The BEST Tofu Scramble! If you miss scrambled eggs, this one’s for you. Just 7 ingredients, 10 minutes and 1 pan required!
I don’t know about you, but I used to really enjoy scrambled eggs as a kid. At some point, maybe around 10 or 11 years old, I learned what an egg actually was, and was rather horrified. After that, my relationship with eggs was tainted and I rarely ate them. Eventually, I went vegan and never looked back!
However, I still remember the taste and enjoyment around eating scrambled eggs. So if you’ve been there too, or have recently gone vegan, I hope you enjoy this recipe! This tofu scramble really hits the spot for me, and I’m sure it will for you as well.
What kind of tofu is used for tofu scramble?
I prefer using firm tofu. Extra-firm is fine as well. There is no need to press your tofu for this recipe; the water will cook out in the first couple of minutes.
How do you make tofu scramble?
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and warm it over medium heat. To crumble the tofu, I place the tofu in the pan, then mash it with a potato masher. That’s my preferred method, but you could also simply crumble it into the pan with your hands, or mash it with a fork. Cook it, stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes.
Next, add the nutritional yeast, salt, turmeric and garlic powder and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring.
Pour in the non-dairy milk and stir. Serve immediately!
What vegetables can I add and how should I do it?
I love to serve this basic tofu scramble with sliced avocado, hot sauce and toast. But you can also play around with it and add many different vegetables. Be creative!
Vegetables to add in the beginning: (saute for a few minutes before adding the tofu)
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- a few cloves of garlic, minced
Vegetables to add at the end: (stir in after the milk is added, cook for a few minutes)
- fresh spinach or kale
- thinly sliced red peppers
- small chopped broccoli
- fresh diced or sliced tomatoes
This tofu scramble is super kid-friendly as well. My 3 kids all reject a tofu scramble with real onions and veggies added, but this simple one they absolutely adore. My 3 year old gobbles it up like there’s no tomorrow!
What other breakfast recipes go well with tofu scramble?
- Simple Vegan Pancakes
- The Best Vegan Waffles
- Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
- Vegan Biscuits and Gravy
- Starbucks Copycat Vegan Scones
How long does tofu scramble last in the fridge?
I would say it lasts about 3 days in the fridge. After that it gets a little funny. But honestly it doesn’t make a lot so I can’t imagine it will last that long!
Double the recipe for the whole family or to have breakfast for a couple of days.
The Best Tofu Scramble
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- (1) 16-ounce block firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon 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. 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.
- 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.Â
- 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.
Nutrition
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This was amazing! I placed this tofu scramble on an everything bagel with some spicy impossible sausage and vegan cheddar and oh my goodness, a wonderful protein packed breakfast to set me up for the day. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I have made this recipe several times, and everyone loves it, including my non-vegetarian husband! I really like that it is so versatile. Once you have the basic recipe down, the sky is the limit for what you can add. I have used so many different veggies; literally anything in my fridge works well in this delicious scramble. My milk of choice is almond. My adult daughters and I like a little added hot sauce, but it’s certainly not necessary to enjoy this yummy tofu scramble. Thank you for such an easy and highly adaptable veggie recipe!
Nora, Thank you for the best vegan scramble!! I am so happy I found your page. I am going to enjoy many of your yummy recipes. Girl, you got talent!!!!!
Hi Nora, I loved your sramble eggs recipe. So simple easy, and quick. I served it with hash browns in corn tortillas. YUM! I am new to vegan cooking and am blind. Your recipes work well for me and always turn out great. I also like that I can make my own substitutions and still get a delicious dish. Thanks for sharing your years of experience and your recipes. What a generous heart.
Hi Paulette. Thank you for your awesome feedback – it makes my day! I love creating easy and delicious recipes. I’m glad you have discovered them and are enjoying them! I hope you will enjoy your journey through my recipes! Happy cooking!
Does regular tofu cook drier that silken? I made a scramble with silken and hubby hated it because it was too moist when he bit into it. Do I just need to mash it down more or use regular instead?
