Vegan Egg Salad made with tofu and a creamy dijon mustard dressing is a simple and quick lunch that tastes like the real thing!
My husband is a big fan of sandwiches, I mean, who isn’t? Put something tasty between two slices of bread and you’ve got an easy and delicious meal.
The other day he mentioned he hadn’t had an egg salad sandwich in ages! So, with a block of tofu in the refrigerator I decided to make a vegan egg salad using only ingredients I could find in my refrigerator and pantry.
These days I’ve been more resourceful than usual, making due with what we have instead of running to the grocery store to get special ingredients to create my recipes.
As long as you have a block of tofu, the other ingredients are pantry staples. If you’re running low on bread, you could make these simple No Yeast Flatbreads to create a vegan egg salad wrap!
Not only is this recipe super simple, and quick, but the dairy free dressing tastes just like the original! Adding some turmeric gives it that bright yellow color making it not only taste like the real thing, but look like it too!
I have added a quick time saving tip so that you can make this for an easy lunch.
First, you’ll want to soak the cashews for the dressing. Many recipes ask you to soak the cashews for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. However, I have never been good about preparing my cashews the night before. So I’ve developed a short cut.
In small saucepan cover your cashews with water. You want them completely covered. Bring cashews and water to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Done! Cashews are plumped and softened and ready to go!
I love making this recipe at the start of the week when I’m planning my vegan prep meals so I have a quick and easy lunch at the ready!
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Why This Recipe Works
- Simple Ingredients
- Vegan
- Gluten-Free (without the bread)
- Whole Food Plant-Based
- Quick and Easy Recipe
- Tastes like the real thing!
- Makes a great pack and go lunch
- Perfect for picnics
Ingredients and Notes
- 1 block of firm tofu (drained and pressed)
- ½ cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)
- small onion chopped
- aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
- water
- fresh lemon juice
- dijon mustard
- white vinegar
- salt
- pepper
- turmeric
- fresh leaf spinach
- whole grain sandwich bread
Scroll to the bottom of the post to the recipe card for complete measurements.
If you do not have a can of chickpeas to drain in order to get the aquafaba, you can substitute the aquafaba for water. So instead, of a ¼ cup of water use a ½ cup of water.
I used Dave’s Killer Bread to serve this vegan egg salad. However, you can use your preferred bread of choice, or make these No Yeast Flatbreads, and make a wrap.
You can add whatever else you like to your sandwich. I had loads of spinach in my fridge, and some cherry tomatoes, so that’s what I used. Feel free to use lettuce, or sliced tomatoes.
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
In order to get a nice and creamy dressing using the cashews you need a high speed blender. However, if you don’t have a high speed blender, another trick I learned is to grind the cashews in a coffee grinder. If you use this method, you do not need to soak the cashews before adding them to the grinder. That will just create a huge mess. Instead, add the cashews to the coffee grinder ¼ cup at a time.
Then add the ground cashews to your regular stand blender or food processor to combine the ingredients into a smooth and creamy dressing.
Instructions
Step 1: Soak the cashews. Place raw cashews in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
*Note: If you do not have a high speed blender you can instead grind your cashews using a coffee grinder. In this case you do not need to soak the cashews before grinding them.
Step 2: While cashews are simmering, press your tofu. Drain water from the tofu packaging. Fold two paper towels and place on a plate. Put tofu on top of paper towels, and then fold two additional paper towels to place on top of the tofu. The tofu block will be sandwiched between the layers of paper towels. Next place a heavy pan on top of the tofu block. Then add a few heavy cans from your pantry to add extra weight. Allow tofu to press for 20 minutes. If you have a tofu press, you can use that instead of following these steps.
Step 3: While tofu is pressing, make the dressing. Drain cashews from boiling water. Add to high speed blender. Add lemon juice, white vinegar, dijon mustard, aquafaba, water, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Blend until completely smooth.
Step 4: Dice onion and chop pressed tofu. Remove tofu from press. Chop tofu into small pieces. To do this I cut the tofu into thin slices, then flip so that the short side of the tofu block is on the cutting board and make thin slices going the other direction. Then chop into small cubes.
