Epic Vegan Tuna Mayonnaise Recipe in Jacket Potato (2024)

Epic vegan tuna mayonnaise recipe – so close to real tuna, you could mistake it for the real thing. This is not the regular chickpea tuna salad. In fact, no chickpeas or jackfruit are called for – this recipe is definitely worth a try.

Food plazas in many spots across Britain offer a basketful of choices from traditional British food to tempting international cuisines yet to be discovered. Stall-hopping on the vibrant busy food court, back in the day during our weekly Saturday grocery trip, we would very often stop on the way for a lunch bite. Our choices ranged from a pasty from Greggs, a Subway sandwich, chow mein from the Chinese stall or tuna mayonnaise in a jacket potato among other tasty nibbles. We were not vegan back then and admittedly these are not in the least healthy foods but they were among the things we would tuck into every now and then.

Jacket potatoes stuffed with various fillings are not the kind of food I grew up on in Mauritius. However, during the years I spent living in Britain, I inadvertently became fond of the soothing and comforting baked spud. What’s not to love – crispy skin speckled with crunchy tiny crystals of salt wrapped around a fluffy floury interior and stuffed with various mouth-watering fillings from the classic baked beans to creamy tuna mayonnaise.

Speaking of tuna, vegan mock tuna recipes range from the popular chickpea-based preparations to other less used ingredients like jackfruit, artichokes and even hearts of palm.

Chickpea tuna has never made its way to this blog before – the vegan recipe world probably has had a fair share of the mock tuna salad already.

However, recently the memory of unctuous dollops of tuna mayonnaise was rekindled while I was giving another recipe a whirl experimenting with soya chunks or otherwise known as texturized vegetable protein (TVP).

The idea instantly occurred to both Kevin and I that they would make the ideal base ingredient for a mock tuna mayonnaise recipe that we used to be so fond of before going vegan. With no chickpeas involved, this culinary endeavour was one worth exploring.

The main ingredient used in the recipe – soya chunks – is nothing new to us, and after a few tests we came up with a certain way of preparing it that yields a texture that is so close to tuna, you could mistake it for the real thing.

Texturized vegetable protein comes mainly in two forms – granules or chunks. The granules yield a texture that is too mushy for this preparation. The chunks, on the other hand, when blitzed with a hand blender or pulsed in a food processor yield a flaky meatiness that is very similar to tuna.

As far as other ingredients go, pineapple juice and soy sauce are also among the key ingredients in this preparation. We borrowed these ideas from our very own Chinese curry recipe where its unique umami flavour really shone through thanks to the fresh pineapple and the soy sauce. This combination is what creates the kind of flavour bomb that we want to achieve in this faux tuna rendition. With the addition of some toasted nori, the taste was spot on without being too overpowering or fishy. We decided to boil the soya chunks in a kombu broth to infuse a subtle sea flavour undertone. Afterward, the fishy-ness can be controlled by adjusting the amount of nori or leaving it out altogether.

Kevin was over the moon with how this mock tuna turned out – 90% close to the real thing, that was his feedback. I found it to be better than tuna.

The combination of the kombu, pineapple juice, soy sauce and toasted nori provide the perfect flavour amalgam to create an actually better-than tuna taste that could easily be mistaken for the real thing. Mixed with mayonnaise, sweet corn, onions, garlic and spring onions, this is ideally served in the traditional way pampered within the clouds of fluffiness of a hot jacket potato, in a sandwich or wrap or even on its own with a side salad for a lighter lunch.

Watch the video for the step-by-step recipe along with narration.

Vegan Tuna Mayonnaise

in Jacket Potato

Ingredients (serve 2)

2 large floury baking potatoes

1 cup [60g] soya chunks (textured vegetable protein [TVP] chunks)
1 piece dried kombu
3-4 cups water
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil (or other cooking oil)
3 tablespoons pineapple juice (or 2 tablespoons pickle brine)
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 small onion, diced (optional or as much as you like)
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup sweet corn
1/2 sheet toasted nori (more to taste or omit)
2 – 3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (more to taste, try our homemade mayonnaise recipe)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped spring onions for garnish

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit).

Wash the potatoes. Prick them all over with a fork. While still wet, rub them with some salt. Place on a baking sheet or rack and place in the oven.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake for 1 hour. The baking time will depend on the variety and size of the potato.

Meanwhile, prepare the tuna.

Add the water and kombu in a saucepan and let simmer until it reaches a rolling boil. Then add in the soya chunks and let boil for about 5 minutes until rehydrated and soft.

Meanwhile chop the onions and garlic. Set aside for later.

Drain the soya chunks from the kombu broth and lightly press out some of the excess liquid through a strainer.

Heat a skillet on medium-high temperature. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add soya chunks. Toss and stir fry for a few minutes until they start to firm up.

Add the soy sauce. Continue to stir fry for about 2-3 minutes then add the pineapple juice. Toss the soya chunks into the juice and stir fry until all the pineapple juice is absorbed.

Remove the soya chunks from the heat and transfer to a jug for hand blending.

Lightly blitz the soya chunks with a hand blender. Do not over process them. We want to keep a flaky texture and not mash them completely. You may need to scrape the blades of the blender occasionally. You can also pulse the soya chunks in a food processor but again do not over process them.

Now place the flaked soya into a mixing bowl along with the onions, garlic and sweet corn. Cut the nori sheet into small confetti pieces and add it to the bowl. Add the mayonnaise and mix.
Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Remove the potatoes from the oven. Test if they are done by pressing them lightly. If they feel soft, they are done. Otherwise put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

Make a slit into the potato and push the sides in to open it. Tuck in the tuna. Garnish with some spring onions and dig into the cloud of creamy fluffiness.