Savory Vegan Breakfast

This satisfying savory vegan breakfast also makes a delicious dinner idea. It includes fluffy, gluten-free vegan savory pancakes with a hearty tofu and kale scramble. It’s so good that you’ll want to eat it all day!

I love a good oatmeal bowl in the A.M. but savory vegan breakfasts are such a satisfying alternative to the usual sweet options.

I’ve made this delicious combo countless times to the point where any leftovers became that night’s dinner (vegan brinner!). It’s so comforting and flavorful that my tastebuds really didn’t know the difference.

These fluffy pancakes are so addicting, super easy to make, and, best of all, gluten-free! They are paired with a delicious and equally simple tofu scramble with grape tomatoes and kale. Plus some avocado on the side because YUM! As an alternative to pancakes, you can try this Vegetable Hash.

This savory vegan breakfast is not only for vegans but even vegetarians would enjoy it. Tofu is high in protein, which helps keep you full throughout the morning, but much lower in cholesterol than eggs.

How to Make Tofu Scramble

1. Dice or crumble tofu, slice mushrooms, cut tomatoes in half and remove leaves from kale stalks.

2. Reheat the frying pan and add oil (the oil can be skipped if you’re using a non-stick pan). Add mushrooms and cook until browned. Next, add tofu with the seasonings. Stir until it starts to brown.

3. Add tomatoes and kale and cook for about another minute, adding salt and back pepper if needed. Remove from heat and serve with pancakes and some sliced avocado.

Tips for Tastier Tofu

The key to getting really flavorful tofu is seasoning generously. Sounds obvious right? But it’s true and I get asked about that so many times. 

My tip when getting started with tofu is to find a high-quality brand of a firm or extra-firm type. Then marry that with your favorite good quality all-purpose seasoning.

I’m not sponsored by them, but I love the stuff and have been using it for years. Choose a low-salt brand of seasoning if you’re concerned about sodium intake, but don’t skimp on the spices.

The problem with medium and soft tofu is that they have a much higher water content. This tends to dilute the flavor of your spice blend, resulting in bland-tasting tofu.

So I recommend sticking with the firm variety if you can or pressing the medium type to release some additional water. No fancy tofu press is needed (unless you’re tofu-obsessed).

Update July 2020: I’ve now started freezing tofu before cooking it. This drastically improves the texture even more and makes it even easier and quicker to press. For more details on freezing tofu, I went into detail in my Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich recipe post (Jump to: How to make tofu taste like chicken).

Homemade Tofu Press

Making a tofu press at home is easy. A neat trick is to take a clean, fuzz-free dish towel and fold it to the size of the tofu block. Then put the towel on a plate, put the tofu on top, then another towel, then a plate or small pan.

Next, add some weight to the plate or pan. I usually use a can or 2 of beans.

Leave this for about an hour or 2 (or overnight in the fridge for best results). If the towels get soaked quickly, simply remove them, wring them out then reassemble.

This is great if you plan your breakfast the night before, but if you’re not that kind of organized, then, again, get some firm tofu.

How to Make Gluten-free Savory Pancakes

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Separately combine liquid ingredients and gradually stir into dry ingredients. Mix until a smooth but thick cake-like batter is formed.

2. Heat a frying pan then add 1 tbsp oil. Pour in 3 tbsps batter for each pancake. Cook until brown on each side. Ensure the center is cooked through.

3. Use more oil if needed and cook the remaining pancake batter. You should get about 5-6 mini pancakes.

Tips for Gluten-free Pancakes

I used a homemade gluten-free flour blend to make these savory vegan pancakes. It includes brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour and sweet rice flour.

It works well for me in most applications. But for convenience, you can purchase an all-purpose premade blend for these pancakes.

Some basic gluten-free flour brands I’ve heard good results about are Bob Red Mills and Pamela’s Products, but I haven’t tried them personally, so I’m not sure of the exact results in this recipe.

Please note, however, that different gluten-free flour blends may absorb liquids differently so gradually add your liquid to the flour mix and adjust for less or more as needed. If you try this, please let me know how it worked out for you.

I do still recommend adding almond flour to your blend to give the pancakes a rich, buttery taste. It also helps offset any possible gumminess in the pancakes, which can sometimes happen with certain gluten-free flour blends.

If you can’t find almond flour try making your own by and blending the same amount of whole dry almonds.

For that extra savoriness, I used garlic powder, salt, pepper and a bit of ground chipotle for a smoky, spicy kick.

When cooking the pancakes, I recommend not pouring more than 3 tablespoons of batter as the resulting pancakes might become more dense than fluffy.

More delicious breakfast ideas:

• High Protein Vegan Breakfast
• 8 Delicious Vegan Toast Toppings for Sourdough Bread
• 5 Steel Cut Oatmeal Toppings and Recipes That Aren’t Boring
• Gluten free Vegan Quiche Lorraine
• Healthy Vegan Protein Pancakes with Spiced-poached Pears