Garbanzo beans are an ideal substitute for canned tuna when it comes to creating a health-promoting tuna salad. You can serve this by itself or atop a green or spinach salad, spooned into romaine leaves, or as a filling in steamed corn tortillas.
Tu-No Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 to 6 (makes 1 cup dressing and 5 cups salad)
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- 2 cans cooked garbanzo beans (15 ounces each; about 3 cups total), drained and rinsed
- 3 ribs celery, sliced or chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 medium, ripe avocado, chopped (optional)
- Cashew-Mustard Dressing:
- ½ cup water
- 2 ounces raw, unsalted cashews (about ½ cup)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons mustard (I like Dijon or stone ground)
- 2 teaspoons vinegar (I like apple cider)
- 1 medium clove garlic, sliced
- 2 to 3 teaspoons kelp granules (optional; see Notes)
Instructions
- Place all of the dressing ingredients (water, cashews, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, garlic, and kelp, if using) into a blender, and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the cashews can soften).
- Place the garbanzo beans into a food processor and pulse until the beans are broken but still flaky (do not overblend). Transfer the beans to a large bowl and add the celery, red onion, basil, and avocado (if using).
- Blend the dressing ingredients until smooth. Stir the dressing into the salad. Serve as is or see the serving suggestions above.
Notes
Adding kelp granules lends a seafood flavor to this salad (although it’s great without it, too). You can find kelp granules in the spice aisle or Asian cooking section of the grocery store.
For a lower-fat dressing, substitute a little over ½ cup cooked white beans (any type; drained and rinsed) for the cashews.
For a lower-fat dressing, substitute a little over ½ cup cooked white beans (any type; drained and rinsed) for the cashews.
Above: I have served the salad in warmed corn tortillas as well as wrapped in steamed collard greens, with avocado as a garnish.
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Hi … tried the Tu-No Salad last week with my sister who started eating a plant based diet just 10 days ago. Delicious! Simple to make and yummy all by itself, in lettuce wraps, or topping a salad. I plan to make more this week and my sister is taking the recipe home to use for her family.
Thanks, Cathy!
That’s great! Thanks for the feedback! This is such a satisfying recipe, everybody usually likes it 🙂
Love this! And it’s SOOO gluten free (except I just have to make sure that the tortilla or wrap is GF). Thanks!
Amazing dish. It’s the only way I can describe it. Made some a few days before 4th of July and my wife raved about it. So I made a double batch for a 4th party along with homemade corn tortillas, which I baked into chips. I had none left when the party was over and had numerous people ask for the recipe.
I’m just curious how you prepared the corn tortillas here. I always have such a hard time with them. They look fried?
Hi Gina, I bought those, and heated them briefly on both sides to soften and warm them (in a skillet). Sometimes I put them in the toaster too, and just rotate the tortilla halfway through.
What brand tortilla do you use?
Hi Mandy, any brand that is just organic corn, lime, water, a little salt or no salt. 🙂
We found some in the freezer section but used em for something else. We just made these tonight with collards for lunch tomorrow but we just had to try one. I was skeptical but oh my god! These are amazing! I’m on my third week eating plant strong and was getting bummed about plain boring stuff. This recipe just saved me. Literally jumping up and down excited. Thank you so much!
I just made this, and it turned out awesome! I’ve been craving a “chicken” salad type thing lately, and didn’t want to approach that with TVP. Chick peas saved the day, again!
I made this tonight… OMGosh, YUMMY!
I’m usually quite skeptical of any sort of mock meet-type dish, but realized that I love all the ingredients in the tu-no salad, so I figured I’d give it a try! To save some time and effort, I chopped the onion and celery by pulsing it a few times in the food processor and then put it in my bowl before pulsing the chickpeas. Saved lots of time and tears (from the red onion, haha). I passed on the kelp because I didn’t like tuna before going vegan so I didn’t think that the fishy taste sounded appealing at all. I put this on corn tortillas with sliced tomato and spinach for a delicious dinner last night. This is for sure going to be added to my collection of go to recipes, and will come in handy particularly in the summer time when I don’t want to heat up my boiling hot Chicago apartment by using the stove or oven! Cathy, your recipes haven’t let me down yet – love them all!!!!
