Vegan carrot salmon (smoked)

You must be wondering how to make vegan smoked salmon? I'm here to take away all your doubts! This vegan salmon is definitely my most favorite recipe for both kids and adults. It is perfect to use for a vegan appetizer or a mouthwatering brunch. If you are a plant-based fish lover, I recommend you also try my vegan "tuna" eggplant or the vegan salmon fillet (salmon slice)

Preparing this recipe no only will allow you to avoid buying vegan salmon from supermarkets such as Aldi and Esselunga.

In the first part I will explain what ingredients you will need for this creative plant-based alternative to smoked salmon. In the second you will be able to see photos for each step in this recipe.

The ingredients you will need to prepare my vegan salmon

The main ingredient for preparing our salmon is carrots. That's why I often call it "Calmon."

Preparing this carrot salmon is simple and requires no special cooking or preparation. You'll also need a few simple ingredients. Let's see what they are and why we use them to prepare our smoked vegan salmon:

• Carrots - Carrots are clearly the base of this recipe. Their orange colour allows us to "recreate" the colour of salmon.
• Nori seaweed - These are the seaweeds that are used to wrap sushi. They will be used to give a seafood flavour to our salmon.
• Garlic powder - It will give a strong flavour to our "Calmon."
• Paprika powder - It gives more depth to the salmon flavour.
• Soy sauce - A sauce that needs no introduction and will serve to make our vegan salmon savoury.
• Liquid smoke - Liquid smoke is a smoke concentrate (naturally vegan) that is used to give our foods a smoky flavour.
• Seeds oil - We use it to give that shiny sheen of fat that characterises salmon.
• Dehydrated Wakame Seaweed (optional)-Wakame seaweed is a seaweed that can be safely consumed. It will give our carrots a "fishy" flavour.
• Agave syrup (optional) - it's a sweetener that is made from agave nectar. You will need little of it for this recipe and only for the marinating process. It is optional but I find that it gives a hint of sweetness that is very good.

How to prepare vegan smoked salmon step by step

If this is your first time preparing carrot-based vegan salmon, and the recipe card is not complete enough for you, fear not. I have prepared a guide for you with plenty of pictures to explain each step.

1. Prepare your carrots and cover them with coarse salt

For this step you will need to thoroughly wash the carrots still in their skins. The carrots need to be wet because that way the coarse salt will stick more easily. Put the salt on the bottom of a baking sheet, place the carrots on it, and then sprinkle them again with plenty of coarse salt.
Then bake the carrots for 45min-1h in a static oven at 200°C. The carrots will be ready when the salt has turned slightly brownish at the edges or if pierced with a knife they will be soft.

2. Prepare the marinade

Place the Nori seaweed in a container with approx. 300ml of water. This will give fishy flavor to our water, which we will then add to the marinade. In a separate container mix all the ingredients for the marinade (soy sauce, seed oil, liquid smoke, garlic powder, paprika powder, agave syrup). Then add the nori seaweed flavoured water through a strainer so that the seaweed bits are strained out. Mix everything well.

3. Peel the carrots and add them to the marinade

When the carrots are ready, let them cool for a few minutes. Then remove all the salt with your hands. With a potato peeler, start peeling the carrot (you can keep the peel if you wish) to obtain many slices of salmon (see photo). Then add your salmon to the container with the marinade. Place in the fridge and leave to rest for 1 hour or even overnight. Your salmon is ready to be served!

Storing your vegan salmon

The vegan smoked salmon prepared with carrots must be kept in the fridge and can be stored for up to 5 days. You can safely leave it in the marinade for as long as you keep it in the fridge. It is therefore a perfect food to prepare in advance.

Some ways to use your vegetable salmon

This recipe will allow you to use your carrot-based salmon just as you would use 'normal' smoked salmon. You can then use it in your sandwiches, with bread and vegan butter or for tarts. I usually prepare it for brunch, but here are other ideas for using your vegan salmon:

• Use it to stuff your blinis or aperitif tarts
• You can also use it to make a vegan salmon carpaccio and avocado.
• Make a variation with beet. You'll just need to add a little beet juice during marinating.
• You can make a sandwich out of it
• Or a salmon pasta (in this case, only add the salmon in your vegan cream sauce at the end of cooking)

Now that you have all the information to prepare your Calmon, all that's left to do is get to work. Have fun in the kitchen!

Print recipe

5 from 2 votes

Vegan carrot salmon (smoked)

Easy recipe for carrot-based smoked vegan salmon

Prep Time15 minutes min

Cook Time45 minutes min

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Entree, Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: vegan

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: oven baked, carrots, vegan fish, vegan salmon

Servings: 400 grams

Author: LuvveLovesFood

Cost: low

Equipment

• 1 baking tray
• 1 potato peeler

Ingredients

For the carrots

• 5 big carrots
• 150 g coarse salt

For the carrots' marinade

• 2 2 sheets of nori seaweed (those used to wrap sushi)
• 5-6 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp seeds oil (peanuts, sunflower, ...)
• 20 drops liquid smoke
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp agave syrup (optional)
• 6-7 dehydrated wakame seaweed (optional)

Instructions

To cook the carrots

• Turn on the oven at 200°C (400°F) static function
• Wash the carrots without removing the peel and make sure they are very wet. Place coarse salt in the bottom of a baking tray that can hold all your carrots.
• Place the wet carrots on top of the coarse salt and sprinkle them with more coarse salt.
• Put the carrots in the oven and bake for 45min-1h or until you see that the salt is slightly brown at the edges. Alternatively you can pierce a carrot with a knife, if soft the carrots are ready.

For the carrots' marinade

• Break up the nori seaweed sheets in a container and add approx. 200 ml water. Let the seaweed release its flavour for 5-10 minutes.
• In the meantime, put all the remaining ingredients for the marinade in a jar or Tupperware and mix briefly
• With a colander add the water from the seaweed to the marinade, straining the seaweed.
• Add dehydrated wakame seaweed to the marinade if you have some. They have a much firmer consistency than nori seaweed and will not leave a black residue throughout the marinade.

To finish the calmon

• Let the carrots cool for a few minutes, then remove all the salt.
• With a potato peeler, start peeling the carrots (keep the skin on) to obtain thin slices of carrot.
• Then place all the carrots in the container with the marinade and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. You can also leave them to marinate for 24 h, the taste will then be more intense.
• Your salmon is ready to be served!