As much as I enjoy eggs, I am a big fan of tofu for breakfast. This vegan version of an egg scramble is one of my favorites! Although I hesitate to call it a vegan scramble. It's more of a fried tofu salad with sweet potato and habanero quinoa.
I feel like a lot of recipes that call for tofu do so as a substitution for eggs or dairy products. The problem is that tofu tastes absolutely nothing like either of these! It can have a similar consistency to scrambled eggs. But that's about where the resemblance ends.
This is why I don't necessarily enjoy vegan recipes that try to artificially recreate the flavor or texture or other foods!
Tofu does not and should not taste like eggs. Veggie burgers will never replicate the experience of eating beef. And no matter what you do, cauliflower will never be chicken wings.
But why should it??
I cook vegan recipes not as a substitution or imitation of animal products or by-products. Rather, I cook vegan foods as a way to highlight a food that I already enjoy eating.
Well-made tofu is delicious. You get that feeling of eating fried food with the crunch on the outside and softness on the inside. With a little bit of salt, pepper, and hot sauce? It's absolutely delicious!
This salad combines lightly fried tofu with Quinoa, sweet potatoes, and an assortment of freshly picked garden vegetables. Including tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, and habaneros.
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Variations of Tofu Salad
I quite enjoy tofu scrambles or salads. If you're feeling less up to that challenge and want to stick more in the realm of eggs, I do often cook egg salad varieties as well. They're just as quick and easy to make.
This vegan breakfast salad recipe is hearty, healthy, and flavorful way to start the day! Perpetually amazed by how delicious both tofu and salads can be, this is one of my favorite go-to meals. It combines sweet potatoes, garlic, shallots, lemons, bay leaves, tri-color quinoa, tofu, avocados, and homegrown lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, and habaneros. Plus hot sauce for good measure!
Prepare the Quinoa w/ Sweet Potato & Garden Vegetables. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker. Although you can easily substitute whatever vegetables you have on hand. This is a great recipe to make wanting to have leftovers that will easily carry over to other dishes.
Fry Tofu
Drain the tofu and cut in quarters if you're using a container. Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Assemble Salad
Chop the lettuce and avocados.
Lay down a bed of lettuce and avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with tofu. Add finishing salt/pepper and drizzle with a little bit of hot sauce.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For a more in-depth article on preparing tofu, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Fried Tofu. High heat oil and a precise cooking temperature are important to keep the tofu from drying out or burning.
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