9 mouthwatering vegan seafood recipes (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Cadry Nelson
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Dig in to vegan seafood recipes for plant-based versions of fried shrimp, crab cakes, fish tacos, tuna salad sandwiches, and more.

If you crave something sprinkled with malt vinegar, dipped in co*cktail sauce, or squeezed with lemon, enjoy this wealth of options.

Vegans don’t eat fish or other sea life. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the flavors and textures of foods that are flaky, briny, and salty.

There are so many ways to make vegan seafood. Options include hearts of palm, jackfruit, chickpeas, artichokes, or store-bought plant-based alternatives.

Here’s a round-up of 9 vegan seafood recipes to satisfy your every craving.

In this post:

Jump to:
  • Fried shrimp
  • Crab cakes
  • Fish tacos
  • Tuna salad sandwich
  • Crab rangoon
  • Carrot lox
  • Ceviche
  • Vegan caviar
  • Crab dip

Fried shrimp

Make this recipe

Before going vegan, one of my favorite fancy date night dinners was fried shrimp. With a crisp & airy panko breadcrumb coating plus a swish of co*cktail sauce, it was a mainstay for birthdays and special events.

Luckily, all of those flavors are still possible thanks to hearts of palm.

This briny and toothsome vegetable takes the place of shrimp beautifully. Bread and fry it, and get ready for dipping with homemade co*cktail sauce.

Crab cakes

Make this recipe

Artichokes and chickpeas take over the starring role in vegan crab cakes.

Artichokes have a wonderful flakiness to them, while chickpeas add substance and protein.

The cakes have layered flavors of Old Bay seasoning, lemon zest, lemon juice, hot sauce, and stoneground mustard for zing. They’re finished with a dollop of lemon dill aioli.

Serve as an appetizer or entrée. Plus, they can be baked, fried, or air fried.

Fish tacos

Make this recipe

You’ll feel like you’re living that SoCal lifestyle all over again with these vegan fish tacos.

Gardein fishless filets are a quick, weeknight staple that makes this dinner a breeze to prepare.

After warming corn tortillas, fill them with shredded cabbage, avocado, onion, and cilantro. Then drizzle spicy chipotle cashew crema on top of the battered filets.

Just before serving, add a squeeze of lime.

Tuna salad sandwich

Make this recipe

As a kid, one of the first things I ever learned to prepare was a tuna salad sandwich. And one of the first things I ever learned to prepare as a vegan was a vegan chickpea tuna salad sandwich.

Making them is basically the same process, you just use chickpeas in place of tuna.

Chickpeas are quickly broken up in a food processor. Then they’re whipped up in a bowl with diced celery, pickles, eggless mayo, dill, and celery seed.

It’s great on a sandwich, piled on crackers, stuffed into a tomato or lettuce leaf.

The pickle adds salt and crunch, while the chickpeas keep it satiating.

It’s a true winner for your plant-based lunchbox or whenever you need a meal in minutes.

Crab rangoon

Make this recipe

Crab rangoon got its start at San Francisco restaurant, Trader Vic’s. Since then it’s been popping up on Chinese restaurant menus across America.

I first came across them back in the 90’s. I was taken with them right away.

They’re usually filled with cream cheese, crab or mock crab, and green onions. Then they’re stuffed inside of won ton wrappers and fried.

My vegan crab rangoon takes a number of shortcuts.

Instead of won ton wrappers, it uses pre-made phyllo cups as a timesaving measure.

Non-dairy cream cheese replaces the dairy version. And store-bought vegan crab cakes are chopped into the filling.

The end result is a pretty little appetizer that’s worthy of any gathering. It never fails to elicit ooh’s and ah’s.

Carrot lox

Make this recipe

Who knew long strips of carrots could morph into carrot lox?

Put smoky, salty, briny carrot ribbons onto toasted bagels with vegan cream cheese, fresh dill, and capers.

It makes an excellent vegan brunch that’s sure to impress.

