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With many rave reviews, you can be sure these vegan lobster rolls are not only easy but super delicious! Made with heart of palm and a creamy mayo and veggie mixture, this vegan lobster roll recipe is a simple way to enjoy an East Coast classic at home. The “lobster” filling comes together quickly and is packed with meaty texture and classic flavors.
save this recipe!Seafood can be a tricky ingredient to make vegan. I’ve done a few veganized seafood recipes (vegan fish and chips being one of my favorites), so I knew it was possible to make vegan lobster (with a little trial and error and food science wizardry).
What I came up with is an incredibly easy recipe that brings the coastal flavors to your kitchen (sans seafood)!
- Classic Spices: We need these to keep the essential lobster roll flavors. We don’t want to change the taste, just make it vegan.
- The Right Texture: The key to mimicking perfectly cooked lobster.
- Fast to Make: Thanks to heart of palm, it doesn’t need to be cooked like its lobster counterpart.
Reader rating
“Thank you!!! So damn delicious!! This recipe is a keeper! Plus toddler approved! I made this in under 30 mins!!” —Kristina
Grab these ingredients
You don’t need anything very fancy to make lobster rolls. Lobster was traditionally considered “poor man’s chicken” so the ingredients that are usually paired with it are very simple. Jump to the recipe card for exact measurements and substitutions.
- Heart of Palm: This vegetable is white and mild in flavor, making it a great choice for a lobster replacement. You can find it canned in most grocery stores.
- Butter and Mayonnaise: Vegan versions, that is! These help hold everything together.
- Celery: This adds freshness and crunch. You could also use cucumbers or red onion if you don’t really like celery or don’t have it.
- Chives and Dill: To add lots of herbaceous flavor, I like to mix in fresh chives and dill. Dried versions will work, too, but fresh is always best.
- Old Bay Seasoning: This is a staple of any good lobster roll!
- Lemon: I use both the zest and the juice to help cut through the rich butter and mayo.
- Capers: These little salt pockets are key to emulating the sea in seafood!
- The Buns: Use split-top buns for a true lobster roll experience. This is like a hot dog bun but a bit more robust to hold up to the heavy “lobster” mixture.
Heart of…what?
Heart of palm is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a vegetable that is harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, often times a coconut tree. It’s rich in fiber and vitamins and even has a little protein in it!
How to make vegan lobster
Making this vegan seafood recipe is quick and painless. The secret is to cook the heart of palm until it’s a bit crispy! Jump to the recipe for the full printable instructions.
- Cook: Start by pan-frying the heart of palm until it’s golden and crispy.
- Mix: Combine the sauce ingredients and then add the heart of palm.
- Serve: Pile it all into a toasted bun and enjoy!
Texture Tip
Lobster has a very specific texture, so the trick to getting the same texture from heart of palm is to do nothing. Yup, if you leave the heart of palm pieces alone so they can get crispy and caramelized before flipping them, this is what gives this recipe a lobster-like texture.
Why this Recipe Works
Making vegan seafood might sound tricky, but here’s why it’s not (hint: it’s because this recipe is well-tested so I can tell you exactly why it works).
- Heart of palm has the perfect mild flavor and the perfect fibrous texture to emulate lobster.
- Classic seasoning like Old Bay keeps the flavors of the true lobster roll everyone knows and loves.
- This recipe is mostly just a filling which means if you don’t want to have rolls, you can have a salad. Or, a dip, or use gluten-free buns, etc.
how to use vegan lobster
Rather than just list some recipes to serve with vegan lobster rolls, I wanted to share some more ways to use this vegan lobster salad.
- Put it on a salad like this Mediterranean parsley salad.
- Make a bowl by putting it in this lemony arugula grain bowl.
- Make it a wrap by rolling the filling up in a veggie wrap.
- Make it a seafood party by serving lobster rolls with this chickpea tuna salad or vegan crab cakes.
Next-Level Vegan Lobster Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 14-oz cans heart of palm, drained, 400 g cans
- ¼ cup salted vegan butter, 56 g
- ¼ cup vegan mayo, 60 g
- ¼ cup finely diced celery, about ½ of a stalk
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp finely chopped capers
- 4 split top buns
Instructions
- Prep: Roughly shred or shop the heart of palm into bite-sized chunks.
- Cook: Heat butter over medium/high in a large saute pan. Add the heart of palm and cook, trying not to disturb it much, until the bottom begins to turn golden and crispy. Flip the pieces over to allow other side to brown, then remove from heat. This should take 7 to 10 minutes.
- Sauce: In a large bowl stir together all remaining ingredients (except the buns). When heart of palm is done cooking, stir it into the sauce. From here, you can either serve warm or let it chill in the fridge.
- Buns: Toasting each side of the buns on the stove with a liberal pat of vegan butter until brown and crispy.
- Serve: Spoon vegan lobster into rolls and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
Amazing and so easy to make.
So happy to hear that you loved it, AR! Happy eating!
This was even better than I imagined it to be— I didn’t have any capers but it still hit!
Happy you enjoyed it Jessica, thanks for cooking with us!