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I’m really excited to share this recipe with you today. This is one of my absolute favorite breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Seriously, I could eat it at any hour of the day.
By now you must be wondering how this scramble is made eggless…it’s made with tofu. Wait, wait, before you go running off please hear me out. I know there are many people who shudder at the thought eating tofu. While I’m not repulsed by it, it also isn’t something I like to eat often. But this recipe could totally change that.
Hopefully there are a few of you still reading this and whom I can talk into trying a tofu scramble. I’m not sure when I heard of using tofu in place of egg for scrambles, all I remember is falling in love at first bite. The tofu texture becomes light, airy, and resembles scrambled eggs remarkably well. It can easily fool you into not noticing the difference. In fact I had my husband, who doesn’t care for tofu, take a bite without letting him know what it was and he didn’t catch on. (muahaha!)
Adding ground turmeric to the tofu gives it the same color as eggs, not to mention adding extra flavor and health benefits too. The thing I love most about this dish is that just about anything can be added. My favorite ingredients to scramble in are tomatoes, onions, jalapenos (or any other chiles), and mushrooms. But really anything you would combine with eggs can be added to this scramble. It’s also perfect for using up extra vegetables or enjoying what’s in season. Okay, here’s how I make my scramble.
- 200 gram or 7 oz pack of firm tofu, drained
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 jalapenos or 1 small green bell pepper, finely diced
- 5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 large tomato,finely diced
- ¼ tsp. ground dried turmeric
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
- bread or toast to serve
- Prepare all of the vegetables and have ready for cooking before beginning. Drain the tofu as best as possible, squeezing it if need be. Using a potato masher or back of a fork, crumble/smash the tofu into even chunks. (They should be coarse like regular scrambled eggs.)
- Heat the oil in a large pan and once heated saute the onions until they are soft about 4 minutes. Next add the garlic, pepper and mushrooms, and saute until the peppers begin to soften. Next add the tomato and add all of the spices into the pan, allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Next add the crumbled tofu to the vegetables. Stir all of the ingredients well to distribute the turmeric evenly. Continue to stir until the tofu absorbs the turmeric and changes color. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Serve with or on your favorite bread.
The scramble is extremely easy and relatively fast to prepare. And the smells as the ingredients are cooking are amazing! I hope you can put your tofu dislike aside and give the scramble a try — if not you can use egg in it’s place. But come on doesn’t that ↓ just look so good?
Served on top of country style bread, some fruits or vegetables on the side, a cup of cafe con leche (coffee with milk), a bottle of hot sauce, and this is my dream breakfast!
What is your favorite breakfast?
Check out these real egg recipes: The perfect hard boiled egg, every time!, Classic Egg Salad, Asparagus Goat Cheese Tart, Pain Perdu or French Toast, Untraditional Croque Madame or French Ham, Cheese and Egg Sandwich
A scrumptious looking tofu dish! I love the idea.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!
Brilliant idea! I love all the veggies you added, and hot sauce is a must!
Agree, and it’s never far from my meals. Thanks Laura:)
I actually quite like tofu and for some reason haven’t made it scrambled yet. This looks so good, I would eat it for lunch!
Really, I’m surprised Trix. I think you’d love it!
you bowled me over with that tomato picture and you got me when i discovered that its tofu here and not egg!!
Thank you Anusha!:)
I am in love with that over-sized wood fork – where did you get it? Nancy, I just submitted a recipe to YBR and didn’t put my name and blog before the title – can you fix it or should I resubmit? Thank you :)
Hi Alyssa!
I bought it at a small local store here. I’m not sure, but I think it’s a regional specialty.
No problem, I will fix it for you. Thanks for joining!:)
What a gorgeous looking tofu dish! Love spicy anything :-)
Thank you Ravie!
It looks beautiful. My family isn’t a fan of tofu but we love eggs. It would be fun to give this a try to see if anyone notices. Tofu is great for you so I’m willing to give this a try.
Hi Vicki! It’s definitely worth trying at least once, and you never know you might end up liking it. Thanks!
That’s certainly an interesting alternative for those who are allergic to eggs. Your photos even make a basic scramble look good!
It’s a great alternative, thanks Suzanne!
That is one delicious morning scramble!
Thanks!
I’ve made a dish similar with cumin instead of the turmeric (which I’m so trying the next time I make it) and I’d make a large batch to last me a few mornings. Works well in a flour tortilla filled with salsa to mix things up.
Hi Patricia! Next time I’ll try adding cumin — sounds good. Yes, I too love it on tortillas.
Wow… if you didn’t mention it wasn’t eggs…I would have thought it was. :) Great dish. :)
Thanks Ramona!
