Breakfast is the hardest plant based meal to get right. Most restaurants have plenty vegan or plant based options for lunch and dinners and if they don’t, they are usually more than happy to whip something up for you. But breakfast, yea right. They have no idea what to do there.
When my husband turned vegan cold-turkey in 2016, we had to stop going out for breakfast, which is my favourite meal of the day because there was nothing for him to eat aside from toast and maybe fruit. Some places would offer oatmeal with soy milk but that was really it and it got boring. Thankfully, I’ve got quite a few plant based breakfasts up my sleeve.
And here’s my favourite – Tofu Scramble with Breakfast Potatoes, Veggie Sausage and Avocado. I tend to make this on a Sunday morning since it’s a lot going on. It will take you no more than 30 minutes, but since there are multiple components, it’s not a breakfast I would make on a weekday morning. Let’s do it!
Tofu Scramble with Breakfast Potatoes, Veggie Sausages & Avocado
Serves three to four
Ingredients
½ a block of extra firm tofu
½ bell pepper, diced
½ onion, diced
One big handful spinach, chopped
½ teaspoon spices: onion power, turmeric, curry powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Two to three tablespoons coconut oil
One large potato, diced
One clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Six to eight veggie sausages (I used Field Roast)
One avocado, sliced
Method
1) Wrap tofu in a couple pieces of paper towel and top with something heavy to press out the liquid, such as a cast iron skillet. Let sit for 20 minutes to dry out.
2) Heat a skillet to medium and when hot, add two tablespoons of oil. Then add potatoes in one even layer.
3) Leave the potatoes to cook. Don’t flip until the bottoms are brown and the tops look like they soften, about ten minutes.
4) In the meantime, heat the remaining oil in another skillet and sauté the onions and peppers. Season with salt.
5) Once the peppers and onions are soft after about five minutes, remove half from the pan and set aside.
6) By now the potatoes should be ready to flip. Once flipped, season with salt.
7) Check the tofu as it should be ready to cook. Absorb the excess moisture with dry paper towel and crumble into the pan with onions and peppers by hand.
8) Add your spices and nutritional yeast to the pan and sauté the tofu for five minutes.
9) While the tofu is cooking, add the onions and peppers to the potatoes and stir around. When the potatoes are just about done, move them over and add the sausages to the same pan.
10) When the tofu is almost done, add the spinach and cook with the tofu until wilted. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add a splash of water to the pan if the mixture looks dry.
11) Cook the sausages until golden brown on both sides.
12) Check the potatoes to see if they are cooked through. Once they are soft, add the minced garlic and stir around quickly so that it doesn’t burn.
13) Taste the potatoes and add more salt, if needed and pepper.
14) Now it’s time to plate. Put even portions of the tofu scramble, potatoes and sausages on plates.
15) Add sliced avocado and hot sauce if you wish. Enjoy!