Vegan Breakfast Ideas: 12 Easy Meals to Make at Home

Veganism is the practice of excluding all animal foods and animal by-products from your diet. The vegan diet excludes all animal proteins, including meat, poultry, and fish—similar to the vegetarian diet—while also excluding eggs, dairy products, casein proteins, collagen, gelatin, and honey. The vegan diet consists entirely of plant-based foods.

Whether you are looking to avoid meat for dietary reasons or personal preference, below is a list of both sweet and savory vegan breakfast options that even beginner-level home cooks can tackle:

1. 1. Açaí smoothie bowl: You can use frozen açaí berry purée as a ready-made base for a healthy acai bowl. Blend the açaí purée with the nut butter of your choosing (almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter), almond milk, and top with steel-cut granola and fresh fruit toppings of your choice for a sweet and yummy breakfast bowl.
2. 2. Avocado toast: This dish features creamy avocado on toasted bread. Avocado toast requires a perfect avocado: ripe enough to spread easily, but not brown. Avocado shines as a filling and healthy vegan breakfast meal when you pair it with high-quality toast, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
3. 3. Banana bread: Vegan banana bread is a type of quick bread that doesn’t contain animal products like eggs or dairy. Instead, this sweet treat achieves a moist texture with ingredients like vegetable and coconut oil, vegan butter, and non-dairy milk, like almond, soy, or coconut milk. Incorporating maple syrup into the vegan banana bread batter gives it a dimension of flavor and adds moisture to the quick bread.
4. 4. Breakfast burrito: Breakfast burritos typically feature bacon or sausage, potatoes, eggs, veggies, and salsa. To make vegan breakfast burritos, swap sausage for tempeh and eggs for tofu scramble. Then add black beans and a medley of veggies, and roll it all into a tortilla for a savory vegan morning meal.
5. 5. Chia seed pudding: Combine dry chia seeds with non-dairy milk like cashew milk or almond milk to make a simple vegan chia seed pudding. The chia seeds absorb the milk, which causes it to develop a gel-like coating that gives the mixture a texture similar to tapioca pudding, rice pudding, or oatmeal. Top your vegan chia pudding with fresh fruit, or serve it up with a vegan granola bar or vegan banana pancakes.
6. 6. Cinnamon rolls: A cinnamon roll is a sweet rolled pastry made with a yeasted dough, gooey cinnamon-sugar filling, and topped with dairy-based cream-cheese icing. You can make vegan cinnamon rolls without any animal products. You can incorporate plant-based ingredients like dairy-free milk, vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, coconut oil, and egg replacements made from hydrated flaxseed meal.
7. 7. Cornbread: Vegan cornbread is an egg- and dairy-free variation of cornbread—a buttery, crumbly quick bread made with finely ground cornmeal. Vegan cornbread substitutes eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter for flaxseed meal, coconut milk, and applesauce for a tasty dairy-free alternative.
8. 8. Hash browns: Hash browns, or hashed brown potatoes, are a breakfast side dish consisting of shredded potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, and any other flavorings and sautéed until they are crispy on the outside and still soft on the inside. Some hash brown recipes contain egg, but hash browns are typically vegan, containing only potato and onion.
9. 9. Overnight oats: Overnight oatmeal is a no-cook method for preparing oats. To make the vegan version of overnight oats, combine equal parts old-fashioned oats and liquid in a jar. Mix oats with coconut milk, chia seeds, and agave syrup for a tropical spin on the dish. Place frozen pineapple and mango chunks at the bottom of a jar and top with oat mixture. Top your oats with sliced bananas and shredded coconut.
10. 10. Pancakes: Vegan pancakes are an animal-free twist on regular pancakes. Vegan pancakes swap out eggs, milk, and butter for dairy-free and egg-free alternatives.
11. 11. Peanut butter: Peanut butter is a naturally vegan spread that you can use in various breakfast dishes. Homemade peanut butter is delicious in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as a snack with apple slices or celery, smeared on vegan waffles, or in a peanut butter banana smoothie.
12. 12. Tofu scramble: Tofu scramble is similar to scrambled eggs, but the main ingredient is tofu instead of eggs. Tofu is a vegan food made with compressed bean curds, usually appearing as white, square or rectangular-shaped, semi-solid blocks that you can cook in various ways depending on the tofu’s exact firmness. Add salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, or mashed sweet potatoes to your tofu scramble for a burst of savory flavor.

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