While I love green smoothies, chia puddings loaded with fruit, and oatmeal with all of the fixings, sometimes I want a veganized version of one of my old favorite comfort food stand-bys. I’ve got recipes for some of them, like pancakes and French toast, but my breakfast options are sadly lacking in the savory category.

I struggle on my site with wanting to post “pure,” “clean” (a term I’m growing to dislike immensely), and “beautifying” recipes, and wanting to share quick, yummy, convenient and reminiscent recipes that are perfect for someone just starting out on an animal-free diet. I think over the years, I’ve become much more realistic in my approach to recipe creation. Gone are the days of complicated methods and hard to find ingredients (all of the ingredients I use are found at my local grocery store) , now I just want to show you all the kinds of things I actually make on a day to day basis. As I said, I truly love healthy green smoothies, but sometimes my family and I want a melty, bready, comfort food classic, like this super easy 10 minute breakfast sandwich.

When my husband and I first started cooking together, we were still eating cheese and eggs (my husband was actually still eating meat as well). Our favorite weekend breakfasts to make together were pancakes or breakfast sandwiches. We even had a tiny little pan to cook a perfectly circular egg, which fit perfectly on a toasted English muffin or bagel. We’d top it with a slice of American cheese, and sometimes a veggie sausage patty, and I tell you, it was delicious. My goal was to recreate that yummy sandwich, in a realistic and quick way, so it doesn’t have to be just for weekends, and obviously without the eggs or dairy.

This recipe can be ready in 10 minutes, maybe less if you mix up your sauce and slice your tofu the night before. You’ll be amazed how much this actually tastes like an egg sandwich. It is so yummy! Like every recipe I post, I encourage you to make this one your own, try different toppings, bread, or dairy free cheese. The possibilities are endless! If you want to skip the vegan cheese, try sliced avocado in its place. If you have more time, cook up some meatless bacon or sausage patties (we love the Benevelont Bacon from Sweet Earth Foods). Sometimes I add sautéed spinach or chard. Swap the bagels for English muffins or your favorite gluten free bread. Have fun with it!

The 10 Minute Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Makes 1 large breakfast sandwich or 2 mini bagel breakfast sandwiches

• 1 bagel (or 2 minis) or bread, English Muffin, etc.
• 1 block of firm or extra firm Nasoya Tofu
• sliced dairy-free cheese of choice, I used Daiya Farmhouse Block

Quick Marinade:

• 1 tbsp low sodium tamari
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• big pinch of black pepper
• optional – tiny pinch of turmeric (for yellow color)
• optional – 1/4 tsp kala namuk (Indian black salt, for eggy flavor)

Instructions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl (this can be done the night before to save even more time). Cut the tofu block into thirds, then take one third and slice it in half lengthwise so you have two thin rectangles. Refrigerate the rest for later. Gently press the tofu slices with a tea towel or paper towel to remove excess water, place them in a shallow dish, and pour the marinade over them.

Place a vegan cheese slice over one half of your bagel and toast the two halves in the toaster oven (this will melt the cheese). Heat a pan over medium heat and add a quick spray of oil (optional) and cook the tofu for about a minute on each side.

Add the tofu slices to the toasted bagel(s) and enjoy!

Notes:

Try slicing your tofu and placing it in the marinade (put it in the fridge) the night before to save extra time and deepen the flavors.