If you miss scrambled eggs, this Tofu Scramble Recipe is for you! An easy vegan breakfast staple made with just 7 ingredients in 10 minutes.
If you’re looking for more breakfast tofu recipes, check out my Fried Vegan Eggs, Vegan Breakfast Burritos, and Tofu Cream Cheese while you’re here.
I used to love eating scrambled eggs as a kid. That is, until I actually learned what eggs were and where they came from… My relationship with eggs was officially tainted forever.
The joy I felt eating scrambled eggs is something I still miss, which is where this Easy Tofu Scramble comes in. It’s a vegan egg recipe that really hits the spot. Slightly creamy and jammy with some seriously delicious eggy flavors, it’s as close to real scrambled eggs as it gets!
And as the best tofu scramble recipe ever, it only takes 10 minutes to cook a batch in one pan. The ingredients are simple and likely already in your kitchen, too! I highly recommend doubling the recipe so you have enough for yourself, the kids, and leftovers for a few days after.
Why this is the best breakfast tofu scramble ever
- A vegan breakfast staple – A protein-packed plate of tofu scramble is always the perfect way to start the day, whether it’s a weekday or weekend morning.
- A nostalgic “eggy” flavor – The secret’s out… Black salt (kala namak) is the secret ingredient that gives the crumbled and seasoned tofu its eggy, sulfur-like flavor. If you’re like me, each bite will have you reminiscing about the plates of scrambled eggs you loved eating as a kid.
- Really quick and easy – 7 ingredients, 10 minutes, and 1 pan. That’s all this easy breakfast recipe takes!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Olive oil or other oil/vegan butter
- Tofu – Use firm or extra-firm tofu. The amount of water in a brick of soft or medium tofu will take too long to cook off.
- Nutritional yeast – A cheesy and salty seasoning that gives the tofu scramble a delicious umami flavor. Try not to skip it if you can help it!
- Black salt – AKA kala namak. It’s a sulfur-tasting salt that gives vegan egg recipes a similar flavor to real eggs. You can substitute it with regular table salt or sea salt if you don’t have it on hand.
- Turmeric – For a golden “egg yolk” color. Feel free to omit the turmeric if you don’t have any on hand. The nutritional yeast will still give the scramble a yellow-ish color.
- Garlic powder
- Non-dairy milk – Any unsweetened and unflavored non-dairy milk will work! Better yet, stir in a little cashew cream.
How to make tofu scramble
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, mash the block of tofu in the pan with a potato masher or fork, or crumble it over the pan with your hands.
Cook the tofu, stirring often, until the excess water has evaporated.
Sprinkle the nutritional yeast, black salt, turmeric, and garlic powder over the tofu. Cook and stir the seasoned tofu for 5 minutes.
Pour the milk into the pan and stir to mix.
Serve the warm tofu scramble on plates with sliced avocado, toast, berries, and your other favorite breakfast items. Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
I prefer to use firm tofu but extra-firm tofu will work just as well. No need to press the block ahead of time! The water cooks out really quickly.
You should be able to find black salt at specialty grocery stores or buy it online. It comes in handy when you need to replicate classic eggy flavors in vegan egg recipes, like this tofu scramble recipe, my Vegan Egg Salad, or a JUST Egg Omelette.
You can easily turn this basic tofu scramble into a colorful breakfast by playing around with different vegetables! There are so many you can add, like:
Vegetables you can sauté in the pan a few minutes before adding the tofu are 1/4 cup diced onion, minced garlic cloves, or a diced bell pepper.
Vegetables to add after the milk is added are fresh spinach or kale, small broccoli florets, or diced or sliced tomatoes.
Other than vegetables, you can also add crumbled vegan bacon, a sliced Italian vegan sausage, or half a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas or black beans at the end to make the scramble even heartier.
I love to serve this basic tofu scramble with sliced avocado, hot sauce, toast, and fresh fruit. It also goes well with sliced tomatoes, fruit salad, breakfast potatoes, and your other favorite vegan breakfast recipes.
The leftover tofu scramble will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. Double the recipe and store the extras in individual containers for easy grab-and-reheat meals to enjoy for meal prep!
