Vegan Chickpea Deviled Tomatoes

If you’ve gone vegan and miss classic egg dishes, this is for you!  Chickpea deviled tomatoes have a surprisingly egg-like flavor and consistency. Combining chickpeas, nutritional yeast, and vegan mayo, and a touch of curry, these beauties are rather addictive, so be prepared for them to disappear quickly!

Unlike with deviled eggs, no need to worry about cholesterol. Serve as a fun appetizer, a salad-like first course, or a brunch dish. I like to arrange them on a “nest” of simple coleslaw, though you can use lettuce, mixed greens, or nothing at all.

Chickpea deviled tomatoes also make a sturdy potluck offering, and are an impressive way to prove that vegans have a lot of fun.

Plum (aka Roma) tomatoes have the most egg-like shape, and work well even if they’re not the most flavorful tomatoes in the world. Or, you can use any small round tomatoes, like Kumato, or a combination.

This recipe is enough to fill 12 to 16 tomato halves, depending on the size of the tomatoes, and each serving is 2 or 3 tomato halves.

Yield: 6 to 8

Vegan Chickpea Deviled Tomatoes

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Deviled tomatoes combine chickpeas, nutritional yeast, and vegan mayo to arrive at a fairly egg-like flavor and consistency.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, or more, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, or more, to taste
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion or chives
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (see Note)
• 8 to 10 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes or other small firm tomatoes
• Paprika for topping

Instructions

1. To make in a food processor: Combine the chickpeas, vegan mayo, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, and curry powder in a food processor. Pulse on and off until the mixture is finely chopped, but don’t puree—leave a little texture. Add the scallion through the feed tube and pulse on and off a few times to whirl into the mixture. Taste to add salt and pepper.
2. To make without a food processor: Simply mash the chickpeas well in a bowl, and stir in the mayonnaise, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, curry powder, and scallion, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seedy center with a spoon. You’ll be left with a neat shell (save what you’ve scooped out for another use, such as blending into a juice or sauce. Or if you don’t care for this seedy part of the tomato, simply discard. 
4. Stuff the tomatoes generously with the chickpea mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and serve on a platter.

Notes

Variations

• Add a teaspoon or two of pickle relish to the chickpea mixture.
• Serve on a bed of lettuce, mixed greens, or a simple slaw.

Note on salt: Use Indian black salt (kala namak; available in Indian groceries), which adds a distinctive egg-like flavor and aroma.

If you like this egg-less treat, you might also enjoy …

Ultimate Tofu Eggless Salad

• Here are lots more vegan appetizers and breakfast & brunch recipes.