10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #23)

This one may look a bit weird, since it's in that awkward transition from winter to spring. So there is wintery food and more spring-like food here. And something about this series of breakfasts is more beige than is typical for me, probably because I didn't realize as I was doing it how many non-colorful backdrops I used with non-colorful food. But they were all good breakfasts. As usual, they're mostly sweet, but I did include one savory one at the end for all of you savory breakfast fans out there.

1. Salted Caramel Smoothie Bowl (Gluten Free)

I've been experimenting with smoothie bowls a lot lately, though this is the only one you'll see in this post. I think the artistry of arranging the toppings is some sort of morning mediation for me. This one turned out sweeter than I intended, but it was delicious anyway! I mixed up two frozen bananas with about a tablespoon of homemade date caramel, 1/4 cup of soy milk, a tablespoon of maple syrup, a pinch of salt, about 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and some vanilla extract. The toppings were mini chocolate chips, chopped pumpkin seeds, sliced bananas, a maple pecan granola I had on hand, almond butter, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. I think this didn't need the maple syrup, but that's only because I don't eat as much sugar as past me did--past me would have needed it, so you might, too. This was also a great punch of potassium for me in the morning, which is something I've been trying to get more of.

2. Chia and Blueberry Yogurt Granola Parfait (Gluten Free)

This was meant to have an ombré effect, but it didn't quite go according to plan, I think because I used fresh berries. You can see what I was going for on this One Green Planet recipe, which may help you to see at least some hints of layering in my version. It is also lighter in color because I didn't have any blackberries, so I just used blueberries. Not having cute figs to use as a garnish, I added a dollop of coconut whipped topping. I think this became its own thing and I'll look forward to trying the original later on with all the right ingredients! But I did like combining a sort of instant chia pudding with a yogurt parfait.  Altogether this was much heavier than most of my breakfasts are, even with the 2021 goal of making breakfast more substantial, but I still managed to finish it, a testament to how nice it was to eat.

3. Gingerbread Pancakes with Warm Pear Sauce

This was a recipe I found at The Pretty Bee when I had some pears headed south (because let's face it, in spite of my efforts I'm still not great at getting myself to eat my pears). It may not look like much but these were just about the best pancakes I think I've ever eaten. They stayed relatively moist so they didn't even need syrup; just the liquid from cooking the pears was enough. That wonderful molasses-and-spice flavor of gingerbread definitely comes through. Although I genuinely like everything I show you in these compilations, there is a difference between a satisfying breakfast and one that makes you pause to savor every bite and feel sad that you've finished your pancakes when they're gone. This has to be in my top ten breakfasts ever. If you're following along with my get-more-protein-at-breakfast quest, meanwhile, I had soy milk to accompany my pancakes, and I'd recommend that, too.

4. Peach Smoothie (Gluten Free)

I've learned some things about smoothies since I've started making them so often. One is that spices are often the key to making something delicious. This peach smoothie (as I'm calling it), veganized from Well Plated's recipe using soy milk, vanilla soy yogurt, and a vegan honey substitute, would likely be a lot less dimensional without the ginger and cinnamon, but those additions make it amazing. I didn't add any ice because it really didn't need it in my opinion. With the soy milk and soy yogurt, this was probably substantial enough to meet my targets on its own for a low appetite day, but since I'm trying hard not to let my breakfasts go under about 350 calories, I also had some toast and almond butter with this.

5. Buttery Crumpets

On this side of the Atlantic, I had never encountered a crumpet, let alone a vegan one, but I recently found some and of course I had to try them! After toasting, they are wondrously crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. There seems to be some controversy over whether one is meant to eat them for breakfast or with tea in the afternoon, and I say we should play for both teams. I had mine with herbal tea, slices of Cara Cara orange, and some Field Roast breakfast sausages.

6. Farina with Blueberry Swirl

It may be a dream, but I think I had something like this as a child that came in microwaveable sachets with some sort of squeezy packet for the berry swirl. But this is so much better. I followed the recipe at Williams Sonoma, but scaled it down to serve one and used soy milk to cook my farina so I'd get the added nutrition. Pushing my berry puree through a sieve felt a bit extra, but I think it made for a great texture in the end. This was a wonderful hot breakfast for a chilly spring morning.

7. Orange Creamsicle Tofu Pudding (Gluten Free)

You may have figured out already that if there is a way to make something into a Creamsicle flavor, I will do it. So of course I had to make this recipe from Avocado Skillet. The coconut sugar gives it more of a caramel appearance than orange, so next time I'll make it with plain granulated sugar, but it definitely tasted nice and orangey. I topped it with a dollop of coconut whipped cream. 

8. Black Forest Oatmeal

I can't help it if I want chocolate for breakfast! Don't resist the urge; sometimes it can be pretty great. I'm pretty proud of my recipe for this black forest oatmeal.

9. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Waffles

I finally got a full sized waffle maker! It makes waffles somewhat too large for me to eat, but hey, that's life. These are the chocolate chip banana bread waffles from the Minimalist Baker. I tried having them with almond whipped topping, but of course it melted because I put it on there when it was still really hot. But honestly, who can mind that? If I had any bananas left for a garnish, of course I'd recommend that, and either a chocolate or peanut butter drizzle--or both!--for your more decadent waffle mornings.

10. Breakfast "Pigs" in a Blanket

There are several different options if you're looking for vegan breakfast sausage links out there (including making your own if you're brave), but Field Roast breakfast sausage works perfectly here so that's what I used. Just roll one in a triangle of crescent roll dough and bake as usual, giving them a few minutes more than crescent rolls without "pigs" in them. I enjoyed these with and without mustard.