The Best Tofu Scramble
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- (1) 14.5-ounce block firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon kala namak (black salt) or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk, unsweetened and unflavored
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat (I prefer a cast iron pan, or non-stick). Mash the block of tofu right in the pan, with a potato masher or a fork. You can also crumble it into the pan with your hands. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes until the water from the tofu is mostly gone.
- Now add the nutritional yeast, salt, turmeric and garlic powder. Cook and stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Continue to cook for longer, not stirring for a few minutes at a time, until golden spots form on some of the tofu. This is a personal preference but I prefer some golden spots and a longer cook time.
- Pour the non-dairy milk into the pan, and stir to mix. Serve immediately with sliced avocado, hot sauce, parsley, steamed kale, toast or any other breakfast item.
Video
Notes
- Tofu Scramble is also good with all sorts of vegetables mixed in. Vegetables to add before the tofu: 1/4 cup diced onion or a few cloves of minced garlic. Saute in the oil for 2-3 minutes before adding and mashing the tofu. Vegetables to add towards the end: fresh spinach, kale, thin sliced red peppers, small chopped broccoli or fresh sliced/diced tomatoes. Add these after you’ve added the milk to the tofu, and cook for just a few minutes.
- Omit oil if desired to make the tofu scramble oil free.
- You can use any kind of non-dairy milk you like, such as soy, almond, cashew, oat or coconut milk. Just make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored. Cashew cream makes it extra creamy and delicious!
Nutrition
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I FINALLY have a go-to tofu scramble recipe! I’ve tried multiple recipes over the past few months but couldn’t find one I loved until now. Not only is this the best tasting recipe I’ve tried but it’s also the easiest!! Thank you so much for sharing!
For my personal preference, I double the spices and nutritional yeast but half the tumeric and substitute the salt for black salt since it has that sulfur eggy flavor.
Hi Abby. I’m thrilled that you love my tofu scramble recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your glowing review and feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
Is there a substitute for turmeric. Some people get joint pain from this and I am one of them. If it’s for coloring can I use ground mustard, since it is yellow
You can leave it out, it’s really just there for color but the nutritional yeast adds a yellow hue as well. Thanks! Ground mustard is a good idea too.
Absolutely delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written and enjoyed it so much. I don’t eat a lot of tofu as I’ve always struggled a bit with its texture but having it mashed up/crumbly really works for me. Will definitely be adding this into my menu rotation & experimenting with adding veggies.
I’m always looking for ways to use nutritional yeast but ever thought of adding it to tofu scramble. Delicious and a little extra added nutrition. Love this recipe!
Hi Susan. I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thank YOU for your stellar review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Thank you for sharing your recipe! Is this something i can prepare and then have throughout the week instead of eating it right away?
Sure! I often make a big batch and then just reheat each morning.
Very good 👍 I made this for my roommate and I for lunch. Would make it again. Thanks 🙏 for sharing your recipe with us! Happy new year!
You bet, Shannon! Happy new year to you as well! I’m so glad you loved the scramble! Thanks for sharing your great review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Insanely delicious and so easy! This will be a new staple! So grateful for this recipe. Thank you, Nora!!
Absolutely Delicious! The closest to real scrambled eggs. Thanks for the recipe, l haven’t had eggs for at least 4 years since going vegan!
You bet, Mary! I’m so glad you enjoyed the scramble! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Yummy recipe, thank you. Smokey tofu works well too.
Hi Nell. Nice idea! I’m glad you loved the scramble! Thanks for your awesome feedback and review!
Delicious and so easy! I sautéed a small onion, fresh (pressed) garlic and 8 oz of mushrooms and then added the tofu, nutritional yeast, turmeric and salt. I used unsweetened original almond milk at the end. Perfect. Thank you for sharing this recipe!! (Your blog has helped me stay vegan for years now—I’m so grateful!)
Hi Megan. I love easy and delicious, and am glad that you found the recipe just that! Your meal sounds so delicious! Thanks for sharing your stellar review! I appreciate you choosing my recipes, and am glad they are helpful for you on your journey! Happy cooking!
