Crispy Vegan Calamari with Hearts of Palm
Crispy hearts of palm vegan calamari seasoned with Old Bay and ground nori, then pan-fried until golden. An easy plant-based seafood-inspired appetizer served with lemon and dipping sauces.
If there’s one thing I love, it’s taking a familiar dish and asking, “Okay, but can we make this out of plants?”
Enter: hearts of palm calamari.
Whole hearts of palm have a naturally tender texture that works surprisingly well here. Slice them into thick rounds, gently pop out the centers, and suddenly you have little calamari-style rings ready for breading and frying. And don't throw those centers away—we're frying those too.
But the hearts of palm aren't the only trick.
A little Old Bay brings that familiar seafood-seasoning flavor, while finely ground nori adds the briny, ocean-y umami that makes the whole thing come together.
The biggest secret, though? Rinse those hearts of palm. And then rinse them again.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Crispy and golden on the outside
Tender on the inside
Made with easy-to-find hearts of palm
No complicated batter or egg substitute needed
Ready with just a handful of pantry ingredients
Old Bay + nori give it a seafood-inspired flavor without the seafood
Perfect as an appetizer, snack or happy-hour-at-home situation
Ingredients You’ll Need
1 can whole hearts of palm, drained
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 sheet dried nori
Neutral oil, for shallow frying
Lemon wedges, for serving
Your favorite dipping sauce, for serving
How to Make It
Step 1: Make the calamari rings
Drain the hearts of palm and slice each whole piece crosswise into rounds about ¾-inch thick.
Using your fingers, gently push the center out of each round to create a ring. Don't toss those centers! They can be breaded and fried right alongside the rings.
Don't worry if a few pieces break apart in the process. Calamari isn't perfectly uniform either, and all those crispy little pieces are still delicious.
Step 2: Rinse, Rinse, and rinse again
This step matters.
Hearts of palm are typically packed in a briny, slightly acidic liquid. A little of that brininess actually works in our favor here, but straight from the can it can overpower the finished dish and give it an almost vinegary flavor.
Rinse the hearts of palm thoroughly under cool water, then place them in a bowl of fresh cool water and let them sit for a few minutes. Drain and rinse once more.
Transfer the pieces to a paper towel and gently blot away the excess water. You don't want them bone-dry. Leaving the surface slightly damp gives the flour mixture something to grab onto without needing an egg wash or separate wet batter.
Step 3: Make the seasoned breading
Tear the nori sheet into smaller pieces and place it in a clean spice grinder. Process until it becomes a fine powder.
In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Old Bay and ground nori.
Mix well so the seasonings and nori are evenly distributed throughout the flour.
Step 4: Dredge
Working a few pieces at a time, toss the slightly damp hearts of palm in the seasoned flour mixture until completely coated.
Gently shake off any excess flour and set aside while you finish coating the remaining pieces.
Step 4: Fry until crispy
Add enough neutral oil to generously coat the bottom of a skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
Once the oil is hot, carefully add the breaded hearts of palm in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.
Pan-fry until golden brown and crispy, turning as needed so the pieces cook evenly on all sides.
Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack and immediately hit them with an extra little sprinkle of Old Bay, if desired.
The Nori Trick
If you've ever made a plant-based version of seafood and thought, the texture is there, but something is missing, nori might be the answer.
Those dried sheets you normally associate with sushi are packed with savory, ocean-y flavor. Running a sheet through a spice grinder turns it into a fine powder that can disappear right into a breading or seasoning blend.
You don't necessarily want your calamari to taste like a sheet of seaweed. You just want enough nori in the background to add that little bit of briny umami your brain associates with seafood.
Combined with Old Bay? That's where the magic happens.
A Note on Hearts of Palm
For this recipe, I strongly prefer whole hearts of palm rather than the pre-cut pieces or chunks.
The pre-cut versions will technically work, but they tend to be irregular, broken or already falling apart. Starting with the whole stalks lets you control the thickness of your slices and gives you a much better chance of creating those recognizable calamari-style rings.
And again: don't discard the centers. Bread those little guys too. They're just bonus crispy bites.
Serve your vegan calamari hot and crispy with:
Lemon wedges
Marinara sauce
Vegan remoulade
Spicy vegan mayo
Cocktail sauce
A simple garlic aioli
For a restaurant-style presentation, pile the crispy hearts of palm over a handful of arugula, add a few lemon wedges and put your dipping sauces alongside.
Final Thoughts
Hearts of palm aren't trying to perfectly impersonate squid—and they don't need to.
What makes this recipe work is borrowing the things we love about calamari: crispy breading, tender centers, salty seasoning, a little ocean-y flavor and something delicious to dip it into.
Just remember the two big tricks: rinse the hearts of palm really well and put some nori in that breading.
Then fry until golden, squeeze some lemon over the top and dig in.
Sometimes vegetables just want to go to happy hour, too.
Love, Light, and Lentils, my friends.
Sarah