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
Ingredients
- 2 vegan bagels sliced
- 2 vegan breakfast sausages I use Gardein breakfast patties
- ½ teaspoon organic canola oil or spritz of oil
- 4 thinly cut slices of super firm vacuum-packed tofu cut ¼ inch thick*
- ¼ teaspoon kala namak black salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon nutritional yeast flakes divided
- ¼ 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 ½ 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 ⅛ 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 ⅛ 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
Nutrition
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.
James Permana
Have you ever done a frozen version of this that could be microwaved to re-heat? I imagine myself making these 6-12 at a time and storing them to grab-and-go later. Like any re-heated microwave thing it would probably lose some of the flavor and texture in the process, but I’d be willing to sacrifice that in the name of convenience, I think.
Cadry
That’s a good question! I’ve never done that; although it would probably work out. I freeze bagels when I’m not going to be able to eat them fast enough, and they’re fine. Gardein breakfast patties are, of course, frozen already. (They do say for food safety reasons that you shouldn’t thaw things and then re-freeze them… Something to consider in how you make them. When cooked solely in the microwave, Gardein patties get pretty wet. So I’d microwave them separately, so that they don’t get everything soggy.) Freezing tofu does change the texture of it. It becomes chewier and more toothsome, but I don’t think that would be problematic here. And cashew cheese can be frozen too. Like you said, texture-wise, it wouldn’t be as good as it would be fresh, but as long as you don’t mind that for the sake of convenience, it would be worth trying. Let me know if you do it and how it goes! Maybe start with one or two, so that there’s less to lose.
Sarah De la Cruz
I am laughing out loud about your story of contemplating spoon feeding David with his boss in the back seat! Ha! I agree—oatmeal would be hard to eat while driving! These sandwiches look delicious—Irving is all about the savory breakfast so I think he would especially enjoy it!
Cadry
Oh, my gosh! It makes me laugh too. It allllllllmost would have been worth it to see the look on his boss’ face.
Dianne
I’d love to see you spoon-feeding oatmeal to David as he drives!
You really know what of breakfast food I like! This sandwich looks like the perfect way to start the day!
Cadry
Haha! Yes, it would have been quite the sight. Our food tastes line right up! No wonder we get along. 🙂
Kristin
Yum! I love breakfast sandwiches. I need to remember to make them more often–it always seems so involved, but this reminded me that it really isn’t!
Cadry
Yes, breakfast sandwiches are the best – so hearty, filling, and delicious! And you’re right, they really don’t take too much time at all to make.
Patti
These breakfast sandwiches are fantastic! A favorite of my whole family since I first tried them this summer. The black salt is a true game changer!
Cadry
I am so delighted to hear that, Patti! Thank you for letting me know!
Janis Ware
This recipe is a clear winner! I have fixed your eggy tofu over a hundred times at least, and one of my favorite ways to eat it is on this breakfast sandwich that you created. It makes me feel like a kid again haha!
Cadry
Oh, my gosh. You and me both! I’m so glad that you enjoy it as much as I do.
Eve-Marie
Thanks for this recipe, we have enjoyed it several times. What are your thoughts on preparing it ahead of time, and reheating is the morning? These will be great for our road trip but I won’t have time to make them before we leave, so hope to do it the night before.
Cadry Nelson
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it, Eve-Marie! If it were me, I’d make the eggy tofu & sausage the night before, and then reheat in the microwave until warm. Then I’d toast the bagels in the morning and assemble.
But if you really want to make everything the night before, I’m sure it would be decent, if it not as good as fresh, to reheat the sandwiches in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Or you could try them in the oven at 375 for about 8 minutes. I haven’t tried it, though, so that’s just an estimation. Maybe do a trial run & see if you like it? Let me know if you try it! I’d be curious to hear how it goes.
Eve-Marie
Thanks! I’m going to just cook the egg and sausage the night before.