Thank you!
I just started being vegan this year and I keep going to your site to get recipes as they all seem to be great.
Thank you!
Welcome to my site, Debbie! I am glad you are using and loving my recipes! Please reach out with any questions you may have! I hope you enjoy your journey through my recipes! Wishing you happy cooking!
Thank you for your recipes, Nora 🙂
You have really helped me transition from long time vegetarian into vegan!
Thanks Nora! This is a great recipe and I did add green peppers at the very beginning. I am Eastern Orthodox and always looking for great recipes. I did forget to substitute out the olive oil for coconut oil but will next time. Delicious. I am also a hot sauce adder!
I love this recipe so much better than “Just Eggs.”
Thank you!
You are welcome, Linda. I’m glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for your wonderful review!
Hi Nora! I’ve been struggling with dairy and egg allergies for the past 5 years! Your recipes have been a life saver! Thanks so much!
Since I am NOT a Vegan, and follow Dr.Mark Hyman… switched to the Pegan Diet, I do incorporate a few foods not part of the Vegan way of life!
Sauteed Shallots, 4 little, not even golf ball sized shallots (was a total ripoff in my order…)
I added organic Herbed goat cheese, used 1 tbsp Organic Grass Fed Ghee…
Turmeric etc… as directed…
Served with toasted Gluten Free Rye bread.
Loved this, & it has been years since I stopped eating Tofu because I could not get any organic product where I live.
Gorgeous! Great on toast with vegan butter (Carbs and Fat for balance) or even better for my weekend treat – Scrambled tofu, onion beans, vegan sausage and garlic mushrooms on toast.
THIS IS THE BEST!! I tried one other recipe that had 3 times as many ingredients and took 4 times longer to prepare, overall texture was somewhere between ghastly and dreadful, and it didn’t work well for egg salad sandwiches. Onto the compost pile it went.
Initially I tried Nora’s recipe, then the fussy recipe, then homecoming time for Nora’s entry. This is far easier, has much better texture, and tastes better. It’s yumderful right out of le Skillet with a warm piece of slightly crunchy Franco American whole wheat toast slathered with butter (if I can see the bread poking through it doesn’t have enough butter). I also “creamed” this up using twice as much butter, kosher salt, and half’n’half instead of soy/almond/oat milk. But it’s still Nora’s recipe.
I’ve also tried Nora’s homemade mayonnaise. With her super simple mayo, scrambled “feggs” and Costeaux bakery’s extra sour dough bread, it was a veritable breakfast time picnic on my plate! And it’s virtually goof-proof: a big upvote for consistent results time after time.
Hi – haven’t made this yet but wondering if I can do it without the nutritional yeast, if needed? Thanks in advance!
Hi Megan. Nutritional yeast helps provide a cheesy flavor to the recipe. You can leave it out, if desired. Enjoy!
Can you please tell me what a serving size is?
Thank you.
Hi Lin. This recipe makes 2 servings. Half of the recipe is one serving.
Nora, every time I see your recipes, the result is so delicious! You’re my go to for recipes. I have not found a tofu scramble I like, but this one was SO good. I added green and red bell peppers and cherry tomatoes from the garden to make a nice scramble
Hi Tiffany! Thanks for taking time to share your wonderful review and feedback! I am so glad you liked my scramble recipe! Wishing you happy cooking!
I made a half recipe added a generous amount of grilled onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Served three. Delish!
I agree with the reader who said to use black salt (kalak nama) instead of white. It makes any dish taste “eggy.” Wonderful in tofu egg salad. (And by the way, turmeric is spelled with 2 R’s and is pronounced like Term-er-ic.)
This is my first time cooking tofu. Thanks Nora for the great recipe. I added onions, peppers, tomatoes and fresh garlic. Definitely has the texture of scrambled eggs.
Always delicious!
Thank for your wonderful review and feedback! Glad you loved the scramble!
Wow!! I found out I was allergic to eggs not too long ago and had really been missing them 😩 but these are perfection! Thank you for giving me my breakfasts back! 🥹
I make this every weekend at my husband’s request. Always delicious!! Thanks Nora!