Aww, thanks Bonnie! Love the way you put it together. So glad you enjoyed it! 😉
You made this at our cooking class at True North in October 2012. I couldn’t try it then because I was fasting. So I finally got around to making it and wish hadn’t waited so long. It was absolutely amazing! This will be great even for my non-plant-based friends in the summer, but I won’t be waiting that long to make it again! Thanks, Cathy!
I’ve made this a couple of times now and really enjoy it. Instead of using celery, I use about half an apple, chopped. This is something my husband likes, too. Thanks!
Yum, great idea! Thanks! 😉
Thank you so much for your recipes 🙂 this one is now a favorit standard in my kitchen. I made the tortillas with organic wholegrain flour, water and a little salt… Very simple, took a little time to roll and bake them, but they freeze well. 😉
Hi Emma, I’ve never made my own tortillas, sounds like a fun challenge. 🙂 Good to know, thanks!
This sounds amazing! Just wondering, would the mixture/dressing keep in the fridge for a few days ok? Just me eating so love meals that last a few days!
Hi, I think it might separate a little and then you’d just need to remix it with a fork. Or you can keep some separate from the dressing, and blend them when you’re ready to eat them. Maybe leave any avocado out too until you’re ready to eat it; avocado tends to get really soft and brown over time. 🙂
Just a tip! If you store the cut avocado in an airtight container, it will stay green for days! I have some airtight tupperware I use, sometimes also putting them in a plastic baggie. Guac stores well in old salsa containers.
Keep the seed in the container. This keeps it from turning brown.
So, so good! I got this recipe while staying at TrueNorth, although sadly, I missed your cooking demo that day. Anyhow, I’ve had the Tu-no salad both over mixed greens and in an Engine 2 gluten-free wrap, and either way, it’s delicious!
Thanks Lee! That is a yummy dish, a fan fav for sure. 😉
Made this today and it was amazing! Totally hit the spot! I subbed cilantro for the basil (it was all I had). This is definitely going in the weekly lunch rotation!
Hi Cathy .. this remains one of my favorites … wondering if you mixed the avocado with the dressing (rather than diced with the chickpeas) if that would provide the flavor without the browning problem? Have you ever tried that? I’m preparing this for a hiking club potluck (after a hike) so can’t do the avocado ahead of time. Hate to leave it out (so yummy).
Hi Rita, I have not tried it but it sounds good. I think it would work. 🙂
Let us know if it works!
I didn’t have basil and my avocado was a tad firm, but I was REALLY hungry to try this recipe anyway! It was quite tasty — and I would imagine even better still with a creamier avacado. Because it made so much, 7 wraps, and I don’t think they’ll freeze well, I’ll be taking lunch to 5 co-workers tomorrow!
I just made this for lunch and it was sooooo good! Since it was only for 2 of us I did halve the ingredients and it was perfect for 2 large wraps each. I used Ezekiel wraps layered with leaf lettuce then the Tu-no mix. I had just a bit of shredded carrots left in my fridge so I added that to the Tu-no and it was very colorful. This will be in rotation frequently at my house! Thanks for all your delicious, healthy recipes.
Thanks Kim! That sounds won-der-ful! 😉
This recipe was great! My boyfriend was very skeptical about this, but I made a few adjustments, and he ended up loving it! I added some chopped sweet gherkins, omitted the onion (Bf not a fan of raw onion), and about 3 oz of extra firm tofu to make the sauce a bit creamier. Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
Sounds great! Thanks for the comment Miche! Nice website by the way! 🙂
Thanks a bunch :)!
Hi Cathy… just back to let you know I tried mixing the avocado with the dressing. Both the color and flavor over the next few days were normal – very tasty – had the richness of the avocado without the browning when it’s added separately.
Thank you so much Cathy for this recipe! It was so much like eating a tuna salad (which I used to love), that I almost cried. I used lime juice instead of lemon (didn’t have any), and I ate it on homemade GF bread. I love your website! Thanks for your generosity in sharing all this wonderful recipes.
Did you use all of the dressing on this one batch? I put in about half and it is quite moist. Thought I had avocado – but I don’t – waaaahhhhh! But still quite delicious – thank you, as always!
