This banana blossom salad is fabulous for vegans who are craving a tuna salad alternative. Combining fresh vegetables and pasta with a lovely hint of sweetness from the cocktail onions and gherkins.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is the answer for when I get my tuna salad craving, this is my go-to vegan tuna salad.
- This is a no-fry banana blossom recipe! Most vegan recipes using banana blossom are fried.
- Easy and quick to make, great for when you’re stuck on what to eat
- Filling and tasty, it can be enjoyed on its own or can be eaten as a side
- Season friendly - can be enjoyed all year round
- Dietary friendly - vegan, can be made gluten-free (I make it GF)
What is banana blossom?
The banana blossom, also known as a banana flower or banana heart, is the flower of a banana tree and is completely edible.
These teardrop-shaped blooms are a deep purple/maroon color that grows at the end of a cluster of bananas.
They have a host of health benefits and are neutral/mild in flavor, similar to an artichoke, which is great as they take on other flavors well.
Banana blossom can be purchased in fresh, frozen, or canned form. The easiest variety to find is the canned version.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Notes on some of the ingredients, the full list of ingredients and their measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Pasta - select your preferred penne or fusilli pasta. I use gluten-free pasta and I always undercook the pasta by one minute, as to what the instructions advise. This helps to keep the pasta al dante.
Banana blossom - finding canned banana blossom is becoming increasingly easier as the vegan diet gains popularity.
I am finding a couple of brands in the health food section of my local supermarket, otherwise, a local Asian grocer is a guarantee, or you can purchase banana blossom online (affiliate link).
Drain the banana blossom from the brine, rinse, and chop them into small bite-sized chunks.
Tomatoes - select fresh cherry tomatoes, I love the medley packs, which give a lot of color to this vegan pasta salad.
Tamari sauce is a gluten free soy sauce alternative and is salty in nature, this can be found at your local supermarket in the gluten free section or you can purchase tamari sauce online here (affiliate link). You can use regular soy sauce instead.
Fysh sauce is the vegan answer to a fish sauce alternative. This helps to give this salad a little umami “fish” flavoring, helping the banana blossom taste like “tuna”’. I normally find this in the vegan section of my local supermarket, you can buy vegan “fish” sauce online (affiliate link).
Vegan Mayonnaise - use as little or as much as you like. I like to make my own, you can find this veg mayonnaise recipe here. This can also be store-bought, there are many brands nowadays.
Nutritional Yeast helps to give a more umami flavor to this vegan banana flower salad.
Canned Banana Blossoms
Canned banana blossom are easy to work with, simply drain, rinse, chop and drop.
How to Make Banana Blossom Salad With Pasta
Prepare the pasta. Cook pasta as per instructions, set aside allowing it to cool down to room temperature. To quickly cool pasta, rinse it under cold water and drain it well before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
Chop up all ingredients. Drain all canned or pickled ingredients and then chop all ingredients into small bite-sized pieces.
Measure out all other ingredients for the dressing.
Toss your salad. In a large mixing bowl, gently mix all the ingredients until well combined. Serve this vegan tuna salad cold.
Pro Tips
Make-ahead - to help save time, cook the pasta ahead of time, which can be stored in the fridge for a few days, and then add all other ingredients when needed.
Drainage - as this recipe calls for canned and pickled ingredients, I like to drain these using a stackable colander (affiliate link), to ensure there is minimal wetness and this vegan pasta salad doesn’t end up soggy.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
Variations
Adjust the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste, i.e., if you’d like a little more of something or a little less, go for it. N.B., always start with less and build up.
Want extra protein? add in some mashed chickpeas.
Swap vegan mayonnaise for an avocado dressing such as this avocado cilantro lime dressing.
Pasta - for a more fun pasta shape, try using Farfalle (bow tie), Cavatappi (hollow spirals), shell pasta, elbow pasta, Gemelli (rope twist). If you’re a fan of pasta, check out this no bake vegan pasta bake.
Need more flavor boost? Add some garlic or onion powder. Start with a small amount and work it up.
Other Vegan Salads To Try
Want more side salad options try this beetroot salad or this no mayo potato salad.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Banana Blossom Salad With Pasta (Vegan Tuna Salad)
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb Pasta gluten free & vegan - spiral or penne
- 2 cans Banana blossoms drained (approx. 1.25lb or 600g/can) roughly chopped or pulled aparat into bite sized pieces
- ¾ lb Cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ lb Corn kernels
- ½ med Red onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks Celery finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Capers roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Cocktail onion roughly chopped
- 4 pieces Cocktail Gherkins roughly chopped
- 1½ tablespoon Tamari sauce to taste
- ½ tablespoon Fysh sauce vegan fish sauce - to taste
- ½ med Lemon juiced
- ⅓ cup Vegan mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast heaping
- 1 pinch Salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare pasta
- Cook gluten free vegan pasta according to packet instructions, set aside to cool down. See notes to quickly cool down pasta.1.1 lb Pasta
Mixing Ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together. Serve cold.2 cans Banana blossoms, ¾ lb Cherry tomatoes, ½ lb Corn kernels, ½ med Red onion, 2 stalks Celery, 1 tablespoon Capers, 1 tablespoon Cocktail onion, 4 pieces Cocktail Gherkins, 1½ tablespoon Tamari sauce, ½ tablespoon Fysh sauce, ½ med Lemon, ⅓ cup Vegan mayonnaise, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast, 1 pinch Salt
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
Jan
This salad is filling yet light. The banana blossom does resemble canned tuna in texture in this salad.