Vegan ‘Tuna’ Melt (with white beans!)

Wondering what to make with that can of cannellini beans? This white bean melt is inspired by the classic tuna melt that I grew up eating. A perfect easy meal with ingredients that are commonly found in your fridge and pantry. 

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This recipe is fast, easy, plant-based, and satisfying! Just roughly mash a can of rinsed cannellini beans, then add in vegan mayo, finely chopped celery, onion, and dill pickles. Add that mixture on top of some toast, top that with vegan cheese, broil until the cheese is melted, and enjoy! Speedy + delicious. 

Let’s tackle some questions you might have. And if I didn’t answer something that you would like to know about this recipe, leave me a comment below! 

Can I use a different bean? 

Because I used cannellini beans here, the texture is creamier than tuna would be. If you want something with a little more texture, chickpeas would work as a substitute in this recipe (it would be similar to my chickpea salad sandwich recipe!). Any other white bean should also work. 

Do I need to toast the bread?

I like to toast the bread before adding the toppings so that the base still has some crunch. If you use toasted bread, make sure the toppings cover the entire piece of bread before broiling or you might get burnt edges on the bread. Feel free to use untoasted bread if you prefer a softer texture. 

What if I don’t have vegan cheese?

Any meltable vegan cheese that you enjoy will work fine for this recipe – as long as it’s not some crazy flavour that will clash with the other ingredients. For my fellow Canadians out there – I used the Gusta original flavour cheese. But, if you don’t have access to any vegan cheese, that’s totally fine too. You can broil without cheese or just skip the oven step all together and have the mixture on toast, in a sandwich, or with crackers. OR give homemade vegan cheese a try, I’ve never made this one from School Night Vegan, but it looks absolutely delicious and meltable. 

Umm that’s not the way my mom made tuna melts! 

Aside from the obvious lack of tuna here, that’s no problem! Do you hate pickles? Did you like having dill in your tuna melt? Use this same concept, but make the flavours the way you like them. Let me know in the comments what ingredients you like to add! 

My mom would add a tomato slice on top of her tuna melts before adding the cheese. Because of the global pandemic going on right now, I’m not making a special trip to the grocery store for tomatoes, but if I had them, I would add them.

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Vegan 'Tuna' Melt

This vegan white bean 'tuna' melt is the perfect way to use a can of cannellini beans. It's fast, easy, and satisfying.

Servings 4 toasts

Calories 230 kcal

Author Plantily

Ingredients

White bean 'tuna' salad

• 1 can cannellini beans (~1 cup)
• ¼ cup red onion (finely chopped)
• ¼ cup celery (finely chopped)
• ¼ cup dill pickle (chopped)
• 2 tbsp vegan mayo

Other ingredients

• 4 slices bread
• Meltable vegan cheese

Instructions

1. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to a medium bowl. Very roughly mash the beans. There shouldn’t be any whole beans, but there should be a mixture of mashed beans, small pieces, and larger pieces.

2. Mix in the rest of the ‘tuna” salad ingredients to the beans.

3. If using the full bean mixture at once, toast 4 slices of bread. Cover each slice of bread with an equal serving of the bean mixture. Top with meltable vegan cheese.

4. Broil the toasts until the cheese melts, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove once the cheese is melted, and enjoy!

Recipe Video

If you make this white bean melt recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram and leave a review below!