The Vegan Roman Tofu Scramble

The Vegan Roman Tofu Scramble is loaded with onions, peppers, and garlic, and it's the best breakfast dish! It's great for weekend brunch and weekday brinner, too! This easy vegan recipe comes together in less than half an hour.

Tofu Scramble

Tofu scramble is one of my favorite meals, and in my house it’s not just exiled to the breakfast menu. I sometimes have it for lunch, and I often make it for dinner. This Roman Tofu Scramble is one of my favorite breakfast-for-dinner meals.

When I went vegetarian in the early ‘90s, I experimented with all kinds of dishes. I would drive to the health food shop about half an hour away and peruse their aisles of unfamiliar foods, picking a few to try. I remember picking up a box of tofu scramble mix, excited to make something new for breakfast.

The resulting dish was barely palatable, as it was super heavy on the spices. I bought more and kept experimenting with it, though. I found that adding some vegetables and only using about a third of the mix made a much tastier tofu scramble.

It wasn’t until I bought a Miyoko Schinner’s The New Now and Then Epicure in 2001 that I learned how to make tofu scramble without the mix. It soon became a breakfast favorite, and I’ve since created many of my own scramble recipes.

The Roman Tofu Scramble

This Roman Tofu Scramble is my interpretation of a favorite from Rutherford Pancake House here in New Jersey. The Pancake House offers a few tofu scrambles, The Vegan Popeye being my favorite with The Roman coming in at a close second.

The Roman Tofu Scramble is loaded with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and vegan sausage. The Pancake house doesn’t use arugula in their dish, but I’ve added it to my recipe, because I like to add leafy greens to my scrambles. The dish is finished off with a sprinkling of vegan mozzarella.

What You Need

• Vegetable oil
• Onion
• Extra firm tofu 
• Nutritional yeast
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Turmeric
• Dried oregano
• Dried thyme
• Dried basil
• Kala namak (black salt)
• Garlic 
• Red pepper 
• Green pepper 
• Tomato 
• Vegan Italian sausages
• Arugula
• Vegan mozzarella shreds

See the recipe card for exact amounts

How to Press Tofu

Make sure you press your tofu before cooking with it. Pressing tofu removes excess water, and it helps the tofu to absorb the flavors of what it’s cooked with.

To do this, wrap your tofu in a towel and put something heavy on top of it, such as a cast iron pan or a cutting board topped with a few cans of bean., and leave it for about 30 minutes to an hour.

If you give yourself enough time in advance, you can wrap your tofu in a towel and place it in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. There’s no need to place anything heavy on top of it if you do it this way, as the towel will absorb the excess liquid over time.

You can also use a tofu press, if you have one. I’ve found that tofu only needs to be pressed for about 15 minutes when I use my TofuXpress.

How to Make the Roman Tofu Scramble

This recipe is really easy to make!

• First you heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the onion. Cook it until it begins to brown, which will take about 5 minutes.
• Next you crumble the tofu and add it to the pan along with the nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, oregano, thyme, basil, and kala namak. Stir everything to coat the tofu in the herbs and spices.
• Now you add the garlic, peppers, tomato, and sausage, and cook everything for 10 to 15 more minutes, until it's all heated throughout.
• Finally you fold in the arugula and top your scramble with the shredded mozzarella. Cover the pan and allow the cheese to melt, which will take about 2 or 3 minutes.

A note on Vegan Sausages and Non-Dairy Cheese

Whenever I post a recipe that uses vegan means and cheeses, it's inevitable that I receive negative comments about it. I don’t eat vegan meats and non-dairy cheeses very often, but I don’t totally eschew them. They’re convenient and most of them are quite tasty. I’ve been veg long enough to remember the early days of “meatless meats,” when the only brand of veggie burger that was available at the grocery store tasted about as good as the cardboard box it came in. The only non-dairy cheese that was available when I went vegan bore a strong resemblance to a large, waxy crayon. So I really appreciate how far meat-free foods have come over the years.

There are several brands of vegan Italian sausages available, including Tofurky and Field Roast. If you follow a gluten-free diet, Beyond Sausage is made with pea protein and is free of both soy and wheat. I like to use Field Roast sausages when I make this Roman Tofu Scramble.

Gone are the days of waxy non-dairy cheese! Vegan cheese tastes great and actually melts now. There are many vegan varieties of mozzarella on the market these days, including Daiya, Follow Your Heart, Violife, and Miyoko’s Kitchen—the latter being my cheese of choice.

If you’re feeling up to a challenge, recipes to make vegan sausages and mozzarella from scratch can easily be found online. I have a mozzarella recipe in my book Eating Vegan, and I love the sausage recipes in The Field Roast Cookbook.

Serving Your Tofu Scramble 

The Roman Tofu Scramble is perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast or brunch. Since it takes about 20 minutes to make, it might not be the best option for busy weekday mornings. If I have a hankering for tofu scramble during the week, I will make this dish in advance, so that all I have to do is heat it up in the morning. Enjoy it with roasted potatoes, toast, and a nice cuppa.

The Roman Tofu Scramble

Dianne

Loaded with onions, peppers, and garlic, The Vegan Roman Tofu Scramble is the ultimate breakfast dish! It's great for brinner, too!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories 465 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 (14-ounce) block extra firm tofu drained and pressed
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 red pepper diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• 1 large tomato diced
• 1 (14-ounce) package vegan Italian sausages sliced
• 5 ounces arugula
• ½ cup vegan mozzarella shredded

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Crumble the tofu and add it to the pan along with the nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, oregano, thyme, basil, and kala namak. Stir to coat the tofu in the herbs and spices.
• Add the garlic, peppers, tomato, and sausage. Cook for 10 to 15 more minutes, until heated throughout.
• Fold in the arugula and top with the shredded mozzarella. Cover and allow the cheese to melt, about 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot.

Calories: 465kcal

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More tofu scramble recipes you might also like include

• Tex-Mex Tofu Scramble
• Spinach Mushroom Scrambled Tofu
• Hoppin' John Tofu Scramble
• The Popeye Tofu Scramble

More Breakfast Recipes You Might Like Include:

• Vegan Huevos Rancheros
• Vegan Breakfast Pizza
• Tofu Frittata
• Sante Fe Vegan Breakfast Quesadillas