Opinion 20+ plant-based seafood products you can buy in Australia

Dip your toe into the ocean of plant-based seafood products with these delicious vegan fish fillets, calamari rings, prawns, smoked salmon, scallops, and more.

Whether you’re food shopping for date night, Christmas dinner, or a beach-side summer BBQ, there’s an innovative plant-based version of just about every seafood classic you can think of these days – making it easier than ever for us to enjoy all the same ocean-inspired flavours we love, without any of the fishy business.

Online retailers like The Vegan Grocery Store and Lamyong stock the biggest variety of vegan seafood products by far, but you can find a growing range in major Aussie supermarkets and at Asian grocers, too!

With so many to choose from, let’s dive into our favourite ocean-inspired vegan products and where to buy them.

Shrimp & Prawns

Some are crumbed, some aren’t – but the one thing these plant-based shrimp and prawns all have in common is that they’re begging to be chucked on the barbie! 

• Lamyong Prawns (Lamyong, The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Vish Plant-Based Prawns (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Vish Lemon Crumbed Prawns (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Vmas Vegan King Prawns (Lamyong)

Whole Fish & Fish Fillets

Prepare these vegan fish pieces in the same way you would actual fish fillets. They’re great as the centrepiece of a meal, but work equally well in fish curries, fish pies, or just about anything else you can put the word ‘fish’ in front of.

• Vish Fish-Free Fillets (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Lamyong Vegan Whole Fish (Lamyong, The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Lamyong Frozen Chunky Fish (Lamyong, The Vegan Grocery Store)

Crumbed & Battered Fish

Vegan fish and chips, anyone? These crispy, golden fish fillets are the perfect start to a cosy, low-effort comfort meal. 

• Plantitude Fish Free Battered Lemon Pepper Fillets (Woolworths)
• Vish Lemon Crumbed Fish-Free Fillets (The Vegan Grocery Store)

Plant-Based Tuna

Up your plant-based sushi game – or your tuna melts – with this fish-free tuna alternative. Just like actual tuna, it can be eaten raw, or you can gently scorch it for a smoky, buttery flavour.  

• Vish Tuna-Free Sashimi (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Future Farm Future Tvna (Vegan Perfection)

Plant-based Salmon

You can make the most divine lox and schmear by using marinated tomatoes as the ‘salmon’ – or you can buy one of these premade options! The salmon-free sashimi is also a great filling for sushi rolls. 

• Vish Salmon-Free Sashimi (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• UpRoot Food Vegan Smoked Salmon (The Vegan Grocery Store)

Crab Meat

From linguine to crab rolls, or even crab cakes – anything is possible when you get creative with these melt-in-your mouth plant-based crab pieces. 

• Lamyong Vegan Crab Meat (Lamyong)

Caviar

Told you there was a plant-based version of everything sea-related! (It’s just a fun thematic bonus that these vegan caviars happen to sound like ships from Pirates of the Caribbean 🏴‍☠️)

• Viking Platter Black Pearl Seaweed Caviar (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Viking Platter Red Pearl Seaweed Caviar (The Vegan Grocery Store)

Scallops

Who knew marinated mushrooms were such a delicious stand-in for scallops? These convenient canned vegan scallops are ready to cook as is, or you can batter them first for that extra crunch. 

• Nature’s Charm Vegan Scallops (The Vegan Grocery Store)

Calamari

If making your own from scratch sounds a little too high-effort today, these plant-based calamari products can go straight from the bag to the frying pan – and they nail that satisfying chewiness and savoury flavour of actual calamari!

• Lamyong Vegan Calamari (Lamyong, The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Nature’s Charm Vegan Calamari (The Vegan Grocery Store, Vegan Perfection)

Fish Sauce, Oyster Sauce & Tartare

The trifecta of seafood-inspired sauces! These are must-haves in your plant-based pantry.

• Niulife Cocomino Vegan Fysh Sauce (Woolworths)
• Red Lotus Vegan Fish Sauce (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Ayam Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Coles, Woolworths)
• Vessimix Vegan Oyster Sauce (The Vegan Grocery Store)
• Masterfoods Traditional Tartare Sauce (The Vegan Grocery Store, Woolworths)

Shrimp Paste

All the umami richness of shrimp paste, but 100% made from plants. Substitute this paste 1:1 in any recipe that calls for the shrimpy stuff – pad Thai, curry, fried rice, you name it!

• Red Lotus Shrimp Paste (The Vegan Grocery Store) 

No fish were hooked in the making of these products – but they taste so good that you just might be 😉

For even more options, try fishing around in the freezer sections of any health food stores and Asian grocers you have nearby. They’re often stocked with some real gems! And to find out which online stores deliver vegan products to your area, check out our Australian directory.

If you prefer to cook more whole-food based meals – without using store-bought alternatives – it’s also super fun (and often very easy) to make your own plant-based seafood at home!

Check out these easy ocean-inspired recipes that make innovative use of ingredients like tofu, oyster mushrooms, seaweed, banana blossom, jackfruit, hearts of palm, artichokes, and even watermelon to cleverly recreate the flavours and textures of traditional seafood dishes. 

Plant-based seafood is sustainable, sea-friendly & delicious 

With awareness growing about the urgent need to protect our marine ecosystems and the remarkable animals who call them home, the world is seeing a wave of enthusiasm for these tasty, ocean-friendly alternatives to seafood. 

And the food landscape is evolving rapidly in response, with more and more options appearing in stores, on menus, and on recipe sites (😏) every year.

It just goes to show how a seemingly small choice like trying a plant-based seafood alternative can add up into a tidal wave of change for the planet.

Keen to discover more plant-based ‘meat’ options? Check out our top product recommendations for plant-based chicken and pork – there’s a huge range to explore in major Aussie supermarkets!

Header image: © @thegreengambit