Vegan Hearts Of Palm "Lobster" Roll Recipe

If you're committed to a vegan lifestyle but missing the flavors of a classic lobster roll, this fresh and tangy hearts of palm version might be just what you're looking for. Hearts of palm have a similar flaky texture to seafood and provide the perfect option to stand in for lobster. To capture the assertive flavors and textures of a classic lobster roll, we're using crunchy diced celery, briny capers, fresh dill, and chives along with the hearts of palm for the base. The dressing features vegan mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, and sriracha, to bring home the taste of New England cuisine in a spicy and flavor-packed condiment.

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe and says, "This is one of my all-time favorite vegan recipes. It's great on a roll, but also fun to serve as a dip with chips, add to a green salad, or stuff into a pita or a wrap. Not to mention it's very budget-friendly compared to the real thing." Keep reading to learn how to bring the taste of the sea to your table without the seafood.

To make this recipe, start by picking up 3 cans of hearts of palm. Skip the type that is already cut because we want to rough chop this in a way that will resemble lobster. Hit up the produce aisle for celery, fresh dill, and chives.

To really bring out the taste of sea, you'll need Old Bay seasoning and capers along with vegan mayonnaise, lemon juice, sriracha, salt, and pepper. Some paprika is a nice touch for an optional topping. Then pick out your favorite sub-style rolls and you're good to go.

Drain the hearts of palm and rinse them well.

Roughly chop the hearts of palm and add them to a large bowl.

Add the celery, dill, chives, and capers. Stir gently to combine.

In a medium bowl combine the mayonnaise, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice, sriracha, pepper, and salt.

Toss the mayo mixture with the hearts of palm mixture.

Cover and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Fill the rolls with the hearts of palm lobster.

Top with fresh dill and paprika, if desired, and serve.

Hearts of palm are a unique vegetable found in the inner core of certain palm trees. The most common type of palm tree that it's harvested from is the peach palm, grown in Costa Rica, Brazil, Columbia, and Peru. The peach palm also produces an edible fruit, but it's very different from a typical peach and more like a boiled potato or plantain. Hearts of palm are also found in acaí palms, which produce the popular acaí fruit, and coconut palms, which produce coconuts.

As with most vegetables, hearts of palm are a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals while being low in calories and fat. They are known for their delicate flaky texture and slight nutty and briny flavor that resembles seafood, which is why they are commonly used as a substitute in plant-based recipes. Along with mimicking lobster, they also can be used in crabcakes, vegan ceviche, and vegan sushi. They also can be found shaped into "pasta" noodles to mimic traditionally made pasta.

There are two variations of lobster rolls — Connecticut and Maine – and even though they both contain lobster, there are some differences between them. Our inspiration for this recipe is the Maine version, which uses a chilled lobster salad as the filling. Often in the traditional recipe, the sub roll is buttered before the filling is added, which gives you that classic lobster and butter flavor combination. If you want to include that buttery taste, you can spread vegan butter on the roll before adding the filling, or you can toast the rolls in a skillet with melted vegan butter.

The Connecticut version of a lobster roll is a much simpler affair, involving just warm buttery lobster meat. If you want to make this version with hearts of palm, the preparation will be different but still simple. Just chop the hearts of palm the same way into rough chunks, then saute them in a skillet with ¼ cup of vegan butter. You'll add in the same seasonings including Old Bay along with lemon juice and continue to cook until the flavors have infused into the hearts of palm. Then you'll brush the sub-style rolls with melted vegan butter before adding in the warm mixture. Either version is delicious, so you can't go wrong!