10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas

Usually, I show you what I eat for lunch, but in honor of VeganMoFo, today I thought I'd show you some of what I have for breakfast. After all, you usually see less than 20% of my meals, but I'm vegan all the time. Breakfast is probably the easiest vegan meal for non-vegans to eat without feeling something is missing, but that doesn't mean you have to eat oatmeal with fruit every day. Here are a few things you may or may not have thought of. Let me know if you have more suggestions!

1. Carrot lox mini bagels

Though a lot of prepared bread products have dairy in them, bagels are usually (not always) dairy free. I put some Daiya cream cheese, red onion, capers, and carrot lox on toasted bagels and they are so good I took a bite before I remembered to take a photo! If you like smoked salmon, you will probably like carrot lox. I have also had people who don't like smoked salmon try carrot lox and say they love it.

2. Avocado English muffins

I know you've heard of avocado toast--it's what supposedly keeps my generation from buying houses--but honestly your average pair of English muffin halves spread with mashed avocado and topped with tomato slices and some salt and pepper will run you about 75 cents if you get a good price for avocado (and so will most breakfasts with adequate nutrition, honestly). English muffins are not always vegan, but you can usually find a dairy-free brand, which is usually either the cheapest or the most expensive one a store offers. (Go figure.)

3. Iced lemon poppy seed loaf

I used the It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken recipe for this lemon poppy seed loaf. It doesn't need eggs because it rises via chemical reaction between baking soda and lemon juice. Sure, it's a bit like having cake for breakfast, but it uses whole wheat flour, and poppy seeds are rich in mineral content, so it's not really cake for breakfast. At least that's what I tell myself.

4. Broccoli-mushroom quiche

For days you want something with more protein, try quiche. Wait, you're saying, I thought this was a vegan list? It is! Tofu makes a great quiche, like this single serve one I had with fried potatoes, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. And if you don't want a crust, just leave it off and call it a frittata. Here's my recipe.

5. Banana pancakes

For lazy weekends at home, pancakes with maple syrup really hit the spot. I used this recipe from Candice Hutchings over at the Edgy Veg, but pancakes are easy to veganize. For hers, the key is in making a buttermilk substitute out of vinegar and soy milk. Add walnuts for a bit more protein and to complement the amino acids in the wheat flour.

6. Chocolate banana smoothie

I am not much of a smoothie person, but I do make them every now and then when I have an overripe banana and don't want to make banana bread. Smoothies are also good if you're in a hurry and can't really eat breakfast; they go down quickly. There is a super easy recipe on the back of the Almond Breeze chocolate almond milk, but curiously I can't find it on their website. I make it this way, though: 3/4 cup chocolate almond milk, 1 very ripe banana (chilled if you think of it), a tablespoon of slivered almonds, and half a tablespoon of ground flax seeds. Blend well.

7. Sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich

As much as I love whipping up food from scratch, there isn't always time for it. The good news is that with a Gardein breakfast sausage and a slice of Daiya cheddar on an English muffin, I have an easy and filling breakfast that also tastes amazing! I am not paid to tell you that, as commercial-like as that sounds. This would be even better on a biscuit, but I didn't have time to make them.

8. Blueberry muffin loaf

Sure, you can have blueberry muffins--but why not make life slightly easier on yourself and just make blueberry muffin loaf? The batter in the linked recipe will accommodate either, though, whether you want individual muffins or slices of loaf. I made it as mini loaves and split the difference. Growing up, a weekend treat was often blueberry muffins made from a mix, and they were purple because we never rinsed off the canned blueberries. This is definitely several steps above that, but my favorite way to eat it is still slathered with margarine. I added a cup of applesauce to round out the meal.

9. Boxty and veggie bacon

Boxty are Irish potato pancakes. They're a great use for leftover mashed potatoes; sort of a cross between the leftover mashed potato pancakes my mother used to make and latkes, they are made using a batter made from both mashed potatoes and raw shredded potatoes. The boxty you see above are roughly based on this recipe. but instead of greens and a mustard dressing I went a more traditional route: bacon (vegan, of course), with non-dairy sour cream and avocado on the side. (Well, the avocado isn't traditional, but it's nice.) A scallion garnish just makes it prettier.

10. Kale and pea spread on toasted English muffins 

I made this spread--which goes great on an English muffin with a side of vegan bacon--based on this recipe, but it was missing something. So I jazzed it up a little by tossing in some nutritional yeast. For the ratio to be right for the recipe as written, you'll need about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast. Just try it out and taste it. I have faith in you. You can figure it out, and you can always add more nutritional yeast, so if you're afraid of that much, start with less.