Step 5: Add chopped tofu to mixing bowl. Press a dry paper towel over top to soak up any remaining water. Add chopped onions, and pour dressing over top. Gently fold the dressing into the tofu. Careful not to stir too vigorously and break up the tofu chunks.
Step 6: Serve on two pieces of whole wheat bread or bread of choice. Top with spinach, lettuce, and/or tomatoes. Slice in half and enjoy! This recipe makes 4 whole sandwiches.
How to Serve and Keep
There are many ways you can serve this vegan egg salad.
- Between two slices of bread
- Make into a wrap
- Serve with lettuce wraps
- On top of your favorite salad
You can choose to add your favorite veggies with your wrap or sandwich. I suggest lettuce, leaf spinach, and tomatoes.
This vegan egg salad will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store in an air tight container.
Variations
I added white onion because that was what I had in my pantry. This recipe would also be perfect with scallions, shallots, red onion, or chives in place of the white onion. Fresh herbs such as dill would be another delicious addition.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to press your tofu before chopping. This gives the tofu a nice firm texture. It also keeps your egg salad from becoming too watery. I recommend pressing your tofu for a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Boil or grind your cashews so that they blend easily. If you have a high speed blender boil cashews for 10 minutes. If you do not have a high speed blender use a coffee grinder to grind you cashews to a fine powder.
- To easily chop the tofu, cut into think strips along the wide side, flip and cut thin strips along the shorter/thinner side. Then dice into small cubes.
- If dressing is too thick when blended add an additional tablespoon of water or aquafaba until you reach your desired consistency.
More vegan salad and sandwich recipes!
If you’ve tried this Vegan Egg Salad recipe, please rate it and let me know how it turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Vegan Egg Salad with Tofu
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 block of firm tofu drained and pressed
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked and drained
- 1 white onion small
- ¼ cup aquafaba drained liquid from can of chickpeas
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 cup fresh leaf spinach
- 8 slices whole wheat bread or other bread of choice
Instructions
- Soak the cashews. Place raw cashews in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 10 minutes. *Note: If you do not have a high speed blender you can instead grind your cashews using a coffee grinder. In this case you do not need to soak the cashews before grinding them.
- While cashews are simmering, press your tofu. Drain water from the tofu packaging. Fold two paper towels and place on a plate. Put tofu on top of paper towels, and then fold two additional paper towels to place on top of the tofu. The tofu block will be sandwiched between the layers of paper towels. Next place a heavy pan on top of the tofu block. Then add a few heavy cans from your pantry to place inside the pan. Allow tofu to press for 20 minutes. If you have a tofu press, you can use that instead of following these steps.
- While tofu is pressing, make the dressing. Drain cashews from boiling water. Add to high speed blender. Add lemon juice, white vinegar, dijon mustard, aquafaba, water, salt, pepper, and turmeric. Blend until smooth and cashew pieces are completely combined. If dressing is too thick add a tablespoon of water or aquafaba until you reach your desired consistency.
- Dice onion and chop pressed tofu. Remove tofu from press. Chop tofu into small pieces. To do this I but the tofu into thin slices, then flip so that the short side of the tofu block is on the cutting board and make thin slices going the other direction. Then chop into small cubes.
- Add chopped tofu to mixing bowl. Press a dry paper towel over top to soak up any remaining water. Add chopped onions, and pour dressing over top. Gently fold the dressing into the tofu. Careful not to stir too vigorously and break up the tofu chunks.
- Serve on two pieces of whole wheat bread or bread of choice. Top with spinach, lettuce, and/or tomatoes. Slice in half and enjoy! This recipe makes 4 whole sandwiches.
This looks great. So many times there is that never ending question… “what to eat for lunch???”. I will be trying this soon!
Easy to make meals are a must right now. I could eat a sandwich any time of the day. This looks delicious.
I have been trying out new vegan recipes on the family slowly trying to move them to a plant-based lifestyle. I’m glad I found this recipe because the boys love egg salad and if it tastes like to real thing it’s going to be awesome!!! I’m super excited to see how they react to it. It sure does look close to the real thing!
Such an easy delicious lunch! I love egg salad but I’m intolerant of eggs, so this made me day! Thanks!
My family lives egg sandwich and love this idea coz I always have tofu in my fridge! Definitely making this tommorow.