Air Fryer Vegan Calamari (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)

Insanely crispy Vegan Calamari made in the air fryer! This healthy plant-based calamari is gluten-free, allergy-free, and oil-free! Made with Hearts of Palm and a light seasoned breading, this squid-free calamari recipe will blow your mind and become your go-to appetizer for impressing anyone!

Wow, I mean, wow! Stop everything you’re doing and stock up on every can of hearts of palm you can find. This vegan calamari dupe is game-changing! The taste, the texture, the LOOK! It’s not greasy since there’s no oil or frying required, but still super crispy with the help of an air fryer! There’s no need for any squid, so this calamari will be a hit with even the pickiest of eaters!

The Main Ingredient: Hearts of Palm

Hearts of Palm, baby! From vegan mozzarella sticks to vegan clam chowder, this veggie is a plant-based game-changer for so many non-traditionally vegan foods! A heart of palm is the vegetable that comes from the inner core and “growing bud” of certain palm trees like coconut, juçara, acai palm, palmetto, peach palm! Peach palm is the variety that’s used for most retail canned products (it has nothing to do with peaches. A Peach palm is a tropical plant found in Central and South America.

In 100g of the hearts of palm, there are about 3-4 grams of protein, 35 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 0 fat, and full of nutrients like potassium, phosphorous, iron, magnesium, copper, and zinc! Super healthy and functional for our purposes! Heart of palm > squid.

Hearts of palm, when sliced into rounds, have layers you can pop out to create rings. These rings have the color, shape, and look of squid rings you’d use for calamari! However, there’s not fishy/seafood taste, nor super chewy texture. When lightly breaded with gluten-free breadcrumbs and placed in the air fryer, the hearts of palm rings get crispy, golden brown, and have a delicious fresh taste and tender texture that’s hard to describe! The air frying “dries” the hearts of palm a bit to reveal and amazing meaty texture!

Prep the Hearts of Palm for Cooking

You actually only need 4 ingredients plus some spices and herbs for seasoning your breadcrumbs!

• Hearts of Palm: I recommend you buy WHOLE palms, not sliced or salad cut. You’ll see both cans in the store, but if you opt for salad cut, you’ll end up with cans that do not have enough round slices and more random pieces. Buying whole palms allows you to cut your own rounds to about 1/2 inch thickness. From there, you pop out the inner layer rounds of the palm to get a nice hollow ring that looks like the squid ring you’re trying to mimic. The inner, smaller rings you pop out should also be breaded and air fried! They’ll just be smaller pieces.
• Egg-Free Egg Wash: You’ll need to dip your palm rings into a mixture of non-dairy milk and dijon mustard before tossing them with the breadcrumbs.
• Gluten-Free Breading: You’ll use plain crumbs or panko and season them to your liking. I added in some onion and garlic powder, black pepper, and a touch of paprika.

Making Calamari in the Air Fryer

No greasy, deep-fried, battered “squid” here! The air fryer is always the best solution for oil-free “frying” that gives you the crispiest of foods with none of the mess, hassle, or unwanted fat and calories!

1. Place your breaded hearts of palm rounds in the basket of your air fryer so that they’re spaced out and there’s ample airflow around all the rings.
2. Air fry them at 400°F for 10 minutes until the breading and rings themselves get golden brown. No need to flip these!
3. Remove and continue with the rest of your vegan calamari (the amount you do in one batch will vary depending on the size of your air fryer.)

Oven Version

If you don’t have an air fryer (stop everything and buy one), you can make them in the oven, but they don’t be as crispy. Place your vegan calamari rings on a baking sheet to crisp up at 425°F for about 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. You may find flipping them halfway through helps to crisp them up and prevent any sogginess.

Seafood-Free Calamari

Great for vegans and vegetarians, but also great for food allergies! No fish, shellfish, seafood, etc. Healthy plant-based perfection that even meat-eaters will love! If you’re someone who doesn’t like seafood or have a very picky bunch of eaters on hand, this mock calamari is THE solution! This recipe is:

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan & Vegetarian
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Fish-Free, Shellfish-Free, Coconut-Free)
• Sugar-Free
• Oil-Free
• Low-Carb
• Kid-Friendly

Serve It Up With Sauces

Calamari is a classic Italian appetizer (the first time I had the real thing was at a classic Italian restaurant with my very Italian family. Loved it at first bite!), but you can serve it as a snack or side dish too! It’s perfect finger food without the greasy batter. Traditionally served with marinara dipping sauce, but some cocktail sauce, yogurt, mayo, tartar sauce, fresh lemon juice, and dried herbs will do as well! Believe it or not, while these are best serve hot from the air fryer, they are delicious cold from the fridge too if you have leftovers! You can also give them a quick reheat and re-crisp in your air fryer too.

Vegan Calamari Recipe

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I’m telling you, this recipe is a game-changer! So oddly, amazingly, delicious! You will wow everyone…even yourself!

More Vegan Air Fryer Recipes:

• Air Fryer Fried Pickles
• Breaded Air Fryer Artichoke Hearts
• 3-Ingredient Crispy Cocoa Air Fryer Chickpeas
• Crispy Air Fryer Potato Latkes
• Healthy Air Fryer Falafel
• Air Fryer Gluten-Free Vegan Chicken & Waffles

So tell me:

+ Did you ever have real calamari? LOVED it!

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