You are my go-to gal for great food!
Thanks.
Hi Kathy. I am glad you are loving my recipes! Thanks for using them! Firm tofu does have less moisture in it. You can try sauteeing the tofu in the pan longer, until it begins to turn golden brown and crispy and there’s almost no moisture in the pan. I hope this helps!
Fast, Easy, and Delicious!
I tossed diced onion and green pepper in the pan before crumbling the tofu in and adding the spices. Toward the end of cooking, I added some crumbled vegan breakfast sausage and the tiniest bit of vegan butter instead of the milk to finish off. Topped it off with lots of black pepper and served with toast on the side, SO GOOD!!
I am stoked to find the perfect substitute for scrambled eggs that doesn’t take an hour to make.
Thank you Nora!
So glad you loved the tofu scramble, Aliza! And your add-ins sound delicious! Thank you for your terrific review 🙂
The bus tofu scramble recipe I have tried yet!
Thank you!
I car believe how good this is, bus ever! Can hardly contrain my excitement.
I needed to add more protein to my meals and found this recipe. It was easy and delicious. I added green onions at the end and omitted the milk as I felt the scramble was already pretty moist.Â
Hi Sally. It’s great to know you found the scramble easy and delicious! This is definitely a great recipe to increase your protein! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and review! Happy cooking!
If you expect to get any good from the turmeric, you should add black pepper to the recipe. I used about 1 tsp (for a little less than 1/2 tsp ground turmeric.
I did like the recipe, and I’ll make it again, but it really should include black pepper. Otherwise, the turmeric will not be absorbed.
You’re right, adding black pepper can help you absorb the curcumin from the turmeric. Its main purpose here is to color the tofu, but you can always add black pepper for extra flavor/health benefits.
Absolutely amazing I couldn’t believe this delicious just like scrambled egg maybe even better I’ll be definitely making this again and again, nailed it again Nora thank you so much!Â
You’re welcome, Kate! I’m so happy you loved the scramble so much 🙂
Used black salt instead of tea gulag salt. Nutritional yeast gives it such a cheesy egg taste. Love this recipe 🙂
Hi Laura. I’m so glad you love the scramble! Thanks for your wonderful feedback!
Came out great! Easy! I sautéed yellow and red bell peppers in another pan and made a burrito with vegan cheese and avocado. Amaze! Thanks!Â
Hi Maura. How lovely that you found the scramble easy and delicious! That’s my goal! Thank you for sharing your fantastic feedback and review. Your burrito sounds delicious!
I had Kala namak salt on hand and used it in this recipe because i forgot a huge 1lb block tofu in the fridge. It turned really great and i will absolutely redo ! Thank you for this recipe !
You are welcome, Marion! I’m so glad you loved the recipe, and you’ll be making it again! Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
I have decided eggs are not the best for me so I was pleased to find this recipe.
This morniing I made this recipe and just love it. Never again real eggs for breakfast! Thanks. Joyce
Hi Joyce. I’m thrilled you loved the scramble! I love the flexibility of using different ingredients! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Made this today and it is very good. I used Himalayan Black Salt, which gives it an egg taste. I added spinach at the end, and also covered it with salsa (I live in TX–everything is covered in salsa!). Next time I am going to add green pepper and cherry tomatoes. So much you can do with this one!
Hi Ciara. I love how flexible this recipe is! I’m happy to hear you like the scramble! Thank you for sharing your great feedback, ideas, and review!
The scramble is good! Thank you!
Red peppers, tomatoes, and avocado are fruit.
You are welcome! I’m so glad you love the scramble! Thanks for sharing your great feedback and review!
Transitioning to a plant based diet, knowing one of the things it’ll be hard to give up will be “diner breakfast” (hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage)… this recipe makes a very tasty facsimile of scrambled eggs. I used about 1/4 t. of minced red onion and red fresno pepper as additions. I accompanied it with beyond meat made into my version of breakfast sausage patties. Excellent.
