Creamy, Crunchy Vegan "Egg" Salad with Tofu

Everything you love about egg salad, made vegan with crumbled tofu. The trick is breaking the tofu into pieces and squeezing it dry so it can absorb loads of flavor from curry powder, soft herbs, and briny capers. Vegan mayo makes it creamy while chopped celery adds crunch.

Serve this curried tofu "egg" salad as a dip or spread, with rustic cassava flour crackers or on toast, or scoop it over green salad to make it a meal. This post is sponsored by Soy Connection and the United Soybean Board; all opinions are my own. 

If you've been following TBG for a bit, you already know my love for tofu. A versatile ingredient, tofu can star in almost any dish from vegetarian cobb salad to marinated grilled tofu. I've even been known to sneak bites of it raw, enjoying its clean taste and cheese-like texture. 

Today I'm sharing yet another way to prepare this functional vegetarian staple: curried tofu salad.

Tofu "Egg" Salad

I’ve been making variations of this vegan tofu "egg" salad for about 15 years. The base recipe comes from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which I've merged with some of my favorite egg salad ingredients.

The result is an über-flavorful dish that you can dip, spread, or layer. It travels beautifully to picnics, parks, hikes, road trips, and campouts. Use it as a dip for crackers and veggies, spread it on rice cakes for a snack, or smear it on toast or bread for sandwiches or tartines.

Here's what one happy reader had to say about it:

Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions

• Firm or extra-firm tofu makes a hearty base that soaks up the other delicious flavors.
• Celery adds crunch. Feel free to swap or add in other crunchy vegetables such as carrot, radish, fennel, or bell pepper. 
• Vegan mayonnaise adds richness. 
• Fresh herbs add flavor. I use dill, chives, and parsley here, but feel free to use just one or two, or any other soft herbs you have on hand. Marjoram, chervil, and tarragon are all nice too.
• Garlic, mustard, and curry powder deepen the flavor and give the salad a pretty golden hue. You can use a smaller amount of turmeric if you prefer. 
• Capers and vinegar add brightness. You can use chopped pickles and pickle brine if you like. 

Method

This recipe takes about 15 minutes of prep to chop all the herbs and celery, plus a few minutes to stir everything together. This makes about 4 servings; feel free in increase the recipe to serve a crowd. This salad keeps beautifully in the fridge for up to a few days for a quick lunch or snack.

Vegan "Egg" Salad / Sandwich

Try this tofu "egg" salad: 

• as a dip or spread with veggies, crackers, or rice cakes
• as a sandwich between slices of bread with sprouts, grated carrots, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, or other fixings
• on toast for tartines topped with sprouts, radish slivers, olive oil, and herbs
• scooped over greens for a hearty main-dish salad

Try one of my homemade bread or cracker recipes to pair with tofu "egg" salad:

Gluten-ful & Whole-Grain:

• Multi-Grain Sandwich Bread
• Sourdough Focaccia
• Sourdough Crackers

Gluten-Free:

• Rustic Seed Crackers (vegan, grain-free paleo option)
• GF Nut and Seed Bread

However you serve it up, I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

5 from 10 reviews

Creamy, Crunchy Vegan "Egg" Salad with Tofu

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Egg salad turned vegan! Crumbled firm tofu soaks up the flavors of creamy mayo, crunchy vegetables, lots of fresh herbs, and curry powder. This recipe is quite versatile, so feel free to change up the herbs and spices to your liking.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 10 ounces firm or extra-firm tofu
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• ⅓ cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or scallion greens
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or celery leaves
• 1 large garlic clove, put through a press
• 1 ¼ teaspoons curry powder, or 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped, or chopped pickles (or both!)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon fine or kosher salt, or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Instructions

• Break the tofu into large chunks. Place in a clean kitchen towel and twist to squeeze out excess liquid.
• Crumble the dry tofu in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mash everything together with a fork.
• Taste, adding more salt, spices, herbs, or vinegar if you feel the salad needs it.
• Serve right away or chill for a day or two to allow the flavors to blend.

Notes

This recipe makes 4 small or 2-3 large servings. Nutrition values are for 1 of 4 servings. 

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 392mgPotassium: 180mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 317IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 1mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!