10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #37)

Spring eased into summer, and my food got sweeter as fruit became more and more appealing. It's been interesting to see how eating with the seasons inspires my tastes, too. Apparently, this was the season I wanted to eat all the cherries.

1. Vanilla Chai Pancakes with Coconut Yogurt and Mango Compote (Soy Free)

I found an intriguing vegan chai spiced pancake recipe at Short Girl Tall Order that I had to try because, well, cardamom. (I will make almost any recipe that has cardamom in it.) I topped it with some vanilla coconut yogurt (Oui non-dairy, in this case) and some homemade mango compote inspired by this recipe. It was really delicious! I hadn't had pancakes in far too long. I cut the recipe in half, but wished I hadn't; I ended up with just three small pancakes and thus, only one-and-a-half breakfasts out of the effort. But one lives and learns.

2. Cranberry Orange Smoothie Bowl (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

One warm spring morning--we don't often get warm spring mornings, and I kind of hate them because it means I'll have a hot spring afternoon--I was avoiding using any heat sources so I wouldn't warm up my apartment. But I had some cranberries and bananas in the freezer and I am really in love with smoothie bowls these days so I made this one from Short Girl Tall Order. I didn't have a blood orange so I used a Cara Cara orange, which is more pink than a naval orange, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. I then topped it with cinnamon granola, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, dried cranberries, banana stars, orange slices, and cashew butter. I'm not very good at making nut butter drizzles but I think this one turned out reasonably well. More importantly, this was amazing, easily in my top 5-ever smoothie bowls. The flavors of cranberry and orange go together anyway, as we already knew, but the cashew butter in the mix with the frozen bananas made it extra creamy. Maybe this was a little dose of winter in the spring, but the freezer doesn't know any different. I would either chop the dried cranberries finely or leave them out next time--they didn't seem to belong in the mix as they were--but otherwise this one gets a perfect score from me.

3. Creamy Steel Cut Oats with Cherries, Granola, Seeds, and Cashew Butter (Gluten Free)

I had fallen in love with cashew butter, plus I was super excited to see fresh cherries arrive at the market, so this of course meant I had to try this recipe from Supriya Raman Kitchen! Steel cut oats are new to me, but I really liked their chewy nuttiness in this breakfast bowl. My steel cut oats needed more liquid than the original recipe suggested (double!) so the oats actually ended up making two servings, which was fine because then I got to have this on two mornings. My toppings were slightly different than the original recipe, too: Cherries, cinnamon granola, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and cashew butter. I seem to be putting chia and hemp seeds on tons of stuff these days, but of course that would be optional. They just add a little bit more nutrients.

4. Almond Butter Breakfast Bowl (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

I veganized this idea from Caitey Jay's blog. It's basically the same as a smoothie bowl without the smoothie. I began with a base of Greek coconut yogurt, then sprinkled on a thin layer of granola. Atop that, we have almond butter, blueberries, banana slices, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and a strawberry. This is a good way to start a summer day alongside a cup of herbal tea.

5. Greek Yogurt and Raspberry-Rhubarb Chia Jam Toast

I had a bit more vanilla-flavored Greek soy yogurt in the fridge and the end of a batch of raspberry-rhubarb chia jam, so I put them on a slice of toast and garnished that with some banana slices. It is so good! Greek yogurt makes a wonderful spread for toast, and goes really well with chia jam. If you get something like soy-based yogurt, it's also going to have a pretty good boost of protein along with the chia jam (although I'm not a medical doctor, of course; this does not constitute medical advice).

6. Pineapple Upside Down Baked Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free Option)

This is a reminder that if you have not yet tried my pineapple upside down baked oatmeal, you really should! It's buttery and sweet, with the same topping we all love on a pineapple upside down cake, but it sits on top of a perfectly respectable square of baked oatmeal made with the goodness of plant milk and applesauce. It must be tasted to be believed. You'll be glad you got up in the morning if you have this to look forward to! (The idea got me out of bed, anyway.) For my purposes, I like to round out the meal with a grain coffee latte made with soy milk and some non-dairy yogurt. I think it would also be really good to have this alongside some breakfast sausages and a fruit salad. Do whatever makes sense to you!

7. Farina with Caramelized Cherry-Almond Topping

Despite their cost, fresh cherries always call to me. All the fly-by-night seasonal produce does. If carrots cost seven dollars for a pound I'd probably never eat them at all, and just watch them on the shelf, mocking me. But cherries aren't around for very long, so when they are, I scarf them up, guilt-free, so here they are again! This is a fun topping for a basic bowl of farina. I just cut down this recipe from The Creative Bite and added a bit of Earth Balance to make it rich and buttery. This is a full breakfast on its own for me, since I make the farina with soy milk to add more protein (although the almonds also have some of their own to contribute). All I needed with this was a mug of herbal tea.

8. Pumpkin Cheesecake English Muffins (Soy Free)

This was a lovely breakfast! I am going to say you could make it with pumpkin butter but I had some leftover pumpkin spread I'd made a while ago with canned pumpkin that was similar so that was what I used. I spread a toasted English muffin with Miyoko's cream cheese and pumpkin spread, then topped the toast with granola, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. I had this lovely crunchy, cheesecake-like muffin with fruit salad and a glass of soy milk to round out the breakfast.

9. Creamy Grits Bowl with Sausage and Braised Purple Cabbage and Apples (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

I had some leftover braised purple cabbage and apples (recipe from the New York Times), plus there were a couple of Jack & Annie's breakfast sausages in my freezer, so I had a bit of inspiration. I made some creamy grits (I just cooked them in unsweetened soy milk with a bit of salt to make them creamy) and topped them with the cabbage and sausage, then added a dash of black pepper. This was so satisfying! It would likely be prettier with something green, like a sprinkling of scallions, but I made this with what I had and I was happy with it.

10. Blended Cherry Chocolate Chia Pudding (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

This is a recipe from Create Mindfully. I just blended up all the pudding ingredients and set them in the fridge overnight, though, rather than starting with the soaking step, and it worked fine. That also gave me the chance to taste the mix, which I found bitter, so I added another tablespoon of maple syrup. This is really good! It had been a long time since I made chia pudding, but I should be making more--it's such a great make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings! I am still not an unblended chia pudding person whatsoever, but you can blend any chia pudding in my experience, whether it says to do it or not.