OUR 10 FAVORITE VEGAN BREAKFASTS
When G and I were trying to decide whether to go vegan, one of the sticking points for us was always breakfast. A very short list of our defining characteristics would include “they love breakfast.” We’ve been known to eat breakfast for three meals a day. We served pancakes at our wedding reception. One of V’s first words was “pancake.” You get the picture.
It was always my perception that eggs were essential to a delicious breakfast, but I’ve learned that they’re not. While the universe of vegan breakfasts is necessarily smaller than the universe of breakfasts, it is no less delicious. And since going vegan is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on the planet, you’re basically saving the world over breakfast.
Not only is it better for the planet and for animals, it’s also healthier to skip eggs at breakfast: studies have found that men who consume 2.5 or more eggs per week have an 81% increased risk of lethal prostate cancer compared to men who consume less than 0.5 eggs per week. Even if you don’t have a prostate, it may be safer to pass on that omelet: another recent study found that higher consumption of dietary cholesterol or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.
And it’s definitely healthier to skip all that processed breakfast meat like bacon and sausage. While it tastes good, it’s also carcinogenic, significantly increasing your risk of bowel cancer. The evidence of carcinogenic effect is so reliable that the World Health Organization has classified cured and processed meats as a group 1 carcinogen alongside asbestos, alcohol, arsenic and tobacco. It doesn’t taste that good, right?
Anyway, going vegan is great for the planet and for your health, but this post is about how it’s also delicious. More specifically, it’s about very delicious vegan breakfasts. To that end, I’ve compiled ten of our favorite vegan breakfasts. These are in heavy rotation at our house and they are G&V approved!
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
We eat oatmeal most days of the week, since it’s easy, super healthy, and delicious. It doesn’t get easier than boiling water and adding oats! I also love how we can eat it every day but experience significant variety by changing the toppings. Our usual tends to be blueberries and sliced bananas (V’s favorite), but when I have an extra ten minutes or so, I love making this apple cinnamon oatmeal with the following modifications: instead of butter, I use coconut or olive oil, I add 1/2 tsp vanilla, and I use almond milk to cook the oats instead of water (it makes it a little creamier and more delicious). I also like peeling the apples for this dish (and snacking on the apple peels while cooking!). Last, I’ve also made this recipe without added sugar (substituting a diced banana for the sugar), and it’s equally delicious. It’s like (healthy!) apple pie for breakfast!
Whole Wheat Pancakes
We love this recipe. When G eats these he mutters “these are the best” for the first five or so bites. These pancakes are super fluffy and hearty, and have a great taste without too much added sugar. I love that they use 100% whole wheat flour for an added nutritional boost.
Prior to finding this recipe, I’d use my usual non-vegan recipe and just make substitutions. This recipe does all the substitutions for you, and leaves out eggs/egg substitutes entirely. I never would have guessed you could make pancakes without some sort of binding agent, but the omission is very nearly imperceptible (perhaps a very slight additional crumbliness upon cutting). I was also shocked by the amount of baking powder in this recipe, but it produces wonderfully fluffy pancakes that are normally difficult to achieve with 100% whole wheat flour.
The batter on this recipe is very thick so definitely heed the instruction to cook over medium low heat so they cook all the way through without burning.
Fruit and Granola Breakfast Bowl
This is my riff on an acai bowl. I do like the flavor and health benefits of acai, but I can’t find acai puree without a ton of plastic packaging, which I try to avoid. I replace the acai with blueberries, and the result is an equally delicious and antioxidant breakfast bowl!
To make it, blend up one banana, a cup of frozen blueberries, and a cup of almond milk (other vegan milks like coconut or soy also work well here). Pour on top of granola (store bought if you’d like, or I love this recipe) and add some toppings of your choice. I like sliced bananas, berries, kiwi, coconut flakes, and chopped walnuts. You can also sprinkle on chia or hemp seeds for some additional fiber and protein.
Strawberry Banana Waffles
I jazz up this recipe by adding fresh strawberry and banana puree into the batter. I follow the recipe exactly except at step 2 (mixing the wet ingredients), I put a cup of strawberries in a blender, and then fill the blender to the 1 1/3 cup mark with almond milk. Then I add one banana, as well as oil and vanilla in the amounts specified in the recipe. I leave out the almond extract, as the batter is already very flavorful from my fruity additions. Give it a whir and then pour the contents of the blender into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix to combine (don’t overmix) and then continue following the recipe at step 3. These waffles are so delicious, they don’t even need syrup!
Breakfast Smoothie
Nine of the ten pictures I took of this “poothie” included my toddler’s fingers. I decided it’s a good endorsement.
This is G’s fantastic recipe. Blend two cups of almond milk, two bananas, a cup of frozen strawberries, two tbsp peanut or almond butter, and one tbsp each of chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds. You could do any type of frozen berry—blueberries also work great. Also, for an extra thick smoothie, try using frozen bananas. (Important note re: using frozen bananas: if your blender gets stuck, you may need to pour in some extra almond milk. Our blender just barely makes it, and it’s the “Will it Blend?” blender that can blend up an iPhone.)
Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
I love this breakfast because it’s super decadent without being unhealthy. I’ve tried several vegan baked oatmeal recipes, but my favorite is this recipe with the following modifications: I use light coconut milk or almond milk instead of dairy milk, and I use a flax egg (1 tbsp flax meal plus three tbsps water, mixed and then left to thicken for five minutes) instead of an actual egg. I don’t add maple syrup, since the four bananas make it plenty sweet for my taste buds, but if you like your oatmeal very sweet, go for it.
Avocado Toast
Avocado toast is a great savory vegan breakfast option. It’s also fun because it’s customizable; there are tons of delicious variations. Above, I mashed an avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of garlic-flavored olive oil, salt, and pepper. I spread it on whole wheat bread, topped with tomato slices, and drizzled with balsamic glaze.
Pumpkin Muffins
We love this recipe—it’s super simple to make, healthy, and delicious. The only modification I make is to use flax eggs (2 tbsps flax meal plus 6 tbsps water mixed and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken) instead of real eggs.
Blueberry Skillet Pancake
Skillet pancakes are awesome because you get the deliciousness of pancakes without having to stand at the stove flipping them. You just pop a skillet into the oven and then go do your thing until it’s time to eat a delicious slice of giant pancake. There are lots of good recipes out there, but we like to modify this one.
We double the recipe because we eat a lot. I still used a 12″ skillet as instructed in the recipe because we like a thicker pancake. With this modification, it took approximately 10 additional minutes to bake (total of 35 minutes).
Other substitutions we make: We substitute almond milk for milk, olive oil for butter, and 2 flax eggs (2 tbsps flax meal plus 6 tbsps water mixed and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken) instead of real eggs. We also add a half tsp of vanilla. Sometimes when we want some extra calories and nutritional benefit we sub whole-wheat flour for all-purpose flour (see pic above), but I think the recipe tastes better with all-purpose flour.
Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes
I know, there are already two pancake recipes on this list. We eat a lot of pancakes. But this recipe yields pancakes that are more like fresh, fluffy, delicious, healthier cinnamon rolls. We use the “cookie cutter” method described in the recipe for extra fluffy, extra delicious cakes. It’s a little more time-intensive than the regular pancake recipe, but it’s worth it!
Enjoy, and if you try any of these recipes, let me know how they turned out for you!