Realistic Vegan Egg Salad (No Mayo!)

This 15-minute vegan egg salad is made of tofu and cashews to give you a creamy, protein-packed, and delicious breakfast sandwich. We skipped the high-fat vegan mayo and any other packaged products and opted for only whole foods plant-based ingredients. 

Are you looking for more savory breakfast recipes? Check out our popular vegan chickpea flour frittata, our easy vegan breakfast casserole, or our hearty vegan breakfast hash recipes.

The best substitute for eggs

To make classic egg salad you need diced boiled eggs and a creamy dressing made of mashed boiled egg yolks, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and spices. So is it hard to make this dish vegan? No, since there is a perfect ingredient to use.

The best vegan egg substitute that mimics the unique texture of eggs is definitely TOFU! Boiled eggs have a very similar spongy texture to firm tofu. There is really nothing else out there that has such a spongy texture. I even dare to say that one of my favorite ways to enjoy tofu is in a vegan egg salad sandwich recipe. 🙂

Ingredients

Making a vegan egg salad is even quicker and easier than making the original one. Apart from tofu, you need 9 ingredients and at most 15 minutes to make a creamy, tangy, egg-like dressing. We added all these ingredients to make sure that this vegan egg salad recipe is the closest to the one we remember and the healthiest it can be.

• Tofu -> We recommend using medium-firm tofu or extra-firm tofu since you need their texture to mimic boiled egg whites.
• Cashew nuts -> It is there to avoid vegan mayonnaise.
• Dairy-free milk -> Use unsweetened milk. Sometimes store-bought nut milk can be quite sweet even if the packaging says unsweetened. Therefore, we recommend using homemade cashew milk for instance.
• Onion -> White or red onion since they are white. Maybe shallots. But any other type will compromise the color.
• Nutritional yeast
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice -> You can use apple cider vinegar if you don’t have lemon at hand.
• Mustard -> Can be dijon mustard or plain mustard
• Turmeric -> While mustard helps with the color, you need a bit of extra help from turmeric.
• Black salt (aka Kala Namak) -> This is a must-have not so secret ingredient to make tofu taste and smell like eggs. You can read more about what black salt is here. The moment you open up its packaging you can smell right away what I am talking about. You really only need a pinch, but it is totally worth it.
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Salt

How to make vegan egg salad?

Prepare the ingredients

• Soak cashews overnight or for 5-10 minutes in boiling hot water.
• Peel and chop a small onion.
• Squeeze some lemon juice.
• Unpack and drain your tofu. Press it to get rid of excess moisture and cut it into small cubes.

Making a creamy dressing

1. Take a tight but tall container and add soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, dairy-free milk, chopped onion, lemon juice, mustard, and spices.
2. Blend them with a hand blender until smooth and creamy.
3. When your eggy dressing is ready, take a bowl and mix it gently with the small tofu cubes. That was all! The best vegan egg salad is ready!

Top tips to make it perfectly

• Creamy or creamier – Depending on the batch you make and the size of your kitchen appliances, you can use a food processor, a hand blender, or a high-power blender to make the eggy dressing. We used our hand blender to make a 4-serving vegan egg salad and the result was creamy enough for our taste buds.
• Don’t skip black salt – There is a huge difference between using it and not using it. If you make this vegan tofu egg salad without it, it will still taste yummy but it will not be realistic. So if you are looking for an exact copycat recipe, you should use this ingredient.
• Don’t use silk tofu – Silk or soft tofu is for sauces, dressings, or cheesecake. If you use this instead of firm tofu, you will get a spread and not an egg salad.

Flavors and toppings

The most common and popular add-ins are definitely

• spring onion, green onion, or chives,
• fresh herbs like dill or parsley

However, there are other things you can try if you feel like spicing it up a bit. We were thinking of…

• diced avocado
• chopped celery
• chopped radish
• finely grated horseradish
• chopped pickles
• chopped olives
• shaved carrots
• hot sauce

Let us know in the comments what is your favorite flavors and topping!

What to eat with it?

You can eat this mayo-free eggless egg salad like any other spread and add simple ingredients like leafy greens or other veggies.

• breakfast sandwiches – I love a good old egg salad sandwich with lettuce or other leafy greens like spinach or arugula. I also like to add tomato or avocado slices to make it even more veggie-packed.
• vegan tea sandwiches for brunch – Tiny, thinly sliced crustless bread with egg salad and chives.
• finger food or appetizer – Stuff raw tomatoes with egg salad or use thick cucumber slices instead of bread and you have yourself the perfect appetizer.
• tortilla roll-ups – Spread a generous amount of egg salad on a tortilla wrap and add leafy greens and chopped spring onion or chives and tightly roll them up and eat it or slice them into pinwheels.

Let us know your favorite combination in the comments!

FAQs and substitutions

Why do you need to soak cashews?

First, it breaks down the phytic acid and enhances nutrient absorption for better digestion. Second, easier to blend and work with. If you have a high-power blender, you only need like 5 minutes in hot water to soften them up a bit. – source

Can you use roasted and/or salted cashews?

Yes and yes. Roasted cashew tastes awesome. If you have only salted cashews on hand, no worries wash the salt off with a sieve or strainer and you are good to go.

How to store it?

You can easily store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week without any problem.

Can you freeze it?

We don’t recommend freezing tofu as it will change the texture significantly. Tofu is only worth freezing if you were to use it as a vegan meat substitute since it will firm up into a sturdy, chewy texture that is closer to meaty and further from eggy.

More vegan tofu recipes

You can browse through all recipes using tofu or check out

• 5-minute Tofu Cream Cheese
• Vegan Spinach Lasagna (with tofu ricotta)
• Pad Woon Sen (with tofu scramble)

UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in March 2020. It has been rewritten with more info, tips, and serving suggestions, and republished in May 2022.