To celebrate the release of Fast Easy Cheap Vegan, I wanted to share a brand new recipe that is decadent, scrumptious, delicious, and oh-so-fancy! I'm talking about Vegan Lobster!! Yup, you read that right! Rich, tender, and served with a buttery lemon garlic dip. Oh, and get this - it's just 7 ingredients and takes just 10 minutes to make. Sensing a theme? 😉
Since the book released last week, life has been a whirlwind of interviews and broadcast segments, congratulatory emails, texts, and phone calls and I don't think I have stopped smiling! Thank you so much to everyone who picked up a copy. I have loved reading your feedback and seeing your photos of the recipes posted online. It makes me feel so good knowing that my recipes are bringing people joy and helping them eat plant-based easily and affordably. So let's celebrate with some Vegan Lobster!!
I mean, just look at how good this Vegan Lobster looks!! I have to confess: after taking these photos, Adam and I devoured this dish in record time. We only paused every so often to say things like, "Holy moly, this is good!" or "Yummmm, oh my goodness!" or "I can't believe this is VEGAN!!"
I think you're really going to enjoy this one! I just love veganized seafood recipes and what better timing for them given the awareness being created by documentaries like Seaspiracy! It's very clear that our oceans need saving and we can do this by choosing what goes on our plates. If you are interested in making other vegan seafood dishes, check out my recipe for Heart of Palm Calamari, Vegan Tofu Fillets or Tofish & Chips 🙂
Note: if you're concerned about the sustainability of heart of palms, rest assured that, unlike some palm oils, most canned varieties of this veggie comes from farmed peach palms. Just check with the brand you are purchasing to be sure.
How to make vegan lobster:
Chop the heart of palm into large chunks. I like to make these chunks various different shapes to mimic the look of lobster pieces.
Add the vegan butter, garlic to a small bowl. Microwave in 20-second increments until melted. Pour half of the melted garlic butter into a large frying pan and add two tablespoons of water to the pan with the butter. Pour the remaining half of melted garlic butter into a small dish and mix in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set this aside, this will be used for dipping.
Heat the pan with the butter and water and add the heart of palm chunks. Lightly simmer for about 5 minutes until the heart of palm is heated through.
Sprinkle the paprika and salt over the heart of palm and gently stir to incorporate the paprika. I like to only partially mix in the paprika so that some pieces have more paprika than others to make it look more like vegan lobster. Serve the heart of palm hot, with the lemon butter on the side, and garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.
This vegan lobster is fantastic served on its own with the lemon butter sauce for dipping, but you can also use it to add it to pasta, top a salad, make a sandwich, or anywhere you need something fancy in your life. Yum!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Lobster! (Garlic Butter Heart of Palm)
Servings:
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Ingredients
- 2 cans (398ml / 14oz each) hearts of palm, drained and cut into large chunks (see step 1)
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 cloves garlic,, minced
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
- lemon wedges,, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the heart of palm into large chunks. I like to make these chunks various different shapes to mimic the look of lobster pieces.
- Add the vegan butter, garlic to a small bowl. Microwave in 20 second increments until melted. Pour half of the melted garlic butter into a large frying pan and add two tablespoons of water to the pan with the butter. Pour the remaining half of melted garlic butter into a small dish and mix in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set this aside, this will be used for dipping.
- Heat the pan with the butter and water and add the heart of palm chunks. Lightly simmer for about 5 minutes until the heart of palm is heated through. Sprinkle the paprika and salt over the heart of palm and gently stir to incorporate the paprika. I like to only partially mix in the paprika so that some pieces have more paprika than others to make it look more like lobster.
- Serve the heart of palm hot, with the lemon butter on the side, and garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.
Nutrition
Heidi says
Just wanted to comment regarding lobster roll dogs
Like they have hotdogs only a lobster dog on a stick are out standingly good
Ben says
Comments like "I can't believe this is vegan" is derogatory towards vegan food and vegans. If you were genuine, you wouldn't say that.
Fiona says
Wow. Actually you don’t speak for all vegans. Especially me.
Sarah Kramer says
This isn't a purity test, it's a vegan cooking blog. I've been vegan for thirty six years and I'm not offended by people saying "I can't believe this is vegan!" and don't see why anyone except someone determinedly seeking offense would find it derogatory. Finding it hard to believe that something is vegan doesn't automatically mean that someone is denigrating vegan food- it could be that they had no idea that a cake, for example could be made without eggs, or had no experience of vegan food being so rich, or creamy, or imaginative, or varied- it means someone may have had their eyes opened, which is a positive thing, so maybe climb down off your high horse and stop judging people on this perfectly lovely vegan food blog.
Elizabeth says
So easy and surprisingly really good. I have no idea what lobster tastes like but I know this is gooooood!
Molly says
Not anything like lobster in texture or flavor. It's very close to eating artichokes if you were to butter them. Not a horrible flavor, but it's no substitute for lobster.
Molly Westheimer says
Not anything like lobster in texture or flavor. It's very close to eating artichokes if you were to butter them. Not a horrible flavor, but it's no substitute for lobster. Last time I will be making this.
Ruth K. says
Hearts of palm are low in carbohydrates. Why is this recipe so high in carbs?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Most nutrition calculators tell us that 200g of hearts of palm have 52g of carbohydrates.
DDX says
No, this is wrong. An entire can of hearts of palm (365 brand, for example) only has 12 g of carbs. This recipe requires 2 cans, and makes 4 servings. So with the other ingredients contributing virtually no additional carbs, this recipe should deliver only around 6 grams of carbs per serving--not 52.
Kasey Tormanen says
I think I know what the mixup is. I looked at nutrition calculators. Raw hearts of palm are in the higher carb range. Canned is much lower. I’m guessing canned absorbs a lot of the water, so the mass is more grams without adding calories or carbs.
Lynn says
This looks amazing and I wonder what is the best vegan butter to use for melting?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Various brands to choose from but they vary depend on your location. In Canada, Earth Balance is a good choice.
Chris Banks says
Just made this- very easy and so good 🙂 ! Added just a bit of Old Bay and am eating straight from the cup that the remaining butter garlic sauce was in :)! Thanks- very yummy!!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Wonderful!
Lisa says
Hi. This sounds yum.
Although, should I be adding a little seaweed or old bay seasoning for some "seafood" flavor?
I adore hearts of palm and will try anything made with it.
Beth says
Hi Sam! I haven't made this one yet but can't wait to try it. It got me thinking about another possibility with hearts of palm. I used to love an appetizer that was cream cheese spread on a plate; layered with crab or shrimp; and then topped with shrimp sauce.
I wonder if hearts of palm could be chopped finer like the jackfruit sandwich recipe and used in that appetizer? Use vegan cream cheese and finely chopped hearts of palm. Or do you think jackfruit would be better? Thanks much!
Eugenia Pena says
Hi Sam
What brand of Hearts of Palm do you use and/or recommend? Thank you. 🙂
Julia says
Remade these today.
But I used pressed firm
tofu.
Added the bit of caper
brine, still delicious.