Vegan tofu scramble with kale & avocado

It’s a breakfast that is entirely satiating. It feels decadent and wholesome all at once. Finished with creamy avocado & a few dashes of hot sauce, it’s an excellent start to the day.

And when it’s a hectic weeknight, and I’m longing for a little taste of the weekend, tofu scramble to the rescue. It’s easy to prepare and oh-so-comforting.

I put on my cozy clothes and serve it up with toast and veggie sausage. It’s a nutritious, delicious breakfast-for-dinner that makes Saturday feel just a little closer.

In this post:

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Oil: Avocado oil is my go-to, but any neutral-flavored cooking oil will work here.

Tofu: Super firm tofu in vacuum packaging is the best tofu for a scramble. It’s convenient, because it doesn’t need to be pressed.

I buy Trader Joe’s tofu, but lots of other brands also sell vaccum-packed super firm tofu.

Produce: Onions, bell pepper, garlic, kale, and avocado. For maximum sweetness, I recommend using a ripe bell pepper that’s red, orange, or yellow. As for the kale, curly is my favorite variety.

Seasonings: Cumin, ancho chili powder, granulated onion, paprika, and salt. Ancho chili powder is made with just one ingredient – dried ancho chilies. It’s different than standard chili powder, which is a blend of spices.

Nutritional yeast flakes: This inactive yeast adds a cheesy flavor. It’s often sold near the flours in the grocery store or in the health food section. Look for it at Trader Joe’s, natural grocery stores, or online.

If you can’t find or don’t like nutritional yeast, just leave it out.

Kala namak: This sulfuric mineral salt gives an eggy flavor to anything it touches. It’s sold in Indian markets for $2-3. It’s also available on Amazon.

Although it’s also known as black salt, it’s actually pink right out of the package.(However, don’t confuse it with Hawaiian pink salt. They are two different things.)

If you don’t have or don’t like the eggy flavor of kala namak, simply replace it with regular table salt.

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. Crumble tofu into a large non-stick skillet with oil over a medium heat. Allow it to fully brown. Then flip it and brown it some more.

2. Once it has browned, scoot the tofu to one side of the skillet. Add onions and bell peppers. Sauté for a couple minutes.

Then add garlic, incorporate everything, and sauté for a minute or two more.

3. Add the following seasonings:

• Ancho chili powder
• Granulated onion
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Pinch of salt

Then add kale and water. Stir with a spatula to fully combine the seasonings, and allow the kale to soften.

4. Once the kale has softened, stir in kala namak and nutritional yeast.

5. Serve the tofu scramble on plates. Then finish with fresh avocado.

Love spice or want a different veggie combo? You can tailor this vegan tofu scramble to your tastes by varying the ingredients and amounts.

Swap in your favorite vegetables or adjust the seasonings to make it your own!

Vary the tofu

If you only have access to the water-packed variety, that will work too.

Just drain it from the package. Then dry it off a little with a clean kitchen towel before crumbling it into the pan. (Wet tofu doesn’t brown as nicely.)

Water-packed packages are usually 14 ounces. Use the whole thing.

Even with the water-packed variety, you don’t really need to press it for a scramble since you’re not marinating it. It will just have a softer texture, which a lot of people enjoy.

Vary the veggies

Tofu scramble is similar to a stir-fry in that almost any vegetable in your crisper drawer will work.

Make this recipe with the vegetables listed. Or put together your own combo in roughly equal amounts as to what’s listed here. Just remember that some vegetables take longer to cook than others.

So if you have denser vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, or broccoli, you will need to cook those longer.

If you’re not a fan of the somewhat bitter flavor of kale, swap it out for a couple big handfuls of spinach instead.

Vary the seasonings

If you don’t have or don’t enjoy any of the seasonings, just leave them out.

• Ancho chili powder can be replaced with any chili powder blend.
• Sweet paprika can be replaced with hot or smoked.
• Kala namak can be replaced with table salt.
• Add a dash of hot sauce for heat to the finished scramble

Vary the cooking method

Everything tastes better on the grill! In the summertime, cook your scramble on a cast iron skillet over an open fire.

Tofu scramble is packed with vegetables. So you could easily eat it all on its own as a meal.

It also goes well with any of the following side dishes:

• Breakfast potatoes in the oven or air fryer
• Bagels and carrot lox
• Vegan French toast for a mix of savory & sweet
• Vegan arepas
• Toast
• Seitan bacon
• Veggie breakfast sausage

Or spoon the scrambled tofu into a breakfast burrito.

Simply roll the scramble into a warmed tortilla. If you like a crispy burrito, air fry it for about 8 to 10 minutes until crisp. Or bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Breakfast burritos are especially nice with some kind of potatoes inside. Use leftover breakfast potatoes, hashbrown patties, or tater tots.

This scramble is also perfect for meal prep! Prepare it in advance. Then enjoy a hearty, plant-based breakfast all week long.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 or 4 days.

Reheat in the microwave until warm.

📖 Recipe

Tofu scramble with kale & avocado (vegan)

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 12 votes

This hearty scramble is loaded with kale, bell pepper, and onions. Serve it with toast or breakfast potatoes for a filling weekend brunch.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: gluten free, meatless brunch

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 teaspoons avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil + more if needed
• ▢ 16 ounces super firm tofu vacuum-packed*
• ▢ ½ cup chopped onion chopped medium
• ▢ ½ cup chopped bell pepper red, orange, or yellow
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon granulated onion
• ▢ ½ teaspoon paprika
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 2 to 3 leaves kale removed from ribs, chopped (About 2 big handfuls)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons water
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kala namak black salt**
• ▢ 1 avocado pitted & sliced

Instructions

• ▢
  Add oil to a large non-stick skillet, and bring to medium heat.
• ▢
  Blot the tofu block dry with a clean kitchen towel. Then use your hands to crumble it into the skillet. (I like crumbling it in larger chunks, but a smaller crumble is fine too.) Scatter it evenly across the skillet. Then don't move it for about four minutes, so that it can get nice & brown.
• ▢
  Use a spatula to flip the tofu, and let it sit for about 3 more minutes, so that it can brown more.
• ▢
  Move the browned tofu to one side of the skillet.

  Put onion and bell pepper onto the empty spot. (If the skillet looks very dry, you can add ½ teaspoon more of oil, if needed.) Saute for a couple minutes. Then add garlic.
• ▢
  Incorporate the vegetables with the tofu, and saute for a minute or two more, until the onions are fragrant and softened.
• ▢
  Add cumin, ancho chili powder, granulated onion, paprika, and a pinch of salt. Combine with a spatula, moving the tofu around the pan to distribute the spices evenly.
• ▢
  Add kale and water. The water helps to incorporate the spices and wilt the kale as it comes into contact with the heat of the pan.
• ▢
  Once the kale has wilted, add nutritional yeast flakes and kala namak on the scramble. Stir to combine. Continue cooking until the the nutritional yeast is evenly incorporated.
• ▢
  Transfer the tofu scramble evenly onto four plates. Top each portion of scramble with sliced avocado.

Notes

*I prefer vacuum packed tofu, because no pressing is required. However, you can use water-packed tofu. Just be sure to drain it from the package before cooking. 

**Kala namak (also called black salt) gives the dish an eggy, sulfurous flavor. If you don’t have black salt, regular table salt can be used instead.

Storage & reheating instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for about 3 days.

Reheat in the microwave until warm.

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Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 648mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1484IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 3mg

Photos, recipe, and content updated February 6, 2024. Originally posted September 2017.