Watermelon Tuna Tartare – Vegan!

Craving a tuna as a vegan? Prepare to have your mind blown by this totally realistic “tuna” made from watermelon! This Watermelon Tuna Tartare is of course vegan, surprisingly easy, and can be used in any recipe that calls for tuna. If you want more vegan tuna be sure to try my VEGAN POKE BOWL.

Tuna Made Plant Based

Before going vegan, I used to love tuna recipes. Though I don’t want to eat fish again, I miss tuna based recipes. Thanks to this super realistic watermelon tuna tartare recipe, I can have tuna again minus the cruelty and environmental impact. Who doesn’t love a fresh tuna tartare??

Here are all the delicious ingredients:

• Seedless Watermelon.
• Tamari.
• Tahini.
• Sesame Oil.
• Ginger Powder.
• Furikake.
• Water.
• Flaxseed Oil (optional)
• Kelp Granules (optional)

For the tartare I added sushi rice, diced avocado, scallions, and sesame seeds. Feel free to customize however you’d like! To mold the tartare, make sure to use this TARTARE MOLD from Amazon.

Ultra Realistic

On paper it’s hard to believe watermelon can taste like tuna, so you’ll just have to try for yourself. While they taste very similar, I would argue watermelon tuna is fresher. And, it stays fresh longer! Keep these in the fridge for up to a week.

After baking the tuna, the chunks lose most of their water leaving you with smaller, buttery pieces that feel and taste like tuna. Make sure to bring this dish along to your next dinner party to impress your friends!

Baked Watermelon

I went through a lot of trial and error with the watermelon tuna, but I finally figured out HOW to perfect the “tuna” – this isn’t a quick, instant gratification process by any means, but once you make the tuna it lasts for days. To note:

• The watermelon should be baked for at least 50 minutes flipping halfway through. I always check on mine after 30 minutes and it gives me a pretty good idea of how much more time they need. The texture should be that of tuna – silky, buttery, and smooth.
• Make sure to spread watermelon out – they will shrink quite a bit and lose a ton of water, so cut them into large chunks and give them space to breathe on the tray. I used 2 large trays and had enough tuna for a week.
• I love the marinade as it helps add the traditional flavors you get from tuna tartares. If you’re looking for a more plain tuna you can flavor later, just do a mix of sesame oil, flaxseed oil, and either kelp granules or nori.

{If you like this recipe, you’ll love my MANGO SALSA TARTARE and my VEGAN POKE BOWL.}