Vegan Watermelon Tuna

Vegan Watermelon Tuna is a fun and surprisingly delicious plant-based alternative to raw tuna. Marinated watermelon is baked until tender and flavorful, giving it a meaty texture and fishy taste. It’s perfect for sushi, poke bowls, ceviche, salads, or simply served on its own.

Okay, I have to admit that I have never actually eaten tuna in my life. But that won’t stop me from making bold statements about this recipe. Because this Vegan Watermelon Tuna is exactly what I imagine tuna should be like.

As a child I absolutely refused to eat fish. I hated the taste and couldn’t understand why anyone enjoyed it. It was only fairly recently that I started discovering vegan fish recipes and realized that sometimes I can really like the flavors of seafood. Once I figured out that seaweed itself is delicious (and stopped associating its flavor with fish), I could finally enjoy things like sushi with mock fish, fishy sauces, and now Vegan Watermelon Tuna.

The recipe itself is surprisingly simple. Watermelon is marinated with soy sauce, vinegar, nori, garlic, and miso, then baked until soft and concentrated. The watermelon loses much of its fresh, watery texture and becomes darker, firmer, and so much more savory. If you’ve never cooked or baked watermelon before, you’ll be amazed how different it gets from raw watermelon. It’s truly amazing!

You can use this Vegan Watermelon Tuna in all sorts of ways. Slice it for sushi, dice it for poke bowls or salads, or use it anywhere you want a cool vegan fish alternative. And if you want to take things a step further, you can even bread and fry it for a crispy version.

Vegan Watermelon Tuna is…

• fully plant-based
• surprisingly fishy
• savory and umami-rich
• meaty and tender
• easy to make
• made with simple ingredients
• great for sushi and poke bowls
• delicious in salads
• very customizable
• a fun vegan seafood alternative

How to make Vegan Watermelon Tuna

Start by cutting the rind off your watermelon slices and placing them in a baking dish. Blend all the marinade ingredients until smooth, then pour it over the watermelon and make sure the slices are completely coated.

Bake the watermelon for about an hour, or until most of the marinade has evaporated and the watermelon has softened and darkened. Let it cool completely before slicing or dicing it. That’s it. Super simple.

Watermelon Tuna will keep for a week in the fridge.

WHAT WATERMELON TO USE?

SEEDLESS WATERMELON is the best to use here. You can use both red or yellow versions.

If you can’t find seedless watermelon anywhere, just try to get watermelon slices with as less seed as possible. You can remove some of the seeds too.

Your watermelon should be ripe, but not overly ripe or mushy. Watermelons I came across in supermarkets were always perfect for this recipe, so don’t worry too much.

How to serve Vegan Watermelon Tuna

There are so many ways to use your watermelon tuna. Dice it or slice it for poke bowls, salads, and vegan sushi, or use it in vegan ceviche. You can also simply serve it with rice, avocado, cucumber, and a drizzle of spicy mayo.

For something a little more fancy, coat the baked watermelon pieces in panko breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes and fry them until crispy.

Basically, anywhere you’d use tuna, it’s worth experimenting with watermelon tuna.

Customize it the way you like it!

• Play around with the marinade! Add extra flavors like ginger or chili, make it saltier, more acidic, or even slightly sweeter

• Seaweed is what gives fish (and this watermelon tuna) its fishy taste. Nori is always a delicious choice here, but you can also experiment with other types of algae. Kelp, kombu, or wakame are all good here

• Once your watermelon tuna is ready, you can enjoy it directly, or marinate it for extra flavors. You can also bread it with panko bread crumbs, or corn flakes, and fry it

More fun vegan recipes to try:

• Vegan Salmon
• Polish Sauerkraut Pancakes (Vegan Fuczki)
• Vegan Kimchi Potato Salad
• Smörgåstårta (Savory Swedish Sandwich Cake)
• Tteokbokki with Tofu Mince and Crispy Kale
• Vegan Salad Niçoise
• Easy Vegan Lentil Nuggets
• Crispy Rice Salad w/ Edamame & Cucumber

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