The Big Vegan Seafood Guide

Searching for vegan seafood recipes? Look no further … these fish-free dishes are off the hook! Check out this collection of vegan fish, vegan scallops, vegan sushi and more for plant-based seafood ideas. This vegan seafood guide will show you the endless expanse of textures and flavors that mushrooms, hearts of palm and other vegan ingredients can offer to create delicious mock seafood recipes.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I have a thing for vegan seafood. When I went vegan (almost 20 years ago now!) seafood was the last thing to go, right before dairy. I used to love salmon lox, scallops, shrimp and mussels. It was years into blogging before I figured out I could just make my own vegan versions of them. I love developing vegan recipes, but developing vegan seafood recipes is where the most fun experimentation and possibilities open up for me.

Vegan Seafood Guide

Check out this roundup for some of those possibilities from my site and other bloggers doing amazing things to create vegan seafood recipes. From carrot lox to vegan shrimp and everything in between, this guide has it all … dive in!

Can You Eat Seafood on a Plant-Based Diet?

Seafood is not vegan or even vegetarian. If you are vegan for ethical reasons, it’s off the table. If you are on a plant-based diet for health reasons, it’s up to you whether you want to include it in your diet. However, you may want to consider this before reaching for or ordering a seafood dish. Check out this article on how fishing and aquaculture has a negative impact on our world and sea life.

Fish feel pain, and many sea creatures, like the octopus, have intelligence and emotions, just like we do. The purpose of this vegan seafood guide is to show you how you can enjoy the taste and textures of seafood without harming sea creatures. Plus, it’s a way to add some creativity in the kitchen and maybe add some new produce into your diet!

Vegan Shrimp

Make these shrimp-free recipes from king oyster mushrooms, vegan sausage and store-bought vegan shrimp. I’ve seen king oyster mushrooms labeled as “seafood mushrooms” in some Asian markets. It’s no wonder—they have such a similar texture to shrimp! Once steamed, they soften up and offer a firm yet succulent bite.

Vegan Shrimp Made From King Oyster Mushrooms

I made this recipe using seasoned panko flour, then deep fried it. Slice the mushroom stems into rounds, then create a swoosh pattern down the middle of each one to create two shrimp-shaped pieces. Serve with this bang bang sauce if you’d like to switch it up from traditional tartar or cocktail sauce.

Vegan Shrimp Made From Vegan Sausages

School Night Vegan has made these vegan prawns with vegan sausages that can be baked, air fried or deep fried. I love this recipe because it takes an unusual ingredient for seafood and manipulates it in a way that creates a legit vegan shrimp. Richard offers options for vegan dipping sauces as well!

Vegan Po Boy Made With Store-Bought Vegan Shrimp

I love this stunning Po Boy from Thee Vegan Dude, made with prepared vegan shrimp. This looks so epic and something I need to try! I’ve never seen frozen vegan shrimp anywhere myself, so I may splurge one of these days and try ordering some vegan shrimp from GTFO It’s Vegan that offers a breaded and unbreaded version.

Vegan Scallops

Make vegan scallops with king oyster mushrooms as well! Slice, soak and score this mushroom stem to create a scallop you can sauté and sear to perfection! Take any recipe that calls for scallops and make it vegan with a little (or a lot) of plant-based butter or olive oil.

Creamy Pasta With Vegan Scallops

I made this dish because I used to love to eat scallops and pasta dishes. This classic combo can be easily replicated using king oyster mushrooms. Find these at a well-stocked Asian market and you’ll have the star of your dish ready to prep. Placing the mushroom pieces in a screaming hot oiled pan allows a beautiful sear to develop on the outside while keeping the interior perfectly succulent.

Vegan Scallops in Pasta with a Mint-Pea Puree

Inspired by a scallop dish served in a minted pea sauce, this vegan scallop dish is delicious! It’s one I made many years ago. The idea of pairing the clean and fresh pop of green with something that is rich, buttery and seared sounded fantastic.

In this recipe, you can slice and sear these, or you can score them with a sharp knife to develop an interesting texture. The bonus of scoring the vegan scallops is that they soak up the perfect amount of butter in the pan, adding to the already amazing texture. This vegan scallop dish has a sweet pea puree, cashew cream and fresh mint for a pop of color and an explosion of flavor!

Vegan Scallops (King Oyster Mushroom Scallops)

This gorgeous photo and recipe from Bianca Zapatka shows what the interior of a seared vegan scallop looks like. I love how it surrounded by gorgeous twirled pasta with lemon-garlic vegan butter and pops of vibrant green. This would make a cozy and delicious dish for a night in with a glass of wine!

King Oyster Scallops

Want to know what vegan scallops look like being sautéed? Check out the process by Chef Chad Sarno over at Wicked Kitchen … this is perfection!

