I was never a big fan of chicken eggs, even before I went vegan. I didn’t like their consistency or how they tasted at all – I always avoided dishes that featured them prominently for the most part. In all honesty, eggs were one of the easiest things for me to stop eating when I went vegan because I didn’t really eat them very much (other than eggs that were already in products).
I never really craved eggs after going vegan either, but I did start to crave vegan alternatives to egg dishes. For example, I absolutely love tofu scrambles now (even though I hated eating scrambled eggs as a kid). I also really like Just Egg as a scramble and as an “egg” in dishes like ramen bowls or fried rice. Eating these dishes made me start thinking about the other vegan “egg” dishes I could create, so I decided to give egg-less salad a try!
This egg-less salad is so easy to make – it’s ready in about 10 minutes. The most complicated part is chopping up the tofu – you want to chop it so it resembles the variable shapes and sizes of the egg whites in non-vegan egg salad. You can do this by first turning the tofu in its side and cutting it in half the long way. Then turn it on its back (the biggest face of the tofu) and slice it along the long edge about 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart. Lastly, you’ll roughly chop it to the desired shapes and sizes, but it should be relatively small.
After chopping the tofu, the rest of the recipe is really just adding all of the other ingredients. The celery and red onion are optional, but they add a bit of a contrasting texture to the rest of the salad that I think is really nice (plus some more veggies!). The most crucial aspect of this dish is the black salt.
You can learn more about black salt here, but it’s important to note that it also goes by Indian black salt or Kala namak and it is used widely in dishes in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and other parts of Southern Asia. It’s become popular in vegan cooking because it has a sulfuric taste to it that tastes (and smells) like egg! This ingredient is really important in this recipe to making this egg-less salad taste like egg.
You can adjust the amount of black salt to alter the egginess of the recipe. I would check the egginess first before adding any additional salt, as both the pickle juice and black salt will add salt flavor to the dish.
One last note – this recipe is gluten free! Just be sure to pair it with a gluten-free bread or wrap, or add it to the top of a salad to complete your meal. I would love the hear how this recipe turned out for you or any changes you made to make it your own. Let me know in the comments or message me at @thejewishvegan on Instagram. And, as always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out. Now, let’s get started!
Vegan Egg-less Salad
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 1½ tbsp dill roughly chopped
- ¾ tsp black salt
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 5 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1 stick celery, large finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp pickle juice or sub lemon juice
- 2 tbsp red onion minced
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the tofu block from the package and squeeze over the sink between your hands. Press firmly to release as much water as you can without mashing the tofu. Alternatively, you can press it for longer using a tofu press (but I usually skip it with this recipe because it isn't necessary and it makes the recipe faster).
- Place the tofu block on its side and cut in half. Then place it on its "face" (the largest rectangle) and chop from one end, cutting through every ¼ to ½ inch or so. Lastly, roughly chop the tofu at all angles to create variable sized and shape pieces (like you might find in a non-vegan egg salad from the egg whites). Move to a mixing bowl.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Taste before adding any additional salt, as the pickle juice and black salt are both salty. If the egg-less salad isn't "eggy" enough, try adding a bit more of the black salt before adding plain salt.
- Serve cold on sandwiches, in wraps, on beds of lettuce, or however floats your boat!
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