Heart Of Palm Is The Easy Substitution For Vegan Lobster Rolls

Being vegan is about more than eating tofu and coconut. These days, there are plenty of plant-based alternatives to the most unlikely foods out there, including seafood. While it may seem tough to track down ingredients that can replicate fishy flavors, you can use a specific mushroom to replace scallops, watermelon to substitute for tuna, and hearts of palm instead of lobster.

What makes hearts of palm a prime replica of lobster? The key here is in their texture. Derived from some types of palm trees, these little white cylinders are a bit slippery with plenty of bite — but they also land softly in your mouth. However, they can flake pretty easily, making them a great sub for a variety of seafood types, including lobster meat. All you need to do is pick up a can from the grocery store, and you can then simply cut these tubes into shapes that perfectly resemble chunks of lobster. And because hearts of palm have such a mild flavor, it's easy to bend their taste to your will by using seasonings, sauces, or marinades that can give them a nice fishy flavor.

If you want to whip hearts of palm into shape until they resemble lobster bites, you'll need a few extra ingredients for flavor, some of which you may already find in classic Connecticut-style lobster rolls. Olive oil and Old Bay seasoning are musts here, along with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed. If you like, you can also include a little paprika, chopped chives, parsley, or dill — or for even more fishy flavor, crush up some dried seaweed sheets (nori) to add into the mix. You can either cook your seasoned hearts of palm chunks or leave them cold, but if you plan on heating them up, you'll want to marinate them for a few hours or overnight.

Feel free to either air fry your vegan lobster for up to 12 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or saute it for up to eight minutes over medium-high heat. Then, toss your cooked (once they've cooled) or cold chunks in a dressing made of plant-based mayo and ingredients like chopped celery, onion, capers, and lemon juice. Now, all that's left is to toast your buns, stuff them with your hearts of palm mixture, and whip up a simple combination of melted vegan butter and lemon juice for dipping.