This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.
Think of this basic tofu scramble recipe as a jumping-off point for lots of breakfast adventures. Make it as-is, or try one of the delicious variations.
Y'all, my family loves a tofu scramble. We make one most weekends, then eat it in the living room while we watch old episodes of DuckTales with our kid.
It's a weekend tradition that I am excited to share with you!
Getting the tofu just right
The key to a good scramble is very firm tofu. That's why I start my tofu scrambles by pressing my tofu in my EZ Tofu Press.
Pressing the tofu gets the extra water out, which gives your scramble an "eggier" texture.
The EZ Tofu Press is easy to use and easy to clean. It's also super efficient. In just 10-15 minutes, it gets an average of 1/2 cup of water out of your block of tofu!
While the tofu presses, you have plenty of time to chop whatever vegetables you are adding to your scramble.
Once the tofu is pressed and you have chopped the veggies, it's time to cook!
Cooking the scramble
I'm going to walk you through how to cook a generic tofu scramble, so you can pick and choose your own add-ins, if you like.
If you prefer not to do any guesswork, don't worry! The recipe card below is for a spinach, onion, and vegan cheese scramble, which is a delight.
Making a tofu scramble basically involves four steps:
- Press your tofu.
- Saute any hard vegetables in olive oil on medium-high heat. Hard vegetables include: onions, bell peppers, and carrots. Vegetables that take a relatively long time to cook in the pan.
- Crumble the tofu into the pan, then add turmeric (for color), garlic powder, onion powder, and black salt. I'll talk more about the turmeric and black salt in the next section.
- Add any soft vegetables, and cook until those are done.
- Add vegan cheese, if you're using it, after you turn off the heat. The ambient heat from the tofu and veggies will melt it as you stir it in.
About the turmeric and black salt
Turmeric in a scramble might seem weird, but don't panic! This ingredient is mainly there for color. If you don't care about your tofu scramble looking like an egg scramble, you can omit the turmeric.
Black salt (aka kala namak) is actually pink in color. It has a mild sulphurous flavor which brings an eggy taste to the tofu.
If you can't find black salt, no worries! Just use table salt instead. Your scramble won't taste egg-like, but it will still be delicious.
Variations
Is spinach and onion not your jam? That's okay! Here are some additional mix-in ideas:
- southwest scramble: 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup bell pepper, 1 small zucchini (diced), and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
- broccoli cheese: 2 cups small broccoli florets and 1 cup vegan cheddar shreds
- mushroom and tomato: 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 cup sliced button mushrooms, and 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- florentine-style: 1/2 cup diced onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 4 slices of minced vegan bacon or vegan ham, 2 cups baby spinach, 1/4 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
How to serve and store
We love to serve this scramble straight up with toast or grits on the side. You can also use it as the base for a vegan breakfast casserole (recipe to come!).
A tofu scramble is also lovely stuffed into small tortillas for breakfast tacos or rolled into large tortillas for breakfast burritos. You can also use this recipe to make breakfast tostadas!
Got leftovers? Your tofu scramble will keep for two to three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat it in the microwave or in a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat.
Basic tofu scramble recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup sweet onion - diced
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black salt - or table salt, if you can't find black salt
- 2 cups baby spinach - or 1 cup frozen spinach (no need to thaw)
- 1 cup vegan cheese shreds - optional
Instructions
- Heat the oil on medium-high in a large skillet. Add the onion, and cook until the onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Crumble the tofu into the pan, and add the turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder, and black salt. Cook, stirring, until the tofu gets a nice, even, yellow color. This should only take a few minutes.
- Add the spinach, and cook, stirring constantly, until it wilts or thaws. Turn off the heat, and stir in the optional vegan cheese until it melts.
Video
Notes
- About the turmeric: Turmeric gives this scramble it's yellow color. If you don't have turmeric, you can just omit it. It's in the recipe mainly for color, not flavor.
- About the black salt: Black salt gives this scramble an "eggy" flavor. It's actually pink in color. If you can't find it in stores, it's available online. You can substitute table salt instead, if you don't have black salt handy.
- Nutritional information is for the scramble made with vegan cheese shreds.
Have a question? Tried this recipe? Share your thoughts!