This Vegan Egg Salad is a delicious and easy way of enjoying a plant-based version of a classic dish packed with more than 15 grams of protein. It’s made with tofu, vegan mayonnaise, and simple spices and condiments that give it a creamy and delicious texture.
You can serve it on its own as a salad or pair it with some fresh greens, crackers, or bread for a healthy meal. In this recipe, I’ll share with you how to make this vegan egg salad recipe with a few ingredients and only 15 minutes of your time. You won’t miss the eggs at all!
I love healthy vegan salads, like my Vegan Potato Salad without Mayo, Vegan Couscous Salad, and Vegan Soba Noodle Salad to serve with a summer BBQ. But when some of my guests are used to eating egg salads, I make this vegan alternative to make them try!
So, if you too miss eggs on your vegan journey, try this vegan egg salad recipe or our chickpea omelette. It not only tastes like the real thing. It also has a lovely egg flavor from the black salt and a chunky chewy texture like boiled eggs.
It also contains as much protein as an egg salad but is naturally made from plant-based ingredients and is also gluten-free.
A vegan egg salad is a tofu salad that mimics the classic egg salad but is made with firm tofu instead of eggs. It’s a vegan recipe alternative to eggs, high in protein, and perfect to make sandwiches or as a light meal.
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make a vegan tofu egg salad are only a few simple ingredients. The salad contains almost the same egg salad ingredients, except that eggs are replaced by firm tofu. And some extra ingredients are added to bring a lovely egg flavor.
- Extra-Firm Tofu Block – Pressed to remove extra moisture, crumbled by hand into rough, small pieces.
- Celery – Finely chopped
- Red Onion – or shallots.
- Onion Powder – or fried onions.
- Dill – fresh or dried.
- Chives – You can also use parsley or green onions.
- Vegan Mayonnaise – Store-bought or homemade vegan mayo.
- Lemon Juice – or lime juice, fresh or bottled.
- Dijon Mustard – or American mustard for a milder taste.
- Nutritional Yeast – skip if you don’t have any.
- Black Salt, also called kala namak. This is salt from the Himalayan volcanic region, which naturally contains a lot of Sulphur that mimics egg flavor in vegan recipes.
- Paprika – or smoked paprika.
- Black Pepper – to taste.
- Garlic or replace the garlic clove with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
You can adapt this recipe adding more vegetable like:
- 1/2 avocado – diced
- 1/4 cup of chopped Gherkins
- 1/2 tomato finely diced
How To Make Vegan Egg Salad
There’s nothing easier than tofu salad, and if you are after a high-protein lunch to meal prep, this recipe is a must-try!
- First, wrap the firm tofu block in a clean kitchen towel. Next, place the block on the benchtop and place a heavy cookbook or any heavy item on top to press the tofu and make it release its moisture.
- After 10 minutes, unwrap the tofu block. It should be dry and firm.
- Use your hands and fingertips to roughly crumble the block into small pieces of different sizes.
- Place the tofu crumble in a large mixing bowl.
- Next, finely chop the herbs, celery, and red onion and place them on top of the crumbled tofu.
- Add in the vegan mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, black salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, and garlic.
- Stir to coat the tofu pieces with the mayonnaise mixture. If too dry, add 1-2 extra tablespoons of vegan mayonnaise.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the tofu egg salad as a light meal with:
- Toasted baguette or toasted sourdough bread slices. Make toast, and top the toasted bread with the tofu salad, and extra dill on top.
- Lettuce cups for a low-carb meal.
- Chips, Tortillas, and Crackers
You can also use this recipe to make a vegan egg salad sandwich.
Making A Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich
Select two slices of bread that you love. Whole meal is a great choice for extra fiber and proteins. Spread some hummus, vegan mayonnaise, or vegan pesto on the bread slices. Next, add lettuce, tomato slices and fill with the tofu salad to make a delicious Vegan Egg Salad Sandwich.
Storage Instructions
This vegan egg salad is perfect for meal-prepping high-protein vegan lunches. Stir the tofu salad in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Allergy Swaps
If you are allergic to some of the ingredients, you can try the following substitutions:
- Oil-Free – For an oil-free option, try vegan yogurt made from soy milk or oat milk and stir in apple cider vinegar to give a tangy flavor similar to mayonnaise.
- Vegan Mayo – You can replace the mayo with vegan sour cream or vegan yogurt.
- Black Salt can be replaced with regular salt but it won’t add a egg flavor at all.
- Nutritional Yeast can be skipped. You can add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric to add a yellow color to the salad.
- Low-FODMAP – Skip the onion and garlic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most common questions about this recipe:
You can’t make egg salad from silken tofu. Silken tofu is silky and turns into a smooth puree quickly. It’s not firm enough to make a salad.
Nutritional yeast gives the salad a light cheesy flavor. You can absolutely skip it without losing much flavors. However, black salt is the magic ingredient that adds an eggy flavor to this recipe. Without black salt, it will taste good but not have the sulfur egg flavor you are after.
More Vegan Tofu Recipes
Below are some more vegan tofu recipe for you to try:
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Vegan Egg Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- ⅓ cup Vegan Mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
- ½ teaspoon Black Salt
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- 1 Garlic Cloves - minced
Instructions
- Wrap the tofu block in a clean kitchen towel. Place it on a work surface with a heavy weight on top. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Unwrap the tofu block. It should be firm and dry.
- Use your fingertips to crumble the block into small rough pieces of different sizes and place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add all the remaining ingredients on top of the tofu: diced celery, diced red onion, chopped herbs, vegan mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, black salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, garlic, and nutritional yeast.
- Stir to coat the tofu pieces with the mayo mixture. If too dry, add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of vegan mayo.
- Serve with extra fresh dill on top of toasted sourdough bread or to make vegan tofu sandwiches.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Don't freeze.
Very tasty, real egg taste
This is so gooood!
I love all your salads, thank you!!!
I first made it without black salt and it was good, but I tried again with it and OMG, it was perfect.