Hi Susan, I do; the beans usually really soak it up. But you can certainly do less, especially if you are also adding the avocado. 🙂
Cathy, I didn’t think this recipe would work well, but wow…it’s great. My husband asked for a second wrap…that was a first! I thought I had celery but didn’t, so I used mushrooms instead. Thanks. I think I’ll try the apple idea next time too.
Hi Sandi, husbands asking for more is always a good sign. 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Great recipe for a sandwich or topping on a salad!!
I have made a number of your recipes and all have been very successful. I almost didn’t try this recipe, as I am not a fan of garbanzo beans. Well, I surprised myself. This was great! I will definitely make it again.
Please tell me what other beans I could use instead of garbanzo beans. Have you ever experimented with a substitution? Thanks.
I haven’t, but you might try kidney (red or white) or black. It would work with any bean, but garbanzos are the same color as canned tuna and oddly, have a similar smell (kind of), so that is why they are used. 🙂
Made and ate this one today. Again, very good!
This is one of our ‘go-to’ recipes and is one of our favorites! We eat it without tortillas just over lettuce or all by itself! We love this! Thanks, Cathy!
Another great recipe, Cathy! Thank you! This is one of my husband’s favorite summer dishes. I’ve been making it about once a week. And I love Bonnie’s idea (in the comments above) about using the food processor to pulse the onions and celery…
I should have added to my 8/18 comment, that since I am not eating nuts these days, I use white beans for the cashews in the dressing, and increased the garlic,mustard, and lemon juice a bit. And, my husband gets avocado on the side. Totally delicious!
I find that using a potato masher on the garbanzo beans works well, if you don’t want to get out your food processor.
Hello, I made this salad last night for a dinner party. It was a big hit! I didn’t have kelp powder and it was still delicious. Thank you for generously sharing your creations!
Have been searching for a chickpea salad spread that doesn’t use nuts (though I love them, trying to stay true to my plant perfect diet) or salad dressing. Any suggestions? Thanks so much!
Replace the nuts in the dressing with white beans or tofu. 🙂
Like another of your readers, I don’t miss the fishy taste, but I do miss the combination of textures and flavors in a tuna or chicken salad. we love chickpeas so many ways! I just know this is going to be good. Hope to make it this week. Thanks for a delicious recipe. It’s my pick for Recipe of the Day today on my foodie Facebook page, Twitter and elsewhere.
Thanks Kathryn Grace! 😉
I had to come back here and tell you that this is one of my husband’s and my favorites. I made a double batch this time and I decided to add a teaspoon of ground flax seed to the soak water along with the nuts. It helped to hold it all together, since we eat it as a sandwich filling. I commented earlier that I added chopped apple to it instead of the celery. I used a couple of Pink Ladies, which added a tasty crunch to it. So good and satisfying!
I forgot to say that I like to cook my own chickpeas, because I like the flavor better. A pound of dried chickpeas is about the same as four cans of chickpeas. They are great to cook ahead and freeze in portions, ready to use. Thanks, Cathy, for a great recipe!
Thanks Susan! 😉
This is really good. My husband said, ‘huh, tastes like tuna salad.’ We have not weaned ourselves off all salt though…so I did add some….made it with cilantro and parsley and had it wrapped in lettuce leaves.
I just made TuNo salad sandwiches for a school function. It was a hit! Because of your generosity in sharing your recipes, a nice group of people were exposed to plant based food. The sandwiches were ridiculously delicious! Thanks so much! (I can’t wait for your book to be shipped out!)
I’ve made this recipe from your cookbook separately with the white beans (less fat) and the nuts and both methods were quite good. I added 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot with the bean method to help thicken it a little more like the nut version and it seemed to work.
Your book is fantastic! I think it is probably the healthiest cookbook on the planet. Thanks!
Aw, thank you so much, Kevin. 😉 Happy New Year!
Wow, how did you form the tortillas so perfectly?
They are soft tortillas, held up by the wraps next to them. 🙂
Made these with the white beans for the dressing and it was delicious! Even better the next day. Our five-year old loved it and wanted it in his school lunch. We used whole wheat pita bread and stuffed it with tomatoes and baby kale. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Just made this for lunch, YUM!!!! I added some fresh snow peas from my garden for extra crunch and I used dulse flakes in the dressing as I didn’t have any kelp. I’ll definitely be making this again!