Vegan Tuna Pasta Salad
This vegan tuna pasta salad is a refreshing and healthy option made with chickpeas and hearts of palm, perfect for a hot summer night.
Ingredients
- 1 jar hearts of palm 14.4 ounce jar in water or brine, drained
- 1 can chickpeas 15 ounce can, drained
- 8 ounces whole grain elbow macaroni (4 cups cooked), or any size/type including gluten-free
- ½ cup green onions chopped
- ½ cup celery chopped
- 6 baby bell peppers diced, or 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup green peas (fresh, canned or frozen) cooked frozen peas first and allow to cool
- ½ cup grape tomatoes sliced
- ½ lemon squeezed
- 1 cup cashew mayo divided, reserve ½ cup
- 2 tablespoons seaweed dulse or sea kelp granules
- 2 teaspoons black salt
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- Begin by placing the chickpeas and hearts of palm in your food processor bowl fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse until the mixture breaks into chunky pieces, making sure not to over-chop so you keep a bit of texture.
- Transfer that chunky mix to a large bowl, then add your chopped green onions, celery, green peas, diced baby bell peppers, halved grape tomatoes, seaweed, and black salt.
- While your pasta is cooking, stir in the dijon mustard, lemon juice, and half of the cashew mayo into the veggie mix until everything’s evenly coated, then set it aside.
- Cook the whole-grain elbow macaroni following the package instructions. Drain it in a colander, then run cold water through the noodles—move them around so they all cool completely and stop cooking.
- Add the cooled noodles, the remaining cashew mayo, and chopped parsley to the mock tuna mix. Gently stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste, then refrigerate for about an hour to let the flavors meld before serving.