10 Vegan Breakfast Ideas (Compilation #67)

Breakfast time again? You bet, this time in pantry utilization mode. It's kind of a fun way to approach cooking, making new discoveries with what's already here.

1. Rye Mini Pancakes Bowl 

As I work to use what I have on hand, I confronted bag of rye flour in my freezer and found a recipe for rye pancakes that looked promising. I remembered loving rye pancakes with apple maple compote (see this previous compilation for that one), and some rye banana waffles I made long ago (in another compilation), so I figured these would be good; they were! I made them into mini pancakes so I could put them into a pancake bowl. The bowl has sliced bananas, some vegan vanilla yogurt (Siggi's, with the extra protein), the rye pancakes, and stewed berries (also from my freezer). It was absolutely perfect! Rye is a nice change of pace, with its earthy flavor that goes so well with fruit. I see more rye concoctions in my future.

2. Cranberry Persimmon Crumble (Gluten Free, Soy Free)

This is the most delightfully wintery fruit crumble I think I've ever had, and it was so good! I made this roughly based on a recipe I saw at FeedFeed. I cut the recipe in half and used a very ripe hichaya persimmon because that's what I had, and coconut oil rather than coconut butter because I have yet to ever acquire coconut butter. (Someday, it will happen, and I will let you know what I think.) The crumble is made from oats, oat flour, brown rice flour, and agave alongside the coconut oil and somehow it soaked up the fruit like a sponge, so that I ended up with something I have trouble describing but can only tell you was unimaginably good. To balance the meal, I had my crumble with some protein-packed non-dairy yogurt and a soy latte.

3. Pistachio Cream-Filled Banana Muffins 

A rather long time ago, I made some delicious "Nutella"-filled banana muffins from a recipe I found at Chocolate Covered Katie. When I first encountered pistachio cream, I thought how great it would be in a similar treatment. I cut the original recipe in half, but otherwise made it as written, using pistachio cream in place of chocolate hazelnut spread. It did not disappoint.

I don't often show you two photos of the same thing in this style of post, but this time, it was warranted. Just look at that gooey, sweet pistachio cream! How can you resist?

4. Avocado Maca Chocolate Mousse (Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free Option)

In a moment of irrationality, past me grabbed some maca powder because it was on sale. I've been exploring ways to have it as I am using things up. Although my favorite is a smoothie--it's a wonderful malt kind of flavor that way--there are other fun ways, too. One of them was this chocolate mousse (recipe from Naturya). I made this with soy milk, but you could use any plant milk if you're avoiding soy. This whips up thick and rich. Maca has the same kind of intensifying effect as coffee does, pushing the chocolate forward and making the fact that it's made with avocado completely recede from consciousness. I topped it with cacao nibs as suggested for an even deeper chocolate experience. To round out my meal, I had a soy latte, a fruit salad, and a muffin with this, but you could easily just have a bigger serving than this tiny pot, supplemented with whatever makes you feel best (I personally benefit from a protein boost, which is why I made a soy latte).

5. Homemade TVP Sausage Patties

Although it's easy to find vegan breakfast sausage patties--extraordinarily easy--it's also pretty easy to make your own, and cheaper. So if like me you sometimes can't be bothered to go to the store and you have discovered that your pantry is ridiculously overstocked, this recipe from Key Ingredient may come in handy. They are a little softer than the kind sold in the freezer section of your supermarket, but if you're a long-term vegan like me, you probably won't mind that. The mix combines TVP, whole wheat flour, and bran with seasonings, which you then pan-fry until done. It's kind of like late-20th century health food in that way (it felt that way when I was whipping them up, anyway!), but as good-for-you as those ingredients probably sound, it doesn't taste like the 20th century health food I remember. It just tastes like sausage. To round out my meal, I had a sausage patty with a hash brown patty and a cup of fruit. For you savory breakfast fans out there, I highly recommend this!

6. Whole Wheat Beet Waffles with Apple Cranberry Sauce (Soy Free Option)

My beet waffles, made from a recipe at the Natural Nurturer, did not show any evidence of the presence of beets, but I think that's because I used the precooked Love Beets, which aren't as vibrant. I made mine with soy milk, but you could use any plant milk. Because I still had some cranberries in my fridge headed south, I made an apple cranberry sauce to go with them. This was amazing! I rarely make waffles but I love how the little indentations hold onto a chunky sauce like this. It may sound a little off the wall, but when I had these, I also enjoyed having some homemade cashew sour cream and a soy latte to round out the proteins. The cashew sour cream gave it a tanginess like cream cheese would. But they're still delicious just with the fruity sauce.

7. Berry Baked Steel-Cut Oatmeal (Gluten Free, Soy Free Option)

Steel cut oats are daunting, because they take so much longer to cook than rolled oats, but the texture and flavor difference is starting to make me think it's worth it sometimes. This is one of those times. I found this recipe at Last Ingredient. I cut it in half and used soy milk rather than oat milk, but you could easily use oat milk if you're avoiding soy. I probably only made this because I had everything on hand and because I'm in my "pantry utilization" season, but I'm so glad that things aligned to make me bake this on a very cold morning! (We've been having some very cold mornings lately, around here.) It does take about an hour to get your breakfast this way, but sometimes that's okay (and most of that time is totally hands off). If you haven't had steel-cut oats, I think this would be a great introduction. It's the best way I have had them yet! I had my oats with a serving of my favorite non-dairy yogurt (one with a lot of protein) and a banana to round out the meal.

8. Apple Cranberry Orange Steel Cut Oatmeal (Gluten Free)

For the very end of cranberry season, I made apple cranberry sauce again. I found a recipe at Cookie and Kate for cranberry orange steel cut oats and followed that method for cooking the oats using soy milk and vegan butter. I then topped it off with some mixed nut and seed butter, the apple cranberry sauce, and chopped pecans. This was creamy and rich. I added a splash of soy milk when I was actually eating it to help it all come together (not pictured). I really enjoyed this, and it got me through a little more of my steel cut oats.

9. Guatemalan-Inspired Eggy Green Bean Fritters (Nut Free, Soy Free)

I first ran across this idea as tortitas de ejotes on an omnivore website. I wasn't in the mood to replicate whipped egg whites (although I think you could, with aquafaba), so I went looking for something similar to try. I read a few omnivore recipes and found this one the easiest to veganize. Because vegan cheese won't help hold things together in the same way as dairy cheese will, I doubled the batter, using JUST Egg instead of chicken eggs. These were absolutely delicious. I had them with some homemade veggie sausages for a perfect vegan breakfast.

10. Baked Tofu Hummus Sandwich (Nut Free)

Staring down the contents of my fridge, I came up with this sandwich using leftover baked tofu, some spicy hummus, spinach, cucumber, and whole grain seedy toast. It was really so much better than I could ever have imagined! 

Winter is the best, sometimes, isn't it? I think pantry utilization works best in winter, because I prefer avoiding shopping as much as possible anyway. Do you feel that way, like hibernating, or are you getting springtime energy?