Vegan Fish

Vegan fish is easy to make with the right ingredients. You need to start with produce that is flaky, neutral tasting and holds up to battering and frying. Canned produce is a great option and these four options are great choices. Asian markets are your best bet, but Whole Foods also carries them and they can also be ordered online.

Hearts of palm: This is a fantastic ingredient to use. This white, slightly nutty and soft product mimics fish very well. Select hearts of palm that notes they use sustainable harvesting practices on the can when possible.

Banana blossoms: These are a great substitute for white fish. Canned in a brine solution, they are soft, and slightly acidic. Banana blossoms are great to use for battering and deep-frying, as they hold up very well to high heat.

Artichoke hearts: Chop and serve canned artichoke hearts at room temperature or deep fry them. The flaky and unique texture is reminiscent of fish, without the fishy flavor.

Jackfruit: Packed in brine or syrup, canned jackfruit has a great texture. Always go with the brined jackfruit! Choose young jackfruit, which is softer and more neutral-tasting than older jackfruit, which is more sweet and tough. Young, canned jackfruit in brine is a great vegan seafood substitute to experiment with!

Beer-Battered Hearts of Palm

This recipe uses hearts of palm and preps them as you would a beer-battered white fish. This dish has a super flaky interior and a crisp and crunchy exterior, making this dish a great vegan fried fish dish! Serve with homemade radish pickles and a fresh slaw to balance the richness of the vegan fish.

Crispy Vegan Fish Sandwich, Made with Hearts of Palm

I made this vegan filet-no-fish sandwich using hearts of palm. Keeping them whole creates sort of a vegan “fish stick” to pile onto a sandwich. Bread and air fry, or bake them. I slightly smashed the hearts of palm, then slid a piece of nori into the middle to introduce a fishy element into each piece. Use nori here for flavor. It’s also packed with nutrients like iodine, magnesium and iron.

Vegan Fish Made with Jackfruit

In this recipe, I boiled then froze jackfruit pieces. I then thawed them and pressed the liquid out. It produced a super interesting texture that was amazing deep fried! Serve these with a mayo-based dipping sauce or malt vinegar for a vegan seafood feast.

Vegan Fish and Chips Made with Banana Blossoms

This mind-blowingly delicious dish created by Hugo over at Lowly Food uses canned banana blossoms, and the result is fantastic. Take a look at this video that details the process!

Carrot Lox

Make vegan lox easily with the humble carrot. I’ve salt baked them countless times and piled it onto bagels, rolled it up into sushi and used it in appetizers. The color is spot on, and the texture is super “loxy.” It does require baking for an hour and a half and marinating for a couple of days, but the end result is worth the wait!

Vegan Lox, Made from Carrots

I originally created this recipe back in 2015, after seeing a chef salt bake a whole fish in salt and trying Chef Rich Landau’s salt-roasted golden beet recipe. Can this be done with carrots? I thought. After some trial and error, carrot lox did happen and I’ve loved tweaking and varying this lox in different ways ever since. This is what I love so much about cooking: the endless ideas and creativity that happens during the experimentation process!

Vegan Salmon

This vegan salmon recipe from A Veg Taste From A to Z is cut with a spiralizer to mimic the look of lox. Adriana has created a marinade with liquid smoke, a seaweed mix, garlic powder and maple syrup for the spiralized carrots to soak in for a couple of days to create a soft texture. It looks so pretty and authentic!

Vegan Crab Cakes

Make vegan crab cakes with artichoke hearts, jackfruit, tempeh, farro, hearts of palm and chickpeas. These things all work because they provide a great flaky and neutral texture. Adding seasonings like Old Bay and dill add a seafood-like quality and aroma.

Vegan Crab Cake Sliders Made with Hearts of Palm

I made this vegan crab cake with hearts of palm. Add hand-crushed saltines to the batter which creates a great binder. Once I formed the batter into small patties, I deep fried and served them with a spicy vegan mayo sauce. These are perfect for summer get-togethers!

Vegan Crab Cakes with Hearts of Palm and Chickpeas

This recipe by Healthinut uses a mixture of hearts of palm and chickpeas to create a flaky and delicious vegan crab cake. Just look at how beautiful and delicate they are! These would be perfect for a lazy Sunday brunch.

Prepared Vegan Crab Cake options

If you don’t want to make your own crab cakes or just like the ease of buying them already prepared, there are great products out on the shelves. These two brands are my favorite!

Good Catch is a great vegan seafood brand. They offer fish cakes, fish burgers, fish fillets and fish sticks. The texture is spot on, and there is a slight hint of fishiness without being too prominent. I’m loving to see that these products are popping up everywhere lately!

Gardein Crab Cakes: I think these Mini Cr’b Cakes are the best breaded vegan crab cakes out there. Toss into an air fryer and serve with a sriracha or lemon-dill mayo for dipping.

