As I’m sure I’ve mentioned about a million times at this point, I have a hard time with vegan breakfast/brunch. Not usually a fan of sweets in the morning, I can’t help but miss eggs every now and then. (Though not enough to actually eat them). In my quest for a savory breakfast item, I’ve started eating way more bagels than I’d like to admit. Whether I top them with hummus, avocado, and tomato, or tofu cream cheese, my bagel indulgences are starting to get out of hand. With all the overeating that’s going on right now with the pre-holiday holiday parties, and the impending serious overeating that will be my vacation in Wisconsin, I decided I should at least be somewhat healthy for once and try out a new recipe that I would like eating and wouldn’t feel guilty about afterward. And so my take on the standard tofu scramble is here!

What you’ll need:

• 1 package firm tofu (8 ounces is standard)
• 2 TBS nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup Daiya vegan cheddar cheese
• 1 vegan apple sage sausage, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups kale, shredded
• 1/2 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• hot sauce for toping (optional)
• roasted purple potatoes as a side (optional)

Start by pressing the tofu for about 20 minutes to drain the access water out. I like to do this while washing, chopping, and preparing all the other ingredients. In a skillet with medium heat, add a tablespoon of oil with the onion and start to cook the onion until it’s translucent. By the time I’m done with that, the tofu is usually ready to go. Using a fork, mash up the tofu into scrambled-egg like sizes and add to the pan. Add the sausage and spices and let everything cook and start to brown a teeny bit. Then add the kale and continue to cook until kale is wilted. (I personally like Field Roast brand vegan sausage – it’s delicious and I think even better than “real” sausage).

At that point, add the Daiya cheese and let melt. I happened to have some purple potatoes laying around and decided to roast them up as a side – because what’s a brunch without a side of potatoes?

Once the cheese is melted, you’re all set! Plate it up, and enjoy. I was really happy with how this turned out. It was really easy to put together and made me not at all guilty about what I was eating. I mean, I was getting kale in for brunch! Healthy, simple, and delicious. It really doesn’t get much better than that…

… unless you add some hot sauce too. Then it was perfection.