This mouthwatering recipe comes from The Herbivorous Butcher cookbook by Aubry & Kale Walch.

Ceviche

Make this recipe

You can almost feel the sun on your skin and sand under your toes when you dip into vegan ceviche.

Unlike the non-vegan counterpart made with raw fish, this one uses the briny magic of hearts of palm.

It’s rounded out with avocado, cherry tomatoes, chopped onion, jalapeño, and cilantro.

No cooking is required.

This easy appetizer is ready to eat in 10 minutes. Get those tortilla chips ready!

Vegan caviar

Make this recipe

Woo your sweetheart with vegan caviar on crackers. This appetizer is surprisingly easy to make, but looks elegant.

Israeli couscous is colored with beets. Then it’s flavored with garlic and lemon.

Great with crackers and a swish of almond cheese!

Crab dip

9 mouthwatering vegan seafood recipes (10)

Make this recipe

If a creamy dip is what you desire, look no further than this vegan crab dip.

It is made with shredded young jackfruit, Dijon mustard, and Old Bay seasoning. A full-bodied cashew base gives this dip some oomph.

Serve it with crackers, corn chips, or piled on toasted crostini.

More Date night

  • Vegan arancini (air fryer or oven baked)
  • Roasted fennel with vegan parmesan cheese
  • Air fryer radishes with vegan parmesan

About Cadry Nelson

Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen. She's also the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd edition. Cadry loves sharing vegan comfort food classics that come together quickly. Her work has been featured on NBC News, Mashable, Yahoo, Buzzfeed, Parade, Huffington Post, VegNews, and Vegan Food & Living.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Mary Finelli

    Wonderful! It’s remarkable how creative people are in replicating flavors and textures, and these recipes all look to be so quick and easy. Will be adding the links to the Vegan Seafood page of the Fish Feel website, and sharing on our Facebook page. Thank you!

    Reply

  2. Bianca N Phillips

    So many creative options!! I never liked seafood, but all of these vegan versions sound great. It was the fishy taste I didn’t like, so this solves that! Cream cheese wontons were my fave growing up! I don’t know if I ever had an actual crab rangoon, but they look amazing.

    Reply

9 mouthwatering vegan seafood recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan seafood made of? ›

What is plant based seafood made of? Plant-based seafood can be found in the form of tuna, salmon, caviar, scallops, squid, crab and shrimp – all these products have already entered the market. The most common ingredients in these products are soy, seaweed, yeast, legumes and various vegetable oils and starches.

How to make vegan food taste like seafood? ›

Make vegan seafood with king oyster mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. Also consider using canned hearts of palm, banana blossoms, jackfruit and artichoke hearts. To mimic the taste and texture of seafood dishes, use chickpeas, watermelon, tomato and carrots.

What spice tastes like seafood? ›

If there was one spice that was synonymous with seafood, it's Old Bay. It's a must for any seafood boil and highlights the flavor in all shellfish. Shake it over the shells liberally and dig in.

How to make something taste fishy? ›

Of course, sea vegetables like nori, kelp, wakame, dulse, and other types of seaweed and algae are a quick and effective way to get a distinct flavor of the sea. And when you balance these ingredients in various ways, you can achieve that distinct fishy flavor and texture without any fish involved!

How is vegan seafood made? ›

Some use protein-rich legumes to mimic the flaky texture of fish. Others use soy for a meaty texture. Or, some use konjac, a root vegetable that's used to make zero-calorie foods like shirataki noodles and konnyaku, a bouncy, chewy cake that's used in Japanese cuisine.

What is a vegan that still eats fish? ›

Most simply, a pescatarian is someone who doesn't eat red meat or poultry, but does eat fish and other seafood. The term pescatarian was coined in the early 1990s and is a combination of the Italian word for fish, “pesce,” and the word “vegetarian.” Sometimes it's spelled “pescetarian,” but this means the same thing.