Vegan Lobster 

If you are searching for a vegan lobster recipe, then hearts of palm or lobster mushrooms are a great choice. Lobster mushrooms aren’t really mushrooms. When the parasite Hypomyces lactifluorum invades a wild mushroom, lobster mushrooms are created. I’m getting total The Last of Us vibes thinking too much about that.

Serve with melted vegan butter with pasta, bread or batter it and enjoy the taste and texture of lobster without harming a single sea creature!

Vegan Lobster Roll Made with Hearts of Palm

This vegan lobster roll is so delicious on a toasted buttery bun. Chunks of hearts of palm are heavily seasoned then air-fried to create a firm exterior while the inside stays soft. Toss in a vegan mayo sauce for a great vegan summer dish!

Vegan Lobster Roll Made with Lobster Mushrooms

Check out this in-depth video below from Sauce Stache on how to clean, prepare and use lobster mushrooms to create a vegan lobster roll!

Vegan sushi

This is the type of vegan seafood that can just run wild with possibilities. There are so many textures, produce choices, canned items, mushrooms and even molecular cooking techniques that can create vegan sushi dishes.

Vegan Dynamite Sushi Rolls Made with King Oyster Mushrooms

This is my absolute favorite vegan sushi recipe to make. Batter and fry chunks of king oyster mushrooms, then toss into a creamy and spicy dynamite sauce. Pair with avocado and scallions for a pop of color and fresh flavor.

Spicy Tomato Tuna

Lisa Kitahara over at Okonomi Kitchen is such a fantastic cook to watch. Her creativity is endless, and I love her instagram videos. Here she’s made vegan tuna out of tomato and made it spicy … perfection!

Vegan Clam Chowder 

Nothing is better on a cold day than a warm bowl of creamy clam chowder. You can easily make chowder vegan by using an array of mushrooms or soy curls. Cashew cream will add the creamy element. Don’t forget to serve with oyster crackers or warm biscuits, which will add heartiness and comfort.

New England Vegan Chowder Made with Mushrooms and Soy Curls

I have made several versions of New England clam chowder before, and this version is the best one! Made with a mixture of soy curls and mushrooms for the clams, this creamy chowder is packed with potatoes, celery, vegan bacon and cashew cream. Indulge in this dish for an amazing dinner and fantastic leftovers!

Vegan Clam Chowder Made with Hearts of Palm

This recipe by Nora Cooks uses hearts of palm as the clam for this chowder, and it looks amazing! It’s perfect comfort food, and can be made in about 30 minutes!

Watermelon tuna

Sear and break down watermelon to condense its fibers, making it appear just like tuna. It doesn’t taste like it, but I think it’s fun to play around with it in sushi dishes and bowls.

Watermelon Tuna Poke Bowl

This watermelon tuna poke bowl was so fun to make! Bake watermelon chunks until they collapse, then marinate in a vinegar mix to gently cook it further and to counteract the sweetness. I added amaranth caviar (another fun vegan seafood caviar creation), creamy avocado, crisp pickled cucumbers, seaweed, a ponzu dressing and sambal mayo, all served on a bed of sushi rice. This is a fun dish to make for the summer!

Watermelon Tuna Gunkan Maki

This recipe for watermelon tuna is by George Lee over at Chez Jorge. Marinate watermelon cubes in a blend of soy sauce, sesame oil and mirin for one to two days. Chop and serve gunkan maki style!

Vegan Tuna Salad

Vegan tuna salad makes the perfect lunch. It’s portable, easy and can be served on a sandwich, with crackers or in a salad. Chickpeas are the most popular choice for their flakiness and compatibility with creamy vegan mayo, but hearts of palm are great too.

Vegan Tuna Salad Made with Hearts of Palm

Vegan Tuna Salad Made with Chickpeas

I adore all of Jessica in the Kitchen‘s creations, and she has created one stunning vegan tuna salad sandwich! She’s added Old Bay, capers, fresh herbs and onion to create this mouthwatering sandwich.

Vegan Caviar

Plant-Based Caviar Made with Amaranth and Beets

I created this recipe many years ago by boiling amaranth grain with beet juice to create a vegan caviar or vegan tobiko (flying fish roe). It adds a stunning pop of color to any vegan seafood dish, or served gunkan maki style.

Check out this great video from Mary’s Test Kitchen on how to assemble gunkan maki-style vegan sushi!

Vegan Black Caviar

This vegan caviar by Very Vegan Val is made using a molecular cooking technique called spherification. When done correctly, it produces beautiful, shiny, round pearls that can be used on blinis, in sushi, over vegan scallops and more. Val used ginger, dulse, nori, shitake mushroom, caper brine, soy sauce, agar agar, and activated charcoal to make these gorgeous and briny vegan caviar pearls.

Vegan Seafood FAQs