10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #34)

Spring is coming. Can you feel it? I'm still trying to feel it. I think that's why I went in a savory direction far more often than usual. Sweet things are still here, but just not so many. When there isn't that much fresh seasonal fruit around, I gravitate toward the not-so-sweet breakfasts, I think. So if you're a savory breakfast fan, this is for you! Depending on how we categorize my sweet-savory toast, either six or seven of these ten ideas are savory. It's the opposite of what you usually see from me.

1. Cauliflower Scramble (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free Option)

Cauliflower is super versatile. If you can't have soy and you're tried of scrambling chickpeas, try giving scrambled cauliflower a whirl. I roughly followed this recipe, which does call for soy sauce but you can use coconut aminos or even water and a pinch of salt instead--it's very flavorful as it is! I mostly used water because to me it was already kind of salty. 

Cauliflower is, however, quite low in calories, so you'll want to round out your meal if you choose this. If you want it to be allergy friendly, you can do as I did and put together a plate of other allergy friendly goodies: a homemade hash brown patty, a pea protein-based sausage, and sliced avocado and tomato. No deprivation here and I calculated my plate to have 15 grams of protein.

2. Loaded Crumpet Sandwich with Tofu, Avocado, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

This is a nice sandwich on a day you want something warm and savory: Crumpets, a bit of margarine, mushrooms, non-dairy cheese (Wegmans non-dairy smoked Provolone here), an eggy tofu patty (here's a recipe I like), tomatoes, and avocado. If you can't get avocadoes, you can leave it off in favor of some lettuce and margarine. No, it isn't the same, but it'll still taste good! Either way, be sure to add some black salt for maximum eggy flavor.

3. Mushroom, Pepper, and Onion Sauté (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

I love mushrooms, peppers, and onions with my savory breakfasts, though I would usually mix them with a scramble or a hash. Why not let them be their own thing? Just cook onions and peppers in a cooking fat of your choosing, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. When they've softened, add sliced mushrooms and a bit more salt and pepper and keep cooking until it's done to your liking. I like this alongside some sort of starch (here, a hash brown patty with ketchup), a protein (here, a veggie sausage patty), and some sort of source of vitamin C (here, tomatoes). Although my veggie sauté is top 8 allergen free, this whole breakfast is not, because the hash brown patty contains soy. But this would be so easy to make more allergy friendly by just substituting a different kind of breakfast potato, like the homemade hash browns I made to go with my cauliflower scramble.

4. Candied Ginger Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

I'd been meaning to make these all winter, and this was my last chance (at least, it was if I was going to have them in winter). The recipe (from Full of Plants) is actually for a quick bread, but I made it into muffins because I find them easier to freeze and they're generally more portable. They used a lot of things I had around, and I like to try gluten free recipes sometimes to be sure I have some in my arsenal to share with the gluten-avoidant. They're really good! The candied ginger adds that extra something, while the oats, almond flour, and pumpkin make this definitely suitable for a breakfast component. I had these for a few days with smoothies to round out the meals and enjoyed each breakfast thoroughly.

5. Cranberry-Banana Smoothie Bowl (Gluten Free)

Still in the mood for wintery flavors as the world around was warming up, I decided it was a good time to take advantage of the freezer stocks and make a cranberry-banana smoothie bowl. I was inspired by this omnivore recipe, though I made it vegan, added some soy milk, put it a bit of rice nectar instead of honey, and substituted a non-dairy yogurt. It didn't need as much sweetener as suggested, because my yogurt was slightly sweetened and the banana was pretty sweet. I just used a teaspoon for one serving.

But a smoothie bowl is really all about the toppings, and this one is no exception: Cinnamon granola, banana slices, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and a drizzle of almond butter rounded out my meal. Though I needed a hot cup of tea to go with it to prevent giving myself brain freeze, I really loved having this in the morning.

6. Mexican Style Tofu Scramble (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

This was a recipe from Domestic Gothess. I used some chipotle chili powder rather than paste and cut the recipe in half, but mostly followed it as written. It was a way for me to use up half a can of kidney beans, but also a delightful, high protein breakfast. I had it with a slice of buttered (margarined?) toast, but it would also make a wonderful breakfast burrito or some breakfast tacos. I mostly used the leftovers as burritos for lunch with some Tofutti sour cream and a sprinkle of non-dairy cheese and they were fantastic, too. I flagged this as gluten free because the scramble is, but my toast is not; I'd recommend having this with breakfast potatoes if you need to avoid gluten.

7. Toast Hawaii (Nut Free)

Like many things with "Hawaii" in the name, this toast originated far from a tropical island. This is Germany's answer to Hawaiian pizza: Toast Hawaii. Buttered toast (margarine here) is topped with sliced ham (Tofurky here), a slice of pineapple, and a slice of cheese (Wegmans' non-dairy provolone here) and put under the broiler until the cheese has melted and browns a bit. (Non-dairy cheese doesn't necessarily brown, but I did get some browning here.) Then, if you want to be extra fancy, you'll put a maraschino cherry in the center of the pineapple slice after the cheese is melted on top. If you like Hawaiian pizza, you'll like this, too. They say it works better with canned pineapple but I used fresh and it was really delicious.

8. Greens, "Eggs," and Ham Farina (Nut Free)

I don't think I originated this idea; I saw it somewhere on an omnivore website. But I did veganize it! This was farina cooked in unsweetened plant milk and topped with some slightly wilted spinach, slices of leftover Tofurky ham roast, some JUST Egg cooked with a bit of onion and Daiya American cheese, and a pat of margarine. I cooked the JUST Egg, warmed the ham, and wilted the spinach all in one big skillet, then put the lid on it while I cooked the farina. This looks like it takes more work than it does; I would estimate that making this took about 15 minutes. It takes much longer to eat it! (At least for me it does. I tend to eat hot porridges extremely slowly.) This was a nice way to have a hot cereal on a day I definitely didn't want anything sweet.

9. Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

I had some apples that needed using (and also I haven't finished with my love affair with apples), so I tried out this recipe from Where You Get Your Protein. I made the apple topping, too, but not the coconut whip; I ended up putting some non-dairy yogurt on top instead when I ate my pancakes. I really liked this recipe! When I was growing up we sometimes made apple pancakes with finely chopped apples that still would have a little bit of a crunch to them when the pancakes were cooked, and those were good, but shredding the apples as this recipe directed infused the pancakes with more apple flavor in a subtler way. The apple topping, of course, brought out even more apple flavor.

10. Mushroom-Arugula Breakfast Quesadillas

You can make these breakfast quesadillas with or without a scramble tucked inside; they're great either way. Just sauté some finely chopped onions in vegan butter, then add sliced mushrooms and cook until they're done to your liking. Remove from the skillet and add a bit more vegan butter. Put a tortilla down in the pan and fill one half with the mushroom mixture, arugula, some scramble if using (I used JUST Egg here), and a sprinkle of non-dairy cheese. Cook until the tortilla is nicely toasted and the cheese is melted. You'll get some greens in a delicious way that takes very little time to prepare!

Is it spring yet where you are? Do your breakfasts change with the seasons?