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!
Definitely the best tofu scramble recipe I have ever tried. Thank you!
You are welcome, Nicole! Thank you for your incredible review! I am thrilled that you love the scramble!
I’ve been making tofu scrambles for years, but I think I was overcomplicating it! Your version is simple, quick and very satisfying. The kala namak is key.
These came out great for me! I had Flavor God vegan cheese on hand as the nut yeast. Since my wife likes eggs very dry I left out the liquid altogether. Next time I will add a little for me. Thank you for this!
You bet, Andi! I’m so glad that the tofu scramble turned out wonderful for you! Thank you for sharing your recipe experience and terrific review! Happy cooking!
I’m always looking for more healthy vegan options for my cafe customers. Just made this and added some curry and vegan smoked cheddar (Rebel Cheese). This will be on my specials board for the coming week. Thanks!
Hi Pat. I’m honored you love the recipe, and are serving it to your customers! Thank you for loving my recipes and for sharing your incredible review! Happy cooking!
Fantastic recipe! First time making a tofu scramble. Even my egg loving teen approved. Highly recommend adding some fresh ground pepper. Turmeric is such a healthy spice and it can increase absorption by up to 2000%.
Thank you, Vickie, for your glowing review and feedback! I’m so glad that you and your family loved my tofu scrambled recipe!
I used to being making tofu scramble were impossible to do at home but this recipe is so easy and so good!
Hi Bree. I’m glad you found the recipe easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and feedback!
Love this recipe!!! It’s my go-to whenever I have a block of tofu 🙂
Hi Victoria. Thank you for sharing your stellar review! I’m thrilled you are loving the recipe! Happy cooking!
Thanks for the idea, Gina! My italian grandma made eggs with peppers and onions, too!
Made this today and loved it. Added mushrooms, red peppers, green onions cuz I love vegetables. So easy to make.
So good! I love this! Super easy and really delicious. For a softer texture, drop the tofu into boiling water for 5 mins, drain, then go ahead with the recipe.
This will definitely be a regular toast topper in my life!
This is one of my regularly made recipes and my favorite tofu scramble recipe. I often like to add spinach and black-beans to it also and anything else I might have around. I like it best in a tortilla with salsa and avocado and some cashew cream.
Hi, can you omit the liquid at all, or just add a little? (I dont like creamy scrambled eggs lol) I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I’ve been wanting to make this for so long, because it looks so good and I love tofu.
Hi Amy. Yes, you can omit the milk if you’d like. It will still turn out good. I hope you enjoy the recipe! Happy cooking!
Hi, I’ve made this recipe three times now, and I really love it, it’s a great protein alternative.
Giuseppe
Thank you for sharing your positive review and feedback! I’m glad that you are loving the recipe, Giuseppe!
Holy cow, this is so good. This is definitely going to become a weekend staple. Thank you for the recipe!
Excellent! I added green pepper and onions. It was the closest tofu scramble to my Italian grandmother’s papers and eggs. She used butter but I used olive oil and it still reminded me of her recipe. A great tofu scramble base recipe that can hold add-ons. A great find! I have tried many. This is my favorite.
Excellent!
Thank you SO much for this recipe. I’ve been eating it almost every morning for several weeks. I make a big batch and store it in the fridge, then I nuke up a single serving in the morning before work. I love it!
I have the tofu but I have not made this yet. I have all the ingredients. But I was going to make the whole block of tofu and I know I won’t be eating at all so can it be stored in a airtight container and the refrigerator? And for how long? Thank you
Yes, I keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Fantastic recipe and super easy to prepare. Thank you!
Hi Chaim. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking time to share your awesome review!
Easy and delicious tasting! Thanks, Nora! 🙂
Great recipe. The black salt does the trick! I made a batch with dried chives in first moisture cook off and then vegan Feta added in crumbles for the last five minutes and it was great!
Thanks
Hi Chuck. I’m glad to read that you enjoyed the tofu scramble recipe! Thank you for sharing your cooking experience and your terrific review! Wishing you happy cooking!
They turned out great! I combined mine with onions, garlic, tomatoes, vegan ham, and dill. I served it on a bed of home style potatoes. I upped the black salt by a touch to make it a little bit eggier and the nooch to make it a bit cheesier. Thank you for this recipe!
This is the best tofu scramble recipe I have tried! I make it oil free and cook the tofu in just a bit of vegetable stock. For a more eggy texture, I add just a splash of liquid egg replacer at the very end. I could literally eat this every single day!
Excellent! I stirred in a pat of vegan butter to finish it off with the almond milk- delicious.
I’m so glad that you love the tofu scramble recipe! Thank you for taking time to share your recipe experience and terrific review!
Hello! I was wondering if you recommend leaving out the kala namak if you don’t like the taste of eggs? Looking forward to trying this recipe out!
Yes, just use regular salt instead, to taste. 🙂 I hope you love the tofu scramble!
I love this!! I’ve been making single servings of this all week!! I’ve been using a little bit of white miso instead of the black salt and melting it at the beginning with the tofu and it gives the greatest umami flavor at the end!
Hi Jess. I’m thrilled that you were loving the tofu scramble! Thanks for sharing your recipe experience and ideas! I appreciate your stellar review! Wishing you happy cooking!
I make this recipe all the time and love it! It’s so delicious and easy. Thanks for the lovely recipes!
You are welcome, Natalie! Glad you are loving the scramble recipe! Thank you for sharing your terrific review!
Wow! I was pescatarian for 10+ years and went full on vegan about 2 years ago. I was craving some “scrambled eggs” texture with hot sauce and a toast for some reasons and wanted to have something healthier than the generic Just Egg option! And wow! Was I not disappointed! It was beyond expectations to me and will be making these often! Super easy, quick and can be used for different meals for sure! My left over will be used for lunch in a tortilla and I cannot wait! Thank you!
Bestest scrambled tofu! Delicious. Thanks Nora 😊