Vegan breakfast sandwich with eggy tofu & sausage

This vegan breakfast sandwich with thinly sliced eggy tofu, non-dairy cheese, and veggie sausage is wonderfully filling & perfectly portable.

When we were driving back from Chicago recently from David’s work conference, we were in the company van. David was driving, and his boss was sitting in the next row on conference calls. I’d picked up a couple containers of oatmeal from Starbucks for the road.

You know what’s not easy to eat while driving? Oatmeal. Getting the spoon into the bowl to find your bites, and eating with at least one hand on the wheel isn’t the simplest to maneuver.

If it were just the two of us, I’d feed David between bites as we rode along the highway.

But with his boss in the backseat, can you imagine??? They’d be telling that story in the office forever.

“And then his wife fed him with a spoon as we drove!”

It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

Anyway, to save face I just got spoonfuls ready and handed the spoon over to David. It worked.

But you know what would have worked better? A vegan breakfast sandwich!

For non-vegans, that kind of stuff is ubiquitous – a bagel, croissant, or biscuit layered with sausage or bacon, a slice of cheese maybe, and then a fried egg. Any fast food place that’s open in the morning is going to have some kind of variation on that.

But for now, vegan fast food places are not commonplace. And even those that exist usually don’t open until 11 am. What’s a hungry vegan to do?

Well, if you’re not on the road, making a vegan breakfast sandwich at home is a cinch. The whole shebang can seriously be done in 15 minutes.

(Out of bagels? Make a toasted sandwich instead!)

How to make a meatless breakfast sandwich

First, I start with bagels for my bread of choice, sliced with my bagel guillotine. Bagels are hearty, chewy, and filling.

A rosemary olive oil bagel is my preferred option for this sandwich. The rosemary aspect plus vegan sausage reminds me of the croissan’wich I’d get as a kid from Burger King.

Speaking of sausage, I air fry Gardein breakfast patties in the air fryer while cooking everything else, and it’s wonderfully hands-off. You just have to flip the vegan sausage once, and otherwise it’s on its own. In the end it’s perfectly crisp around the edges, just like I like.

When I’m not using Gardein breakfast patties, I also like Beyond Meat breakfast sausages, and Herbivorous Butcher bacon.

(The Herbivorous Butcher bacon is so large, one strip is plenty for a sandwich. One strip could probably even be enough for two. With Upton’s, you’ll want a couple of slices per person.)

For the eggy part of this sandwich, I turn to my favorite homemade vegan egg (i.e. eggy tofu). Kala namak or black salt is sulfurous salt that gives the tofu just the right eggy quality. Then I add a grind of black pepper.

Since I made my eggy tofu video, I’ve also gotten into adding a smattering of nutritional yeast flakes and granulated onion to the tofu as well for extra savory flavor.

(What is nutritional yeast? <—– Find out here!)

For the purposes of this bagel sandwich, I like to cut the tofu extra thin, about ¼ inch thick. The sandwich is already so filling that it’s easy to go overboard on the tofu. When I’m having homemade vegan egg on its own, with toast, fruit, and/or breakfast potatoes, I go for a thicker slice then.

As always, I like to use super firm, vacuum packed tofu that doesn’t need to be pressed. It’s just so much faster and requires no pre-planning.

However, in this case, it’s mostly a texture preference. So if you want to use water packed tofu and just blot it well before using, that will be fine.

Finally, I add a slathering of non-dairy cream cheese. Miyoko’s scallion is my favorite cream cheese. It’s also delicious on an air fryer baked potato. 

Other brands that are also fine – Kite Hill, Trader Joe’s, and Go Veggie.

Another option instead of cream cheese is to use a slice of non-dairy cheese. Vegan cheddar, provolone, or gouda would be great here.

This cozy breakfast sandwich is smoky, salty, and savory. It is perfectly portable when you need to dart out the door and get on the road.

Best of all, it insures that your boss won’t be making jokes about you for years to come.

Vegan breakfast sandwich with eggy tofu & sausage

This filling breakfast is perfectly portable for those days when you have to rush out the door. It's packed with eggy tofu, vegan breakfast sausage, and a slathering of non-dairy cream cheese. It's ready from start to finish in only about 15 minutes. Makes 2 breakfast sandwiches.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: bagel sandwich, meatless breakfast

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 472kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

• 2 vegan bagels sliced
• 2 vegan breakfast sausages I use Gardein breakfast patties
• 1/2 teaspoon organic canola oil or spritz of oil
• 4 thinly cut slices of super firm vacuum-packed tofu cut 1/4 inch thick*
• 1/4 teaspoon kala namak black salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast flakes divided
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion divided
• Grind of black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons non-dairy cream cheese* divided (or 2 slices of non-dairy cheese)

Instructions

• Toast bagel halves in the toaster until the cut sides are nutty brown. Remove and set aside on a plate.
• Cook breakfast patties according to directions on the package. If using Gardein breakfast patties, I like to air fry straight from frozen in the air fryer. Air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, stopping once to flip the sausages.
• Bring a non-stick skillet to a medium heat with 1/2 teaspoon organic canola oil or a spritz of oil across the skillet.
• Add sliced tofu to the skillet. Don't move it for a few minutes, so that the slices can brown on one side.
• Once browned, flip the slices. Sprinkle half of the kala namak, nutritional yeast flakes, and granulated onion across the slices (about 1/8 teaspoon over all of them on that side). Grind black pepper over the slices.
• Once the other side of the tofu is brown, flip again, and sprinkle that side with the remaining kala namak, nutritional yeast flakes, and granulated onion (again about 1/8 teaspoon across all of them). Grind black pepper over that side of the slices.
• Flip the tofu slices one last time to seal in the spices, cooking for just about a minute more. Turn the heat off the skillet and set aside.
• Slather non-dairy cream cheese on the cut side of the bagels, about a Tablespoon per bagel. (Instead of cream cheese, these sandwiches are also delicious with a slice of non-dairy cheese on each one.)
• Now it's time to make the sandwiches. Put the sausage on a bagel half, top with two slices of eggy tofu, and top it with the remaining bagel half. Repeat with the second bagel. Serve while hot.

Notes

I like to use super firm tofu in vacuum packaging that doesn't need to be pressed. If you're using water-packed tofu, you can either press the tofu first or just blot the tofu quickly with a towel. I like a firmer texture, but it will be fine softer too. Just make sure the tofu slices are fully dry before putting them in the skillet for optimum browning.

Here are more details on how to press tofu.

*My preferred non-dairy cream cheese is Miyoko's scallion. Other kinds that are good include Kite Hill, Trader Joe's, and Go Veggie.

Nutrition

Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 908mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 3g | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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Ways to use leftover bagels

Make a vegan bagel sandwich with hummus and vegetables.

Feel like a kid again with bagel pizzas in the air fryer.