10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #52)

Some interesting things happened while I was making my way through this compilation. I was distracting myself from the heat by getting all the good produce, and then I was hunkering down and avoiding the store due to clouds of noxious smoke wafting over me from Canada. So this is an interesting combination!

1. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Smoothie (Gluten Free, Soy Free Option)

Most smoothies are quick, easy things with frozen fruit and some liquids, maybe some seasonings. This recipe from Blissful Basil requires advance planning. But you'll want to do it! Because it is delicious. I used soy milk but the original recipe uses almond, so I've called this soy free optional. The thing that sets this apart, aside from the rhubarb and strawberries cooked down and cooled, is the raw cashew "crust" topping. I don't know when I was more impressed with what some basic ingredients turned into. It gives the smoothie a bit of texture and a salty-sweet burst here and there.

2. Spiced Farina with Roasted Apricots and Pistachios

This was the year that fresh apricots really seduced me. So when I saw this recipe at Nutmeg Nanny, I knew I had to make a version of it for myself. In this case, I didn't have whole wheat farina (I honestly didn't know that was a thing but now I'm dying to try it!), so I used regular old boring white farina, cooked in soy milk as per my usual method. However, I did add the spices and brown sugar to the cooking liquid. For the roasted apricots (made in my toaster oven; I'm not going to have my oven on to heat up my apartment on a June morning), I substituted vegan honey for the bee kind and sprinkled the apricots with dried thyme rather than mixing them with a fresh sprig. This is so good! I found that I enjoyed it the most when I added a pat of vegan butter and sprinkled the farina with some salt, but that's no surprise, since that's how I usually eat farina.

3. Triple Berry Blended Overnight Oats (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

For this breakfast, I was inspired by this recipe, which I veganized with soy milk, non-dairy Greek yogurt, and agave. I blended the oats in the blender rather than just mixing them up in a bowl, and the berries I had were blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries (rather than strawberries). It was a nice, not-too-sweet kind of breakfast pudding, and I topped it with more berries and yogurt, granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and bit more agave (I think the extra agave isn't pictured here, though). This was great to have on a warm morning.

4. Toast with Basil Pea Spread and Tomatoes (Soy Free)

After having made the basil green pea spread from the Forks Over Knives PLT recipe, I immediately thought what a great breakfast toast it would make. This is simple--just spread the mixture over whole grain toast, top with tomato slices, and season with flaky salt and fresh ground pepper--but also a great breakfast component in the spring. Especially when you're hiding from clouds of noxious smoke and avoiding the store as a result.

5. Sunshine Clementine Smoothie Bowl with Blueberries, Granola, and Seeds (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free Option)

Although I handled the whole smoke thing relatively well, I think, during some of the worst times I did get some inflammatory responses from my body, so I wanted to try to calm that down. (I am most assuredly not a medical doctor, so this is not medical advice. Just telling you what I did for me, based on what I have learned about how to handle myself and in conversation with my own medical team.) This recipe for a sunshine clementine smoothie bowl sounded great, between the boost of potassium from the fruits and the anti-inflammatory effects of turmeric. Plus, I figured it would taste good, which is actually of primary concern! I made this with soy milk and agave, but you could easily make it with any plant milk and either leave out the agave or have vegan honey (which is scarce these days, at least around me). It was very sweet, so it probably didn't need the agave, but I enjoyed it! I topped my smoothie bowl with granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and a handful of fresh blueberries (leftover from a work event). I felt I needed more protein, so I added some toast with pea spread to this breakfast, and it was the perfect start to my day. Whether the placebo effect, clearing smoke, or actual medicinal impact made it happen, I felt a lot better on the day I ate this.

6. Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp (Soy Free, Nut Free)

I had a little bit of rhubarb and some blueberries, so this seemed like a plausible toaster oven special. I found an easily veganizable recipe at Lemon Tree Dwelling and adjusted the quantities to fit what I had (basically, I made a 1/4 batch, which yielded two servings). Usually, people combine strawberries or possibly raspberries with rhubarb, because the colors match well, but with blueberries, rhubarb becomes a sort of deep magenta that is every bit as lovely. More importantly, this was delicious! I made a peanut butter and banana smoothie to go with it to round out my meal, because I had no non-dairy yogurt on hand (usually my favorite thing to have with a breakfast fruit crisp). It was very satisfying.

7. Chocolate Hazelnut Oatmeal with Strawberries, Bananas, and Hemp Seeds (Gluten Free)

As I slowly eat my way through several jars of nut and seed butters purchased in the midst of anxieties about food scarcity, I had an idea for how I could use some Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter: oatmeal! I based my morning porridge on an almond butter oats recipe at Choosing Chia, just swapping out the nut butter and making it with soy milk. I then topped my chocolatey porridge with halved strawberries, sliced banana, some "supersized" chocolate chips, and hemp seeds. This was a decadent meal on a slightly chilly June morning!

8. Breakfast Tomato Chickpea Flour Omelet Rings (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

If you're tried of fruity breakfasts (I'm not, but...), here's a summery one that is just as much fun! The recipe for these cute tomato-chickpea flour rings is from ElaVegan. They are both fun to make and fun to eat, and if you're avoiding allergens, they're great for that, too. I had mine with some sauteed spinach, garlic mushrooms, veggie sausages, and a hash brown patty, but I was in the mood to spend too much time on things. You could easily have these on their own or just with a slice of toast.

9. Strawberry Quinoa Breakfast Bowl (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

I had some leftover quinoa, but that's no problem--that very often can be a great basis for breakfast! I decided to make this strawberry quinoa breakfast bowl from Simply Quinoa with my leftover quinoa (how many times can I say quinoa?). I was intrigued because of the homemade strawberry hemp milk--which was, indeed, delicious, as well as pretty. It would have been prettier if I put the milk in before I added toppings, but hey, there you are. I used kiwi instead of blueberries because that's what I had, and it's a classic combination. This was a great way to begin a morning.

10. Waffle Bowl with Soy Yogurt and Peaches with Balsamic Cherries (Nut Free)

To jazz up some basic waffles I made from a mix, I put wedges of waffle in a bowl with soy yogurt and some of these peaches with balsamic cherries from the Food Network recipe. Everything worked so well here! The balsamic cherries cook down and make a really wonderful syrup, which coats the peaches in their deep red goodness. The fruit is perfect with waffles, and the soy yogurt added some protein as well as creamy sweetness.

Here's hoping for a less smoky summer...good thoughts to all of you!