What do vegans eat instead of seafood? ›

These are the vegan seafood alternatives recommended by Vaknin and other top chefs.
  • Jackfruit. ...
  • Seaweed. ...
  • King Oyster Mushrooms. ...
  • Firm Tofu. ...
  • Artichoke Hearts. ...
  • Hearts of Palm and Chickpeas. ...
  • Vegan Fish Sauce. ...
  • Banana Blossoms.
May 24, 2021

What makes vegan fish taste fishy? ›

Seaweed-Nori, Kelp or Dulse flakes

The Kelp or Dulse flakes are basically dried seaweed. They are often used as a salt substitute, but are a great way to add some fishy flavor. And, BONUS, seaweed gives your food added nutrients.

Does vegan shrimp taste like real shrimp? ›

All three testers were amazed by the way the plant-based shrimp combine with other ingredients. It can absolutely hold its own against the real thing. Its bite was just right as was the consistency on the tongue, and it has a faint flavor of the sea.

What smells like fish but isn't fish? ›

The electrical components and wires in your walls and outlets are coated with heat resistant chemicals and plastic coating for insulation. When these chemicals and plastic heat up significantly, they give off a burning odor that can smell like fish.

What are 5 herbs that compliment seafood dishes? ›

The Best Herbs & Spices For Seasoning Fish
  • Basil. Lemon and basil are a match made in heaven! ...
  • Parsley. Parsley is a perfect addition to pan-fried fish, with a slightly bitter aroma that can balance savoury dishes. ...
  • Dill. ...
  • Lemongrass. ...
  • Rosemary. ...
  • Thyme. ...
  • Sage. ...
  • Smoked Paprika.
Nov 13, 2021

What herb has a fishy taste? ›

In terms of appearance, fish mint belies its name. With beautiful white flowers and broad, heart-shaped leaves, the herb does not really remind one of fish. However, as one examines the plant closely, the distinct fish-like smell and taste of the leaves clarify the unusual name.

How come I smell like fish after eating fish? ›

In trimethylaminuria, the body is unable to turn a strong-smelling chemical called trimethylamine – produced in the gut when bacteria break down certain foods – into a different chemical that doesn't smell. This means trimethylamine builds up in the body and gets into bodily fluids like sweat.

Why do people put lemon on fish? ›

If you briefly marinate that fillet in lemon or lime juice before cooking it, it becomes much more flavorful without tasting acidic. And if you add a little salt to the marinade, the fish will be quickly and deeply seasoned, as well.

Does soaking fish in milk remove the fishy taste? ›

This will remove some of the surface bacteria that can cause the fishy taste. Next, soak the fish in milk for about 30 minutes. The milk will help to neutralize the strong fishy taste of the fish. Finally, cook the fish in a way that will not allow the strong fishy taste to come through.

What makes vegan fish taste like fish? ›

Seaweed-Nori, Kelp or Dulse flakes

The Kelp or Dulse flakes are basically dried seaweed. They are often used as a salt substitute, but are a great way to add some fishy flavor. And, BONUS, seaweed gives your food added nutrients.

Is vegan fish healthy? ›

Nutritionally, she says, faux seafood does not contain the omega 3s only found in animal products – EPA and DHA. However, plant-based seafood may be a great source of protein.

Does vegan include shrimp? ›

Enjoying the taste and texture of shrimp doesn't have to come with a host of environmental and ethical problems, because vegan shrimp exists. The shellfish-free alternative can be made with a variety of ingredients, but konjac, an Asian root vegetable, is perhaps one of the most common.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Jeremiah Abshire

Last Updated:

Views: 6349

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (54 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jeremiah Abshire

Birthday: 1993-09-14

Address: Apt. 425 92748 Jannie Centers, Port Nikitaville, VT 82110

Phone: +8096210939894

Job: Lead Healthcare Manager

Hobby: Watching movies, Watching movies, Knapping, LARPing, Coffee roasting, Lacemaking, Gaming

Introduction: My name is Jeremiah Abshire, I am a outstanding, kind, clever, hilarious, curious, hilarious, outstanding person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.