Hi Colleen. I’m glad you’ve found vegan food that fills those diner food cravings! This is a good one, and flexible with it’s ingredients! Thanks for sharing your great feedback and ideas! Happy cooking!
Thanks Nora. I’ve been trying to incorporate some vegan recipes into my families meals and this hit the spot. I was pretty skeptical about using tofu as a replacement for eggs, but they turned out so yummy and I honestly forgot they were not even eggs, lol. The turmeric was a great addition.
Hi Emma. I’m so glad you loved the tofu scramble! I love all the different ways tofu can be cooked! Thanks for sharing your great feedback! I hope you will enjoy some of my other recipes! Happy cooking!
I love the flavor of this, especially with a little black salt. My husband liked the flavor, but hated the texture. He preferred scrambled eggs on the dry side before we became ‘veganish’ (it’s a slow entry, probably 4 or 5 times a week). Is there a way to make these drier? Or is there a Vegan way to make a liquid that can become fluffy (ish) and dry? Thanks for any ideas.
You can try sauteeing the tofu in the pan longer, until it begins to turn golden brown and crispy and there’s almost no moisture in the pan. I hope this helps!
I made this tonight thinking I should  try it myself first since my husband is not adventurous and has never tried tofu. I’m new at tofu. i found it not like eggs at all in taste or texture. It didn’t have that eggy taste and didn’t hold together. I had no nutritional yeast so I subbed liquid aminos, added Parmesan and green bell pepper. I also divided the recipe by 4 as I find tofu to be very filling. Maybe I went wrong wit some of the changes I made.Â
@Rosie, I’m preparing to make this tomorrow so, I can’t speak for this specific recipe. However, liquid aminos and nutritional yeast are very different. Nutritional yeast gives a cheesy type flavor, where as liquid aminos is salty and frequently used as a sub for soy sauce in Chinese cuisine.
I’d recommend making the recipe as is. You can find nutritional yeast in most stores, in the spice aisle. That will make a huge difference. Best wishes!
Hi Rosie,
If you try making this again, do yourself a favor and buy some Kala Namak or black salt (which is actually sort of pink). It will give this dish a definite “eggy” taste and will change how you felt about the recipe when you tried it out. I have used this black salt in a vegan egg salad and if you didn’t know it wasn’t eggs in the vegan version you truly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Can I sub something else for the nutritional yeast?
The recipe sounds delicious and I want to make it soon.Â
I made it first time using your given recipe. It turned perfect.Â
Thank you very much!!Â
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
I never want to disparage anyones work, but found this to be a bit too bland. However I’m comparing it to eggs not other egg alternatives, which isn’t entirely fair. I cook a lot of tofu and I definitely love the idea of this recipe, but I think I will need to find a way to impart more flavor into the tofu such as marinating it.
I followed the recipe except used vegetable oil not olive oil, used oat milk, sautéed garlic and onions before adding tofu and added spinach and broccoli at the end, perhaps that absorbed too much of the flavor and didn’t leave any for the tofu. I would have expected more flavor from the nutritional yeast. Thank you!
I decided to give up eggs recently after realizing that I’m sensitive/intolerant to them. I tried JustEgg for a while but just didn’t love it, especially without adding veggies like onion and bell pepper.Â
I tried this a few weeks ago and, even without extra veggies, it is leagues better than JustEgg, way cheaper, way better texture, and way better taste!Â
You’re now my go-to for anything I need to make that doesn’t have eggs/dairy!
Hi Jay. I’m so happy to hear that you were able to eat the scramble, and that you enjoyed it! I’m thrilled you found my recipes and I hope you enjoy them! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Is this freezer friendly?
Hi Emily. It freezes quite well, though the texture will be a little different.
First off, great recipe, loved it!
Second, yeah on the freezing part. Whenever any frozen food is defrosted it will lose water content. If you defrost something longer, like in the ref instead of open air, it will lose less water content but the tradeoff being a longer time to defrost. In small quantities it’s not really a big deal, but if you’re dealing with 20 lbs of frozen meat, it can make a difference to defrost slowly.