Seafood can be a tricky ingredient to make vegan. But traveling the East Coast a few summers ago, I felt like I was really missing out not eating lobster rolls. I’ve done a few veganized seafood recipes (vegan fish and chips being one of my favorites), so I knew it was possible to make vegan lobster (with a little trial and error and food science wizardry). What I came up with is an incredibly easy recipe that brings the coastal flavors to your kitchen (sans seafood)!
Why you’ll love it
Classic spices keep the essential lobster roll flavors. We don’t want to change the taste, just make it vegan. It has the right texture to mimic perfectly cooked lobster. It’s fast to make thanks to heart of palm that doesn’t need to be cooked like its lobster counterpart.
You’ll need
You don’t need anything very fancy to make lobster rolls. Lobster was traditionally considered “poor man’s chicken” so the ingredients that are usually paired with it are very simple.
Heart of Palm: This vegetable is white and mild in flavor, making it a great choice for a lobster replacement. You can find it canned in most grocery stores. The Creaminess: Vegan butter and vegan mayonnaise help hold everything together. The Flavors: To add some freshness, I add celery, fresh chives, and dill. You could also use cucumbers or red onion if you don’t really like celery or don’t have it. Old Bay is a staple of any good lobster roll, lemon helps cut through the rich butter and mayo, and salty capers emulate the the sea in seafood. The Buns: Use split-top buns for a true lobster roll experience. This is like a hot dog bun but a bit more robust to hold up to the heavy “lobster” mixture.
How to make vegan lobster
Making this vegan seafood recipe is quick and painless. The secret is to cook the heart of palm until it’s a bit crispy!
Storage
Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days, but they will start to get soggy after day 2. You can serve them cold, which makes them ideal for meal prepping!
Why this Recipe Works
Making vegan seafood might sound tricky, but here’s why it’s not (hint: it’s because this recipe is well-tested so I can tell you exactly why it works).
Heart of palm has the perfect mild flavor and the perfect fibrous texture to emulate lobster. Classic seasoning like Old Bay keeps the flavors of the true to the lobster roll everyone knows and loves. This recipe is mostly just a filling which means if you don’t want to have rolls, you can have a salad. Or, a dip, or use gluten-free buns, etc.
how to use vegan lobster
Rather than just list some recipes to serve with vegan lobster rolls, I wanted to share some more ways to use this vegan lobster salad.
Put it on a salad like this Mediterranean Parsley Salad. Make a bowl by putting it in this Lemony Arugula Grain Bowl. Make it a wrap by rolling the filling up in a Veggie Wrap. Make it a seafood party by serving lobster rolls with this Chickpea Tuna Salad, Tuna Melt or Vegan Crab Cakes.
