10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #22)

Sometimes, I'm surprised by what I haven't included in this series! There are some classic things here alongside the more inventive things. I had all these meals before I went into the sad place, but some of the photos had to wait a long time for editing and the write up. So here we are, for my absolute favorite thing to post here these days: breakfast, in ten new ways.

1. Banana Nut Muffins

I've found the Minimalist Baker super reliable in her recipes--I've yet to have a fail from her blog. I doubled her recipe for these banana nut muffins and they did not disappoint! They rose beautifully and I loved having the walnuts sprinkled on top instead of hidden away in the batter. I also enjoy how she uses ramekins as muffin cups--somehow they're so elegant that way. I often put margarine on my muffins, but true to the original recipe's promise, these didn't need anything. A muffin plus a glass of soy milk was a perfect breakfast for several days in a row. I never got tired of them.

2. Orange Creamsicle Chia Pudding (Gluten Free)

Chia pudding always looks a bit dingy, especially because I always blend mine up, even though I use "white" chia seeds rather than black. (It requires less prep work and also avoids textures I don't deal with easily.) But don't let that dissuade you from trying them out (I did, for far too long). This one is from the recipe at Create Mindfully. I topped my little pudding cup with mandarin segments, but you could do sliced oranges if you have them. Coconut whipped topping would be great here, too. I will eat anything Creamsicle-flavored, so this was a no-brainer for me. It was, however, on the lighter side, so I had it with idea #3.

3. Strawberry Avocado English Muffins

Most avocado toasts are savory, but they don't have to be. Avocado is a fruit, after all. So I decided to explore that with this avocado-strawberry combination. It is probably not my go-to--for that, I'd want tomatoes with my avocado--but it was tasty and different.

4. Chocolate Quinoa Breakfast Bowls with Pears (Gluten Free)

I saw this recipe at Forks over Knives a while ago and finally got around to making it. There are two ways you can eat it: Warm, like this, with milk poured over and the pears on top, or you can stir in the milk and chill it for later and then top it with the pears. I found that with it warm the pears seem like they don't really belong, but it was fine to eat them on their own and then eat the porridge. The flavor is like dark chocolate, but it's not very sweet. I topped mine with a bit of maple syrup in the end, and it worked out really well. If I make this again, I'd poach the pears--I think that would be the chef's kiss here.

5. Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (Gluten Free)

If you have been reading along during this pandemic you know that I've been on a seemingly endless quest to use up bananas. I have either all the bananas, or no bananas. In the situation that led me to make this wonderful recipe from Rachl Mansfield's blog, I had ordered 1 bunch of bananas and the store delivered a bunch, all right--eleven bananas! So after I'd eaten my daily banana until they got too spotty to want to eat them that way, I mashed up three of them to make this cake/bread. This is really more or less a baked oatmeal, since it uses a combination of oat flour and oats for the grains, and since it's packed with all sorts of goodness--bananas, carrots, walnuts, oatmeal, flax seeds--I think it's absolutely legitimate to have it for breakfast. Cut a slice to have with a glass of soy milk and a cup of herbal tea and you'll be raring to start your day (or at least I was). It's a dense but delicious loaf. Don't leave off the frosting, though! That's what truly takes it to the next glorious level.

6. Vanilla Mandarin Smoothie (Gluten Free)

I find it hard to photograph smoothies, so maybe you have to take my word for it: This is delicious! My recipe also involves some soy yogurt so this is a more substantial breakfast than if it were just fruit. I'd still recommend pairing it with some toast, maybe spread with some nut butter, but I'd also be perfectly content with this on a day my appetite is gone without feeling I needed to push myself to eat more.

7. Cantaloupe Breakfast Bowl (Gluten Free)

Cantaloupe doesn't get that much love these days. My mother often served us cantaloupe for breakfast when I was growing up--just cantaloupe and salt with a glass of milk and maybe some toast--and I generally prefer to salt my melons. But I'd seen so many pretty cantaloupe breakfast bowls I thought I'd try one! It's pretty straightforward: Cut a cantaloupe in half, scoop out the seeds, and fill the hollow with soy yogurt and some toppings. The toppings I used were hemp seeds, chia seeds, and chopped strawberries. I found that I ended up eating the yogurt part first and then having my salted melon as usual, but this was still fun and if you were wanting to impress someone at breakfast without much effort this would be a good way to do it!

8. Chocolate Banana Pancakes with Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Bananas! So many bananas! And here's yet another way they became breakfast. The recipe (for both pancakes and syrup) is from Elephantastic Vegan and is not a sugar bomb or anything; in fact, if you're cutting down on refined sugars, this could work well for you because it doesn't have anything but bananas and maple syrup for sweetness. I had to thin my chocolate syrup with some soy milk and added a bit more soy milk to the batter because mine ended up really thick but otherwise made the recipe as written. This is a seemingly decadent breakfast that's actually pretty reasonable.  As with most sweet things, I had it with a glass of soy milk for an extra boost of protein.

9. Mung Bean-Aquafaba Quiche Cups (Gluten Free)

On my continuing quest to use my aquafaba rather than pouring its goodness down the drain, I found this recipe at Damn Tasty Vegan. I already knew that mung beans, soaked and blended up with liquid and seasonings, are an excellent egg substitute. So I made this recipe, although it was written in a somewhat confusing way--it made it seem, at first, as if you were blending up the vegan cheese with the beans, but I don't think that was the intent. Also, I used twice as much cheese as called for, with half in the middle and half on top. The veggies stayed on the bottom so next time I might try pouring a bit of "egg" mix, adding veggies and cheese, and then topping it with more "egg," but it didn't really matter because it was delicious anyway. A slice of toast with margarine rounded out my meal, but if you're avoiding gluten do be aware that you'll need gluten-free bread to keep the whole breakfast gluten free (my bread was not gluten free). This was a great way to use up some aquafaba.

10. Strawberry Cheesecake Oatmeal (Gluten Free)

This recipe from A Duck's Oven was pretty easy for me to veganize. My cream cheese drizzle wasn't as thick or pretty as the original when I used Daiya cream cheese and almond milk, but it still tasted great. I recommend making the oatmeal itself a bit more exciting than cooking in just water--use non-dairy milk and oatmeal will taste a lot better. Although my stash of Bee Free is almost gone, that's what I used for honey here, though I hope to have some other options to report on for you soon.