Although I usually make my plant-based Chickpea Tuna Salad with chickpeas, I opted for jackfruit tuna salad today. For those of you who have not tried jackfruit, it is a fruit grown on a tree. And, jackfruit tuna salad has the same texture and consistency as real tuna salad without any fish, of course.
Despite being available in stores, the actual jackfruit is quite large in size and difficult to work with. Because of this, I buy my jackfruit in brine at Trader Joe's. If you don't have a Trader Joe's or an Asian market near you, try this Jackfruit link on AMAZON and have it delivered to your door.
HOW TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF JACKFRUIT TO BUY AND TO AVOID
First, it is important to buy canned jackfruit in water or brine. Be careful, however, not to buy jackfruit in syrup! Also, jackfruit can be purchased in packages in the refrigerator section of your grocery store, but these packets are generally flavored with seasonings like BBQ or Jerk flavors.
If you choose the jackfruit in brine, be sure to rinse the jackfruit several times to avoid a salty taste. Regardless if you choose jackfruit in brine or water, you will notice little seeds. Even though it is not necessary to remove them, I always do. Some of the seeds, for example, are tough and difficult to chop.
MAKING THE JACKFRUIT TUNA SALAD RECIPE
Once you have the canned jackfruit, it needs to be shredded. In my opinion, the easiest way to shred jackfruit for jackfruit tuna salad is to use a food processor. I love my Kitchen Aid Food Processor, but if you don't have a food processor, no worries. Instead, you can use a fork to shred the jackfruit.
Once shredded, the jackfruit resembles tuna fish! It is then just a matter of adding some additional ingredients to make it the perfect jackfruit tunas salad.
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR JACKFRUIT TUNA SALAD
Then, I use my Vegan Cashew Mayo recipe for the "mayo." Although you may choose any vegetables, I chose:
- Celery
- Green onions
- Dill
- Romaine lettuce
- Tomato
- Pickles
I served my jackfruit tuna on a spinach vegan wrap.
THE SECRET INGREDIENTS FOR JACKFRUIT TUNA SALAD RECIPE
Furthermore, the secret is in the seasoning. My preference is Old Bay Seasoning, but any creole type seasoning will work. I also used Roasted Seaweed in my salad. For this ingredient, you can also use Nori Sheets or Dulse Flaked Seaweed.
Once the jackfruit tuna salad is mixed together, cover and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to deepen the flavors.
Then, make a wrap sandwich, eat it in a bowl, or stuff it into a tomato. My kids, for instance, love to eat it as a dip with crackers.
VEGAN SANDWICH LOVERS, CHECK OUT THESE SANDWICH RECIPES
- Greek Wrap
- Oil-Free Hummus and Tabbouleh Wrap
- Red Lentil Curry Wrap
- Beet Burger
- BBQ Tofu
- BBQ Jackfruit Recipe
- Vegetable Sandwich
- Pulled Pork Sweet Potato Sandwich
- Basil White Bean and Chickpea Dip and Sandwich Spread
- Vegan Curry Chickpea Sandwich Spread
- Vegan Muffuletta Sandwich
- Vegan Egg Salad
- Chickpea Tuna Salad
📖 Recipe
Jackfruit Tuna Salad
Ingredients
- 30 ounces jackfruit in brine or water
- 1 cup diced celery yield 1 cup
- 10 green onions chopped (yield ¾ cup)
- ½ cup Skinny Cashew Garlic Lemon Aioli
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning or creole seasoning of choice
- 3 Tablespoons Chopped Roasted Seaweed
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 3 Tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 1 teaspoon pepper
OPTIONS:
- Use a jarred plant based mayo
- Add capers
- Add chopped red pepper
- Add chopped pickles
- Add red pepper flakes
Instructions
PREPARE THE JACKFRUIT
- Rinse and drain canned jackfruit
- Remove any visual seeds
- In the large bowl of a food processor, using the large cutting blade, pulse on high until the jackfruit resembles the texture of tuna fish
- Remove jackfruit from the food processor bowl, and place in a large mixing bowl
VEGAN CASHEW MAYO
VEGETABLES/SERVE
- Chopped vegetables
- Add everything to the bowl of jackfruit
- Stir well
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The longer the seaweed infuses into the salad the better, so for optimal taste, refrigerate overnight.
- Serve on bread as a sandwich, serve open face with melted vegan cheese as a "tuna" melt, add to a salad, eat by itself in a bowl, or dip your favorite crackers
- I served in a vegan wrap with tomato, romaine lettuce, and pickles.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Catt B
Hopefully you still answer on this recipe - I'd like to make it, but a bit confused. Is the Garlic Lemon Aioli the SAME as the Vegan Cashew Sauce? I looked up that recipe which has lemon in it..... so it's the same right? I couldn't find any other recipe for GLA. Thanks
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Catt, cashew mayo and aioli are the same. Aioli is another name for mayo. You can omit the garlic if you wish; that is the only difference. Sorry for the confusion. Let me know if you like the jackfruit tuna. It's one of my favorites.
Kathy Romaine
I think I wrote you, but in case I wanted to let you know this is delicious and tastes like tuna!!! Being vegan I did miss it but now don’t have to. Thanks Kathy ❤️
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Kathy, thank you so much for reaching out. I am so glad you liked it. I really appreciate you letting me know. Stay safe and healthy!
Kathy
I was wondering if I can freeze this
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Kathy, you can freeze jackfruit, but I think the celery and onions would get soggy when it thaws.
Paul
Delicious... I had it for dinner just the other day!!
Kathy Carmichael
Love you!