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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This is the best Tofu Scramble recipe I have tried. I only made 3 slight changes and it still came out amazing. I used 1 TBSP of vegan butter instead of olive oil, 1TBSP of nutritional yeast instead of two (I don’t like super strong flavor), and I didn’t add plant milk. It still came out super delicious. This will be my default Tofu Scramble recipe from now on. YUM!
That’s so great to hear!
This is my MOST favorite thing to eat! My 13 year old and my 10 month old both love it as well! Best tofu scramble recipe I’ve ever had. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear it! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just tried it and and it came out very delicious.
Have been looking for the perfect tofu scramble and think we finally found it!
This recipe was perfection. I added black salt instead of regular salt, a full teaspoon of turmeric, poblano peppers at the end, and green Chile seasoning and this was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Thank you so much!!!!
You’re welcome!
YUMMY! So much easier than a recipe I’ve been making for years! First time using firm tofu (instead of extra firm) and I am pleasantly surprised at the outcome – delicious, and super fast and easy. Will definitely make again, thank you!
You’re welcome!
Oh wow this came out AMAZING! I am out of nutritional yeast but I used onions first then let the tofu dry out in the pan a bit and added the spices and a little spinach at the end with liquid aminos and cilantro it is delicious!! Thank you!
Very delicious! I just added chives and spinach. Question though: did you include the cooking oil in the nutritional information? I’m counting macros. Thank you!
Yes, the oil is included in the calculation. Thank you!
Amazing!!! It was sooo delicious and reminded me so much of an actual scrambled egg. I’ve added a mix of black salt and regular white salt for the extra egg-y flavor. Put some sweet chili sauce — it’s yummy. THANK YOU! such a simple but delicious recipe, can’t wait to share it with friends and fam
That sounds great! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you!
Awesome recipe, thanks. Potato masher is genius. I used even more turmeric to make it yellower.
OMG!!! amazing. I’m vegan and the non vegan family didn’t have any idea it was egg. So so so good
I totally recommend this recipe!!! I recommend not adding the salt, and also we didn’t use nutritional yeast. It came out so well and tasted so similar to regular scrambled eggs! It’s so cool how we can have vegan alternatives to favorite foods and ones that taste so nice!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Proof that some of the best recipes are made with simple and few ingredients. I’ve made this about 20 times for my Omni family. Yum
This my 2nd time leaving a review on this blog about another amazing yet simple recipe. The only thing I did differently with this recipe is I added some frozen organ spinach and I used silken tofu instead of firm but it came out great. I would definitely recommend.
gonna try this out today, but add black salt! gives the most eggy flavour!!
Hi Nora, I’m in my transitional period right now from meat eater to vegetarianism. I don’t know how I was going to survive without eggs but this tofu scramble saved the day! I made mine without the oil and without the plant milk. Still delicious! tHank you for sharing these wonderful recipes!
I did this with little bit of frozen kale tomatoes and at it was delicious meal it will be definetly my every day meal 🙂
That’s so great!!
This is so delicious. I made it with onions and micro greens on top. Yummy. Also a side of avacado toast and blueberries. ?
So good! thank you for saving me lol struggling as a new vegan
i tried tofu scramble i love this recipe great tasting
I’m so glad to hear that!!
Excellent! Thank You
You’re welcome!!
i was a bit skeptical but this is DELICIOUS! i added black pepper and red pepper flakes to mine to give it some spice and it was wonderful! also so simple to make
I’m so glad to hear that!!
Easy too make and turned out well but too much salt. Consider adding less salt or completely leaving it out.
Turned out awesome!!! My daughter loved it I added kale, tomatoes and onion delicious ?
Sounds like some yummy additions!!
SO good and easy to make/hard to screw up and super customizable. This is definitely on our rotation.
So glad to hear that!!
Really good and fast to make. Are use my silicon spatula in my frying pan to crumble the tofu and it worked great.