Love the idea. I actually do like tofu, but rarely use it – just not in the habit, I guess. I definitely should give this concept a try. Plus I’ll insert turmeric into my diet any chance I can get! Love the light on the photos – nice change from the big soft light one so often sees. Shadows can be good!
You should John, thanks!
Nancy, this meal looks so appetizing that I don’t even need any details what it’s made of! I do love tofu, that’s a new ingredient for me, but I am learning how to use t. However most of the time I would eat it as is with some spicy sauce. :) Thanks for this recipe and brilliant photography!
Tofu with spicy sauce sounds great. Thanks Marina!
Eat firm tofu at least 2-3 times a week but have never scrambled it! Sure shall try after reading this :) ! Actually thought you would have used the soft kind which sometimes goes into my salad dressings ! But, preferring this adds to my curiosity in trying it out!!!
That’s great and very healthy of you Eha. The soft tofu doesn’t hold up too well in this recipe. Thanks!
This looks so beautiful! Love all of the fresh ingredients!!
Thank you Ali!
A scramble without eggs – I could buy that and I could definitely try that. The jalapeno and the turmeric certainly spice it up. Looks really, really good!
Thanks MJ!
Hi Nancy! I have to say your tofu scramble looks so delicious and I do like tofu so this breakfast/lunch or snack idea would really work for me ;-)
I hope you give it a try sometime Patty!:)
A few years ago I was told to skip the eggs. Needless to say, I really miss them. This looks like a fantastic alternative. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kristi! I think this would be a great substitute for you. Let me know how you like it. xx
hmmmm i’ve heard of tofu scramble before, but never tried it! it looks delicious here, maybe i will be brave!
Thanks Anna, give it a try you might like it. :)
What a great eggless dish! I can see why you could eat this anytime of day. I could too! Thank you for sharing another lovely post and delicious recipe. I’m a bit sick, but now I want to cook (and eat!) Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Monet,
I hope you feel better soon. xx
Ha ha, I wonder if I could trick mine into thinking they were hot dogs. I was just telling my daughter I wanted to try tofu on her, well see how that goes. Hope you didn’t have to eat all those oreos by yourself. I’m glad you are bringing back your series, I missed them. Hope you have a great weekend.
Okay you are light years ahead of me on the the design thing, my teacher stops class while she figures out how to do things! lol.
-Gina-
Maybe if you shaped the tofu like hot dogs…actually I’ve seen tofu based sausages here. Let me know if you can sneak it passed hot dog dude, hehe:) Are you kidding, I wasn’t sharing any of my Oreos! Well, it was actually just one of those small individual packs. Thanks amiga for always been so supportive. xx
Right now I’m having a fried egg and cranberry walnut toast with jam for breakfast. I am so going to try this–never in a a million years would I have thought to sub tofu for eggs. My husband and I love eggs and this would be a great solution for his cholesterol concerns. Thanks for a great idea, Nancy!
Yum — your breakfast sound delish! Thanks
I didn’t expect that it’s eggless until I saw tofu! You are absolutely genius and this is such a great recipe Nancy! It looks like scramble egg with turmeric in it. You’re right – I can eat this for breakfast, lunch or even dinner too. Really healthy and light. I really enjoyed learning the new way of eating tofu like this!
I hope you give it a try Nami.
Hmmmm… not sure you have convinced me here, as I can’t stand tofu. But a good friend is vegan and she has fed me tofu dishes that I never thought was tofu. So maybe there is hope for me yet?
Hello!
This is really a delicious recipe, but I am wondering why it would be called ‘Spicy” when it has only 1/4 tsp of turmeric in it for ‘spice’? Apart from the Jalapeno, which is not compulsory as it might be simply green pepper and the garlic, there are no spices in it?
Have you left out some ingredients (you say to add ‘all the spices’)? I have been adding at least 1/2 and more tsp of the turmeric, as 1/4 seemed too little be really give much colour (or benefit healthwise).
Hi Ellie! Not everyone eats the same level of spicy food that I do, that is why I always give people options with plenty of room to adjust to personal taste. Turmeric and black pepper are spices. Salt is technically a mineral but many people, correct or not and culinarily speaking, consider it both a spice and seasoning. The same applies to Garlic. The 1/4 tsp of turmeric gives the scramble the light faux scrambled egg color we are both looking for and one that satisfies me. If you need to add more, that is perfectly fine — cooking is all about satisfying our stomachs and eyes.:) Thank you!
Thank you so much for that reply. It makes total sense. I served it on coucous last night and it was also excellent. It is so quick and easy!
Thanks again
Ellie
My pleasure Ellie:) Thanks for sharing the couscous tip, I’ll try that next time as it sound fantastic.
Yum! Looks wonderful! Of course, turmeric makes everything tasty!