10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #44)

 It's winter. I mostly want hot things and/or vegetables, and my sweet breakfasts tend to be more heavily spiced. Here is an assortment of my latest breakfast adventures.

1. Carrot-Tomato-Spinach Toast (Soy Free, Nut Free)

I had this recipe for carrot toast from Elissa Goodman on my list of things to try for absolute ages, and now that it is cold and I want every excuse to turn on my oven, roasting carrots and garlic sounded like a good idea! Plus it went well with my new commitment to tray more "meal prep" and not just leftovers, because one can prep the spread ahead of time. I cut the recipe in half and I didn't find that the spread needed any extra olive oil other than what was involved in the roasting, but I otherwise made it as written. I was pleasantly surprised that my carrot spread turned out so vibrant, given the less-saturated appearance in the original recipe. 

There are chickpeas in this, but not enough to count as hummus. It is very carrot-forward in the absolute best way that only roasting could really bring out. I would happily make it again.

For this toast, I added sliced tomato, shredded baby spinach, and some flaky salt and fresh ground pepper. This was perfect with a hot creamy drink on a cold morning. If you missed my hot drinks compilation, here are some ideas to try--or just look below for another idea.

2. Salted "Honey" & Walnut Milk Latte (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

If you have access to walnut milk, this is a really nice way to have it. The basic recipe is on the California Walnuts website, but I made some alterations. First, instead of espresso, I used 1/4 cup of double-strength Cafix. Then, I subbed rice nectar for honey. I also used my immersion blender to froth my walnut milk after heating it on the stovetop, because like most normal people I don't own a milk steamer. And it was great! I liked the salty-sweet flavor, and it went really well with the richness of walnuts.

3. German Chocolate Pancakes

I found this recipe at Go Dairy Free and of course I had to try it, because I absolutely love German chocolate cake and the idea of eating it for breakfast is super appealing. These are small pancakes because they're so calorie-dense, but that means it's a great recipe for when I have very little appetite. The only drawback to them is that they had a tendency to stick to the pan, but if you cook them at a lower heat, slowly, patiently, that will be less of a problem. Putting coconut and pecans in the batter as well as in the topping filled them with interesting textures.

4. Molasses Almond Butter Energy Bites (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

This recipe is from Sweet Poppy Seed. If you like gingerbread, you'll probably like these; I chose this because I really love gingerbread flavors. This is full of good stuff and will last a few weeks in the fridge, unless you eat them all first. I cut the recipe in half, so I could get through them in two weeks, because these are pretty filling. There are three pictured here for aesthetics; however, generally I just had one with something else, i.e., toast and soy milk, or fruit salad and a latte.

5. Pecan Persimmon Oatmeal (Gluten Free)

When I was given some local persimmons, I seized the opportunity for a seasonal late fall/early winter breakfast with this recipe from Vegan Yack Attack. I probably should have reserved some persimmons and pecans as a garnish, but didn't; I'm not always the best food blogger early in the morning! This was lovely, though. I made it with soy milk but you could make it with any plant-based milk that you liked. It was just sweet enough without being too sweet, and had that wonderful, warming, sticks-with-you quality that makes oatmeal a perfect choice in cold weather.

6. Mashed Sweet Potato Bowl with Apple Cranberry Sauce and Granola (Gluten Free)

For this pretty, seasonal dish, I started with putting some sweet potatoes in my slow cooker the night before. In the morning, I made apple cranberry sauce from this recipe at Culinary Hill. While it simmered, I mashed the sweet potatoes with soy milk, almond butter, flax, vanilla, and a bit of salt, guided roughly by this recipe from From My Bowl. When everything was ready, I put a base of mashed sweet potato in a bowl, then topped it with the cranberry sauce and some ancient grain granola. This is a perfect winter breakfast, in my opinion--warm, sweet, soothing, and with a good mix of veggies, fruit, grains, and proteins (from the soy milk, almond butter, and flax). If you need to avoid nuts, this would also be great with pumpkin seed butter; if you need to avoid soy, swap in another plant-based milk.

7. Baked White Chocolate Macadamia Oats with Chickpeas (Gluten Free)

I'd seen a few recipes for baked blended oats, but this was my first experience making some of my own. This recipe from Justine Doiron intrigued me because it added chickpeas to the batter. It definitely doesn't taste like beans! This is cake for breakfast. I cut the recipe in half and got two servings from it, perfect warm with a glass of soy milk or hot cocoa in the morning.

8. Raspberry Beet and Lemon Smoothie (Gluten Free)

I am always looking for new ways to have veggies for breakfast, so this recipe from Dietitian Debbie was perfect. I left out the cashews and cut the recipe in half because I was having this with a few other things, and it was delicious--I would definitely have this again on warmer winter mornings!

9. Lemon Cranberry Muffins (Nut Free)

If you like orange with cranberry, why not its citrusy cousin, lemon? These moist, fluffy muffins came from the recipe at Susan Cooks Vegan. I woke up on a morning when it was single-digits Fahrenheit and it was definitely time for baking. I cut the recipe in half and got 7 muffins out of that instead of the predicted six. I also used unsweetened soy milk instead of oat. I otherwise made the recipe exactly as written. I had a veggie sausage patty with my muffins for a boost of protein to go with my tea, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable morning.

10. Ham & Grits (Nut Free)

This is easy enough to veganize, and also really satisfying when you want something hot and savory. Make your grits using 3 parts water to 1 part soy milk according to package directions (for me, that meant 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk, and 1/4 cup grits), plus a generous pinch of salt. When the grits are done cooking, stir in a few teaspoons vegan butter. Meanwhile, warm up some vegan ham (this is sliced Tofurky ham roast) and chop it up into bite-sized pieces. When ready to serve, put the grits in a bowl and top with ham. Add scallions if you want to get a bit fancier.

What would you try first out of this list?