In my quest to find more plant based foods, I’ve been experimenting. I’ve found garbanzo beans to be really versatile. They are the foundation of hummus – and this recipe uses those little round beans (also known as chickpeas) to create a spread that has a pretty close resemblance to tuna salad. And it’s so easy!! A few ingredients and a food processor is all that you need!
Here’s how to turn garbanzo beans into tuna:
The first thing is to chop up the garbanzo beans.
Drain the can and dump the beans into the food processor. Pulse until you have a coarsely chopped mixture.
Add the seaweed sheets and pulse again until it’s smooth but still chunky and the seaweed is well chopped.
Seaweed sheets are thin, crisp sheets of dried or roasted seaweed. And it makes a tasty snack too!
Remove the mixture from the food processor and put it into a large bowl.
Add all the remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste. The amounts are the way I like my tuna salad. You can adjust the amounts to suit your personal taste.
Serve as a sandwich or as a dip with celery or crackers. It’s deliciously easy!
I like toasted sunflower seeds on my tuna sandwiches, so a sprinkled some on. Just yum!

In my quest to find more plant based foods, I've been experimenting. I've found garbanzo beans to be really versatile. This recipe uses those little round beans (also known as chickpeas) to create a spread that has a pretty close resemblance to tuna salad.
- 16-oz can garbanzo beans
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup vegenaise mayonnaise (you can substitute any vegan mayo - or make it vegetarian and use regular mayo)
- 1 package seaweed sheets (about 50)
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons pickle relish (I used dill, but you can use sweet too)
- Salt and pepper to taste
-
The first thing is to chop up the garbanzo beans.
-
Drain the can and dump the beans into the food processor. Pulse until you have a coarsely chopped mixture.
-
Add the seaweed sheets and pulse again until it's smooth but still chunky and the seaweed is well chopped. Seaweed sheets are thin, crisp sheets of
-
Remove the mixture from the food processor and put it into a large bowl.
-
Add all the remaining ingredients with salt and pepper to taste. The amounts are the way I like my tuna salad. You can adjust the amounts to suit your personal taste.
-
Serve as a sandwich or as a dip with celery or crackers. It's deliciously easy!
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© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome
© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome
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Sounds like a delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing.
What a clever idea! Excellent vegan ‘tuna salad’ recipe.
Perfect for lunch!!! We loved it on whole wheat bread!!
I made this “tuna” salad for lunch today and it was fantastic!
Interesting substitution of flavours and a thoroughly filling and satisfying sandwich.
I would never have thought to use garbanzo beans to “veganize” tuna salad!
What a great way to make “tuna”! Thanks for the recipe!
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This vegan tuna salad turned out amazing! Loved it for lunch!
Delicous recipe.