The best egg salad ever, sans eggs! This vegan egg salad is made with diced up tofu and crunchy veggies in a creamy base of vegan mayo, Dijon mustard, and optional tahini. It's easy to make and can be ready in minutes!
Being totally honest here, I was never a big fan of egg salad. I ate quite a bit of it as a kid and always had mixed feelings. On the one hand, if it was egg salad day at school, it meant I was avoiding worse fate, like bologna or tuna salad. Those were the worst.
On the other hand: eggs. Never one of my faves.
I generally tolerated egg salad and kept my fingers crossed that tomorrow would be PB&J day.
So, you'd think making a vegan version of egg salad would be close to last on my list. Why bother when there are other options like vegan BLTs, hummus and veggie sandwiches, and vegan club sandwiches?
But I loved this vegan egg salad. Egg salad made with tofu is far superior to egg salad made with actual eggs, if you ask me! I totally intended to split a sandwich with my husband and then pack up the rest for weekday lunches, but between the two of us we finished the entire batch over the weekend.
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What Readers are Saying
From Alexandria: I made this for lunch today. Hands down the best tofu "egg" salad that I have ever made!! Thanks! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From Courtney: Delicious dressing! Best I've tasted, and I've made a lot of vegan egg and chick'n salads. Thanks!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From Lariza: This was very yummy this morning. Still drooling. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Vegan mayonnaise. You can find vegan mayo in most regular supermarkets these days. Look for it near the regular mayo, or in the natural foods section. Just Mayo, Hellman's Vegan and Vegenaise are some popular brands to look out for.
- Dijon mustard. I like whole grain Dijon (Trader Joe's is my favorite), but the smooth stuff works too.
- Tahini. This is an optional ingredient, but I find it works great for thickening up the dressing and mimicking the texture of hard boiled egg yolks.
- Red wine vinegar.
- Ground turmeric. This is for adding some yellow color to your vegan egg salad. Skip it if you don't feel like you need that.
- Tofu. Extra-firm tofu works best for this recipe, but firm will do in a pinch.
- Red onion. Pro tip: if you find raw onion to be a bit intense for you, simply soak your onion in some cold water after dicing it. A 10 minute soak followed by a rinse in cold water will wash away most of the bite.
- Dill pickle relish. Finely mince up some dill pickle if relish isn't something you normally buy.
- Fresh parsley.
- Celery.
- Carrots.
- Scallions. Also known as green onions.
- Kala namak. Kala namak, also known as black salt, is a type of salt with a high sulfur content. It's great for making things taste eggy! I use it in all of my vegan "egg" recipes like tofu scramble and vegan quiche. You can find it in most Indian markets or on Amazon. It's optional in this recipe and can be replaced with regular table salt if needed.
- Black pepper.
Tip: If you also think tofu “eggs” are superior to the real thing, be sure to try my vegan quiche, vegan scrambled eggs, and tofu scramble!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
This stuff comes together super easily, in mere minutes!
Make the dressing. Stir the dressing ingredients together: vegan mayo, Dijon mustard, tahini (if using), red wine vinegar, and turmeric.
Add the rest. Now stir in your filling ingredients: diced tofu, red onion, relish, parsley, celery, carrots, and scallions.
Give the mixture a taste-test and make any adjustments you think are needed. You can add more mayo to make it creamier, more vinegar for tang, or more veggies for crunch. Add kala namak (or regular salt) and pepper to taste.
Stuff your vegan egg salad into a sandwich, scoop it onto a green salad, or devour it from a spoon!
Variations
- Curried egg salad. Add a teaspoon or so of curry powder, and optionally some raisins, chopped scallions, or fresh cilantro.
- Spicy egg salad. Season your vegan egg salad with a few dashes (or more!) of your favorite hot sauce.
- Dill pickle egg salad. Use extra relish, add a splash of pickle juice to the dressing, and season the salad with fresh dill.
- Vegan bacon and egg salad. Stir in some coconut bacon for smoky flavor and crunch.
Frequently Asked Questions
The egg salad itself has no gluten-containing ingredients. You'll just need to use gluten-free bread if you make it into sandwiches!
You could substitute lots of ingredients for the tofu, and while the sandwiches will be delicious, they won't really resemble or taste like egg salad. Having said that, feel free to try it with smashed chickpeas, cannellini beans, chopped hearts of palm, pan-fried tempeh or seitan.
Leftover vegan egg salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. This recipe is not freezer-friendly.
More Creamy Sandwich Salads
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Egg Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan mayo, or more, if you like
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional, for eggy color)
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package extra firm tofu, drained, patted dry and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup diced red onion (Note 1)
- ¼ cup dill pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 2 medium celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, finely diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Kala namak (optional, for eggy flavor), to taste (Note 2)
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Stir the mayo, Dijon mustard, tahini (if using), vinegar, and turmeric (if using) together in a medium bowl.
- Add the tofu, onion, relish, parsley, celery, carrots and scallions. Gently stir until fully blended.
- Season with kala namak or salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve in sandwiches, wraps, or atop a bed of greens.
Notes
- Optionally, soak your diced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse it before using. This will mellow the flavor and reduce the raw onion bite.
- Kala namak (also known as black salt) can be purchased at most Indian markets. Substitute with regular salt if you can't find it or don't want to use it.
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I've made recipes similar to this, but yours is the first one in which I used the black salt...makes a big difference! Delicious 😋
I have tried for years to like tofu to no avail. This tofu egg salad is a gamechanger. Love it! MDE
Delicious dressing! Best I've tasted and I've made a lot of vegan egg and chick'n salads. Thanks!!
I am vegan and love your dishes. I will make this tomorrow. :)
Super, thanks 😊
I made this for lunch today. Hands down the best tofu "egg" salad that I have ever made!! Thanks!
Awesome!! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Alexandria!
This was very yummi this morning. Still drolling :D
I'm glad you enjoyed it!!