This protein-packed vegan grits bowl is almost like a deconstructed breakfast sandwich: eggy baked tofu, fresh avocado, and creamy, steamy grits.
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Y'all, my family loves a vegan grits bowl, and this is the bowl that started it all! Like my breakfast kale bowls, this is another breakfast sandwich-inspired bowl.
For this recipe, you can use any style of grits you like! If you've got time on your hands, use conventional grits. But if you want to make this in a hurry, quick or even instant grits will work fine. Do what works best for you!
You can also choose to bake or air fry your eggy tofu pieces. I provide directions for both in the recipe below.
✓ Ingredients and substitutions
- extra firm tofu - No need to press this time! We want it on the softer side for this recipe.
- low-sodium soy sauce - Adds umami and saltiness to the marinade. You can use tamari for gluten-free, if needed.
- turmeric - Gives the tofu an eggy color.
- olive oil - Helps the tofu get crispy in the oven or air fryer.
- onion powder - Adds more umami to the marinade.
- black salt - Adds saltiness and an eggy flavor. You can use sea salt or table salt, if you can't find black salt.
- grits - Choose your own adventure here! You can use conventional grits/polenta, quick grits, or instant grits. Go with what works best for you.
- nutritional yeast - Adds protein and a cheesy flavor to the grits. You can omit, if you're not a fan.
- vegan butter - Butter and grits are like peanut butter and jelly! They just got together. You can use olive oil instead, if you prefer.
- salt and black pepper - Any Southerner will tell you that you've got to season your grits with plenty of salt and pepper, so go to town until you reach your desired flavor!
- avocado - Adds creaminess.
- tomato - I like the look of grape tomatoes in a vegan grits bowl, but use whatever tomatoes look good at the store!
- green onion - Adds even more umami and some crunch for the topping!
🥣 How to make vegan grits bowls
Preheat the oven to 400° F and prepare the tofu.
Whisk together the soy sauce, turmeric, olive oil, onion powder, and black salt to make your marinade. Toss the marinade with the tofu strips, and let them sit while you prep the rest of the ingredients. If you like, you can make these the night before, so they’ll be ready to bake in the morning.
Arrange your tofu strips on a lined baking sheet lined, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until it reaches your desired texture.
If you prefer to air fry your tofu: Arrange the tofu in your air fryer basket and cook at 400° F for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking once halfway through cooking.
Make the grits while the tofu bakes.
Prepare your grits according to package directions. Try to time this so the grits finish cooking around the time that the tofu is done. When you start depends on whether you’re using instant, quick, or old-school grits. Don’t forget that you need to allow a few extra minutes for water to boil, if you’re making them on the stovetop!
When the grits are ready, stir in the nutritional yeast and vegan butter, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Divide the grits between 4 bowls.
Top each bowl with ¼ of the baked tofu strips, ¼ of the avocado, and ¼ of the tomatoes.
💡 Helpful tips
- Cooking times will vary, depending on the type of grits you use and whether you bake or air fry your tofu. For the quickest vegan grits bowl, use quick or instant grits and air fry the tofu.
- Try to make only the amount of grits that you plan to eat. Reheating grits is kind of a pain, because it thickens SO much. If you have leftover grits, I recommend making grit cakes instead of storing them!
🫙 Storage directions
Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Store the tofu, grits, and toppings separately.
Leftover grits tend to thicken quite a bit, so add them to a pan separately from the toppings, and add water, stirring, until they're creamy again. This can be tricky, because once they cool, grits can be stubborn! Ideally, you'll only cook the amount of grits you plan to eat.
💬 Frequently asked questions
If you live outside of the South, grits can be harder to find. You can use polenta (uncooked) instead of grits. In fact, when I used to do CSA deliveries, I had a farmer tell me that his grits and polenta were identical, he just charged fancy restaurants more for the polenta! 😆
You definitely can! Use whatever veggies you have on hand that need eating.
More ways to use grits
📖 Recipe
Vegan Grits Bowl
Ingredients
For the tofu
- 1 block extra firm tofu sliced into strips
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt or sea salt
For the grits
- 4 servings grits You can use any kind of grits: quick, instant, or conventional, so measure 4 servings based on what the package says.
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter or use olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
For topping
- 1 Haas avocado sliced
- 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes or whatever tomatoes look best at the store. Feel free to use more tomato, if you want!
- ¼ cup chopped green onion green and white parts
Instructions
Make the tofu.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Whisk together the soy sauce, turmeric, olive oil, onion powder, and black salt to make your marinade. Toss the marinade with the tofu strips, and let them sit while you prep the rest of the ingredients. If you like, you can make these the night before, so they’ll be ready to bake in the morning.
- Arrange your tofu strips on a lined baking sheet lined, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until it reaches your desired texture.
- If you prefer to air fry your tofu: Arrange the tofu in your air fryer basket and cook at 400° F for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking once halfway through cooking.
Make the grits while the tofu bakes.
- Prepare your grits according to package directions. Try to time this so the grits finish cooking around the time that the tofu is done. When you start depends on whether you’re using instant, quick, or old-school grits. Don’t forget that you need to allow a few extra minutes for water to boil, if you’re making them on the stovetop!
- When the grits are ready, stir in the nutritional yeast and vegan butter, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Divide the grits between 4 bowls.
- Top each bowl with ¼ of the baked tofu strips, ¼ of the avocado, and ¼ of the tomatoes.
Mike McDonald
I will be making this ASAP, looks amazing Becky.
Becky Striepe
Thank you! It's still one of our favorite breakfasts!
swathi
Looks delicious bowl, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning and tweeting.
Kelsey
Do you press your tofu before you marinate it?
Becky Striepe
Definitely before. It will soak up the marinade even better that way!
Hannah
This looks so dreamy, Becky! I wish I ate more grits. My Opa ate them all the time so my mother grew up on them, but they were never made for me as a kid. I'm not sure I've ever even had them done right.
But whenever I see recipes like this I'm inspired to try them :)
Becky Striepe
Same here. My folks never made us grits when we were kids, but my husband grew up on them. He used to ask his mama for grits every morning! I basically started eating grits because of Dave. I've had pretty good luck just following the directions on the package - Bob's Red Mill has good slow grits, if you want to be authentic!
Cadry
This sounds perfect! I love a savory breakfast with lots of different components.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Cadry! Me too. I wish I had more long mornings to make these kinds of breakfasts!