Seafood and cheese are two foods that vegetarians and vegans miss most when making the dietary transition. And although vegan cheese and milk alternatives have made major improvements in the late 2000s and onward, vegan seafood is still a work in progress. For plant lovers who remember the days of shrimp salad, that combination of crab meat, raw shrimp, lemons, celery, onions and mayo can be tweaked.

Here’s a vegan seafood salad alternative to test.

Vegan Shrimp Salad Ingredients

Most of the common ingredients in a traditional seafood shrimp recipe will make it into this vegan version too.

• 1 lemon (sliced into quarters)
• 3 tablespoons of minced red onion
• 1/2 cup of diced celery
• 1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoon of freshly chopped dill
• Morton’s Lite Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Here are a few plant-friendly ingredient replacements to add on.

• 1/2 cup of Just Mayo vegan mayonnaise (or Hellmann’s plant-based mayo)
• 8 ounces of imitation crab meat (ex. Creative Pea Vegan Fish Substitute Made from TVP) or 8 ounces (or 2/3 of a can) of Hearts of Palm
• 8 ounces of vegan shrimp (ex. Vegan Red Spot Prawns, Beleaf Plant-Based Vegan Jumbo Shrimp, Haoweiwu Foods Vegetarian Shrimp With Spicy Flavor, Vegan Baby Shrimp Planted by Boldly)

Vegan Shrimp Salad Directions

1. Place the vegan shrimp, vegan imitation crab (or Hearts of Palm), finely diced celery and vegan mayo in a bowl.
2. Season the vegan seafood mix with red onions, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, both salts, all three peppers and dill on top.
3. Optional: If using Hearts of Palm instead of frozen prepared vegan seafood, wash Hearts of Palm under running water before preparing and eating them.
4. Toss gently.
5. Add dill as a garnish.
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

If you like, put your meal on a bed of romaine lettuce. Or, dip the vegan seafood recipe in non-dairy crackers or multigrain crackers. This combo is a perfect universal appetizer for holiday hosting.