tofu Tuna Salad if that’s more your speed.
Heck, you can even combine them with this! The Chickpea and Jackfruit combined might be my total favorite to be honest!
And of course it’s good on a Vegan Tuna Melt too!
why you’ll dig Jackfruit Tuna Salad
First, it’s so delicious and easy to put together! It’s highly customizable to your own tastes and preferences.
You can also make it in bulk and keep it in the fridge to whip up a quick sandwich too. Perfect for a busy weekday lunch or dinner!
Now I won’t claim that this tastes EXACTLY like a conventional tuna salad. However, I enjoy it just as much if not more. It’s definitely lighter, and since canned tuna is usually pretty bland, it doesn’t lend a ton of the flavor. That’s where the dressing comes in!
Jackfruit Tuna Salad Ingredients
- Jackfruit – Make sure you get Young Jackfruit in Brine and not the kind in syrup. I can find this at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Asian Markets.
- Vegan Mayo – Next to the Jackfruit, this is the most important component. You can also use Unsweetened Vegan Yogurt, or a combo of both (I usually do 1/2 a cup of each).
- Fresh Veggies – I like using shallots, celery and garlic for some added bite (both texturally and flavor wise) You can also use red onions instead of shallots.
- Fresh Herbs – Dill is a must in just about any vegan fish recipe, and chives are good in just about anything!
- Salty & Sweet – Capers and their brine will bring a nice salty edge that’s reminiscent of the ocean, and some sweet relish will help balance that out.
- Acid & Heat – Pepperoncinis and lemon will add some nice spicy acidity to the party as well!
- Nutritional Yeast – Is required by vegan law (it also adds a lot of flavor and B12!)
- Furikake / Nori Sheets – Optional but will really amp up the oceanic flavor of this dish! So if you have some on hand, definitely use ’em!
Now that said, feel free to season this as you wish, you can certainly add or subtract things for sure! I would say at minimum use the mayo (obviously) lemon, garlic, celery, chives, dill, relish and salt and pepper. Those are mandatory in my book. The ones I added are for more OOMPH!
how to make Jackfruit tuna salad
This couldn’t be easier! All you need to do is drain and shred up your jackfruit. I typically shred by hand and then do a finer chop with a knife. You can wash it off if you don’t like the briny flavor (I think it adds a lot of flavor personally). Then pat dry with a paper towel.
Then whip up the dressing, combine it with the jackfruit, and taste for seasoning and you’re done!
Whip up any sandwich you’d like!
storage
Keep it in the fridge and use within 3 – 4 days. I personally love making a big batch and then I can whip up a sandwich in like 2 minutes!
here’s a handy dandy video!
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Jackfruit Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 3 – 4 cups Shredded Jackfruit (Two 14 oz. Cans)
- 1/2 – 1 cup Vegan Mayo (See Notes)
- 1 Celery Stalk (small dice)
- 1/2 Shallot (small dice)
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 Tbsp Chopped Dill
- 1 – 2 Tbsp Chopped Chives
- 1 Tbsp Sweet Relish
- 1 tsp Chopped Capers
- 1 tsp Caper Brine
- 2 Tbsp Pepperoncinis (diced)
- Juice of 1/2 – 1 Lemon
- 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast (or to taste)
- 1 – 2 tsp Vegan Furikake or Crushed Nori Sheets (more to taste, optional for sea flavor)
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Drain the jackfruit, you can wash them too, but I like the briny flavor. Shred by hand or with a knife. I will start shredding by hand and then do a finer chop with a knife. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- If using Nori sheets, blend them up in a blender or food processor so they are blitzed as fine as possible.
- Combine all the ingredients for the dressing. Season to taste!
- Then combine the dressing with jackfruit. Season to taste again! Adding more salt, herbs, acid whatever you think it needs! Enjoy with crackers or on a sandwich.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3 – 4 days.
This is the best vegan tuna melt I’ve tried! Made it a few times now, I do half jackfruit and half chickpeas and when I don’t have celery on hand I use carrot instead for some crunch
Oh, smart idea! Thank you!
With Jackfruit, this is the far best tuna I have ever had! That tangy flavor reminds me of a good Deli Sandwich. It looks like tuna and it taste better than real tuna.
Thank you, agreed it’s better than I remember!
Just made this with both jack fruit and the chickpeas. OMG! This was delicious! And I substituted no fat Greek yogurt for the vegan mayo. It was the best ever and I think even better than real tuna. It will be my go to now!
I’ve also had some really good luck using tempeh as the base – it ends up with that tuna-ish chunk with bits of mashed protein. Very tasty!
I gotta be honest. It doesn’t taste like tuna, but more like a refreshing twist on tuna. This is such a great way to not miss tuna. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
So, I didn’t have vegan mayo, and I didn’t have bread. Instead of vegan mayo I put in 1/4th avocado, 1 tbsp of olive oil and a splash of oat milk. I used corn tortillas and melted butter on both sides and cheese on one and then put in tomato, lettuce, and the tuna stuff. It was so fricken bomb, same caliber or even better than your vegan chilly pheese steak.
That’s awesome, always happy to hear when substitutions work out! Glad you liked it!
I recently had the idea to use soy curls as tuna. It was literally the best in my opinion. Way better than chickpeas and unlike jackfruit it also has protein and a nice bite. You should totally try it!!!
That’s a great idea, I will test that out!
This recipe is solid, love it! I omit the dill just cause I don’t like it, but the recipe is a keeper! I have made it numerous times now, and it’s always fantastic. I did make it once with a silken tofu mayo, just to try to get in some protein, but it was nasty and I wouldn’t recommend it. I have also added some crumbled extra firm tofu in with the jackfruit, that was a good mix in.
Good to know! Glad you like it. I’m actually working on a silken tofu mayo recipe, so maybe I’ll try it in this and try to get it so it’s not nasty hah!
This recipe is fantastic! I make it constantly, thanks again for another killer recipe, my tummy loves you!!