This vegan tuna salad is made with hearts of palm, celery, pickles, and herbs for a creamy, plant-based twist on a classic. Perfect for sandwiches and meal prep. Vegan and GF.
Every day you play with the light of the universe.~ Pablo Neruda
This vegan tuna salad recipe is creamy, flavorful, and surprisingly close to the classic version-without any fish or dairy. Made with hearts of palm, crunchy celery, pickles, fresh herbs, and a tangy creamy dressing, it's one of those plant-based recipes that even non-vegans come back to again and again.
Perfect for quick lunches, sandwich meal prep, or healthy snacks, this easy vegan tuna salad comes together in just minutes and keeps beautifully in the fridge for busy weekdays. Serve it in sandwiches, lettuce wraps, or over avocado toast for a simple, satisfying meal that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
Why You'll Love This Vegan Tuna Salad
- Creamy and satisfying - All the creamy, savory comfort of classic tuna salad, made completely plant-based with hearts of palm.
- Quick and easy - Ready in just minutes with simple pantry ingredients, making it perfect for fast lunches or last-minute meals.
- Great for meal prep - It holds up beautifully in the fridge, making it ideal for grab-and-go lunches throughout the week.
- Versatile and flexible - Enjoy it in sandwiches, wraps, lettuce cups, avocado toast, or straight from the bowl.
- Fresh, flavorful, and nourishing - Packed with crunchy veggies, fresh herbs, and tangy flavor for a bright, satisfying bite every time.
Vegan Tuna Salad Ingredients
- Hearts of palm (or jackfruit) - The base of this plant-based tuna salad. Hearts of palm give a tender, flaky texture similar to tuna, while jackfruit offers a slightly firmer, more shredded bite.
- Red onion (or green onion) - Adds sharpness and crunch to balance the creamy dressing.
- Celery (or fennel) - Brings classic tuna salad crunch and freshness. Fennel adds a light, slightly sweet anise note.
- Pickles (or capers) - Provide tangy, briny flavor that mimics traditional tuna salad.
- Fresh herbs - Parsley, dill, and cilantro add brightness and layers of flavor.
- Whole-grain mustard - Adds depth, tang, and subtle spice.
- Vegan mayo (or regular mayo) - Creates the creamy base that binds everything together.
- Salt, pepper, and an optional pinch of sugar - Balance and enhance all the flavors.
- Optional additions - Dulse flakes add a subtle ocean-like flavor, and lemon zest brightens the salad.
What is Hearts of Palm?
Hearts of Palm are harvested from the core of the buds of various types of palm trees, depending on the location. In Southeast Asia, they are often harvested from coconut trees, and in Central and South America, they are harvested from juçara palms and açaà palms. Once harvested, they are canned and preserved in a brine. They are tender, mild in taste,  and can be found in the grocery store aisle near the jarred artichoke hearts.
How to make Vegan Tuna Salad
Drain the Hearts of Palm and cut them into small pieces.
Place the hearts of palm along with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.
Season with salt and pepper.
The Hearts of Palm Tuna Salad is herby, fresh and full of so much flavor. To elevate, add dried flakes or lemon zest!
Serving suggestions
Build a sandwich or make a wrap. Mound the toasted bread with a scoop of  Vegan Tuna Salad. This recipe makes 3-4 sandwiches or wraps. Top with avocado slices if you like and fresh homemade microgreens.
Serve over a bed of dressed greens. I love this arugula tossed with lemon and olive oil, salt and pepper.
This Hearts of Palm Tuna Salad is such a delicious alternative to traditional tuna salad- made without chickpeas and you won’t even miss the fish! Hope you are having a fun, light-filled week. xoxo Sylvia
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Vegan Tuna Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Main - Vegan and Gluten free, salad, sandwich, vegan, vegan dinner, wrap
- Method: mixed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Tuna Salad is made with hearts of palm (without chickpeas) and includes all the classic ingredients of traditional tuna salad. Vegan, plant-based and full of flavor, this healthy flavorful salad can be turned into wraps or sandwiches!
Ingredients
- 1 can of hearts of palm, drained, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) or sub jackfruit
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced (or sub green onion)
- 1/3 cup celery, finely chopped (or sub fennel bulb)
- 1/4 cup diced pickle (or sub 1-2 tablespoons capers)
- 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (Italian Parsley, dill, cilantro or a combo)
- 1-2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
- 1/4 cup vegan mayo, or mayo (or see notes)
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch of sugar (optional)
- optional additions: dulse flakes, lemon zest,
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a medium bowl- chopped hearts of palm, onion, celery, pickle or capers, fresh herbs, mustard, vegan mayo and mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar.
- Most hearts of palm are canned with water, salt and citric or ascorbic acid- so there is an element of tanginess already here, but if you want to add more,  feel free to add lemon zest, or a few drops of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Other ways to elevate this is to add a sprinkling of dulse flakes, a little caper juice or pickle juice, a pinch of cayenne, few drops of Braggs liquid amino acid- all optional here, but fun to play with.
- Serve over toasted bread, top with sliced avocado (season with salt and pepper) and microgreens. Or turn this into a hearty wrap.
Notes
Salad will last 3 days in the fridge.
Feel free to create “tuna melts” out of this- spoon some vegan tuna salad on a piece of bread, top with cheese or vegan cheese, place in a toaster oven or 375F oven until warm, toasty and cheese has melted.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¾ cup (just the salad)
- Calories: 97
- Sugar: 1.1 g
- Sodium: 617.6 mg
- Fat: 6.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.2 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Just love hearts of palm. I’ve made this a few times. I stopped eating tuna because of high levels of mercury. This is so satisfying gives you all the flavor of tuna. Adding dill and mustard takes this to a new level. I share it with all my friends. I have not been a fan of jackfruit. I noticed someone commenting they could not get hearts of Palm. I bet frozen artichoke hearts might work. Thanks for all your great recipes.
Artichokes are a great idea Claire! Glad you are enjoying this.
I can’t wait to make this! What kind/brand of bread did you use? It looks delicious!
Hi Veronica- I used my sourdough bread recipe, added a bunch of seeds and baked it in a loaf pan.
Hearts of palm is not available to buy in Ireland, is there a replacement you would recommend or maybe a different recipe that is similar in taste, nutritional value etc
Can you find canned jackfruit? That would work too!
So good!!! I made this for lunch this week. Served with avocado in a whole wheat pita. The flavors and textures are perfect! Love the brightness of the dill and lemon to balance out the whole grain mustard. The red onion crunch works nicely against the softer hearts of palm. Never would have thought to substitute tuna for hearts of palm! So easy and quick to make, would def make again!!
Awesome Angeli!
I made this today for lunch today. It was outstanding. I served it as shown above,open faced on some toasted seeded bread with avocado and sprouts. It was the most perfect lunch, I felt quite special eating it. Thank you!
So glad you liked it Lyndal!
Made this for lunch yesterday couldn’t have been more pleased. Flavors were surprisingly bright and herbaceous. Who knew hearts of palm could taste so good! Delicious.
Yay Dee Ann, Glad you liked this one!