These savory vegan breakfast jars are a great make ahead protein packed breakfast that you can grab and go with. Each jar is loaded with a fluffy scrambled tofu that you can mix and match to customize to your liking.
Why You’ll Love These Make Ahead Breakfast Jars
A great alternative to overnight oats. A lot of times I like to make 3 overnight oat jars a week and then mix-in 2 of these savory jars to keep things fun and interesting.
Protein packed. A great protein option to start your day with especially if you are using the tofu scrambles with other high protein options like black beans or quinoa.
Customizable. Similar to overnight oats, you can mix and match what you put in each jar. So use this as an example or blueprint and create your own personalized jar that meets your nutrition needs.
Plant-based goodness. As always, these jars are 100% vegan, all gluten-free and nut-free for anyone dealing with allergies.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Tofu: I personally like to use extra firm tofu from Nasoya as it has a really great texture and I do like my scrambles to be more firm. If you like a softer scramble, definitely use a firm tofu instead. Allergic to soy? You can opt for a chickpea based scramble and replace the soy sauce with some coconut aminos.
Beans: For ease and to save time I used canned beans. As always, making fresh beans will yield the best flavors, but you can dress up your canned beans as well to help them taste better and I shared some suggestions below.
Quinoa: I cooked my own and have instructions below for my prepping process. Feel free to use frozen or shelf-stable quinoa that just requires reheating.
Cherry Tomatoes: I just halve these cherry tomatoes. You can swap with store bought salsa if you want to save on any chopping or preparation.
Potatoes: I used baby potatoes and quartered them. You can swap out the type of potato you use. Sweet potatoes or regular potatoes also work well here. If you want something fun, you can also add some hash browns or cooked tater tots on top.
Kale: This was what I had on hand at the time, but you can swap for any other greens like arugula and spinach as a time saving option.
Seasoning: I used garlic, onion powder and turmeric in the tofu scrambles and some adobo seasoning on the potatoes. Feel free to change these seasonings up based on your preferences.
How to Make Savory Vegan Breakfast Jars
You can make these jars as simple or complex as you like. When I make these jars, I focus on the main ingredients I have the energy to prepare and for extra things I might rely on prepackaged items to help make them come together faster. The following steps are meant to explain any parts of this process if you wanted to make any of the components from scratch.
How to Make Savory Vegan Breakfast Jars You can make these jars as simple or complex as you like. When I make these jars, I focus on the main ingredients I have the energy to prepare and for extra things I might rely on prepackaged items to help make them come together faster. The following steps are meant to explain any parts of this process if you wanted to make any of the components from scratch.
Quinoa
To save time, use frozen quinoa and reheat according to instructions. If cooking from scratch, cook the quinoa using a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water (example, if you make 1 cup dry cook it in 2 cups water). Add a vegetable bouillon cube, bring to a boil, reduce to the lowest heat setting and cover with a lid for 17 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit with lid still on for 5 minutes. Remove lid, fluff it with a fork and then allow to come to room temperature. Tofu Scrambles I used my favorite fluffy tofu scrambles, but modified them slightly. Start by sauteing the white parts of the scallion in a pan with some oil for about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Crumble your tofu into the pan and sauté to coat in the garlic and onion mixture. Pour in the soy sauce and spices and again toss to coat. Add the tahini and plant based milk and continue to stir and coat the tofu until everything is evenly mixed and most of the liquid is absorbed. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference then set aside to cool.
Beans Rinse and drain your beans in a bowl. If you do wish to flavor, you can toss them with a small splash of extra virgin olive oil, pinch of salt, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano. Mix to combine and set aside. Vegetable Prep There are a number of different vegetables that you can make in advance. Part of my meal prepping during the week involves makingpickled onions, so I did include them in my jars. I also chose some baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes andkaleas that is what I had on hand, but using some baby spinach, arugula or even some salsa is a great alternative as well that doesn’t require any prep. CHERRY TOMATOES Leave them whole or if you want more flavor, cut them in half, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and fresh garlic. Allow to sit and marinate until you assemble the jars. POTATOES Cube your potato and coat in adobo seasoning, cornstarch and oil. Toss to coat and place in the oven or air-fryer to crisp up. KALE I like to massage my kale, but you can also sauté it. To massage just tear your kale into small bite sized pieces in a bowl along with some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Use your hands to rub these ingredients into the kale until it starts to breakdown and soften. You should notice the kale start to turn a brighter green color.
INGREDIENTS
Quinoa (or use frozen)
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
Tofu Scrambles
1–2 tsp olive oil
3 scallions, sliced with white and green parts separated
3–4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
1, ~400g block extra firm tofu, drained
1/2 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder
1/4 – 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp reduce sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
1 tbsptahini
1/4 cup plant-based milk (I used soy milk)
Salt and pepper to taste
Air Fried Potatoes
5 baby potatoes, quartered
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp adobo seasoning or old bay seasoning
1–2 tsp olive oil
Jar Assembly Ingredient Options (optional)
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Baby Spinach or Massaged Kale
Avocado, cubed
Pickled Onions
1, 15 oz can blacked beans, rinsed and drained
INSTRUCTIONS
Quinoa. If making from scratch, just cook 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil in a sauce pan, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit with the lid on for 5- 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Tofu Scramble. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add oil and warm through. Add the white parts of the scallions and a pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and sauté an extra minute until fragrant. Crumble your tofu into the pan and add the soy sauce and dry seasonings then toss to coat. Add the tahini and the milk and continue to stir until the tofu has absorbed most of the liquid. Sprinkle with remaining green parts of the scallion, salt and pepper to taste.
Potatoes. If making potatoes, coat potatoes in cornstarch, seasoning and oil. Toss to coat and place in air fryer at 400F for 10 minutes, giving the potatoes a shake at the 8 minute mark.
Assemble. In an airtight container layer or portion ingredients as desired. For the potato jars I did tofu, black beans, kale, potatoes, avocado and pickled onion. Another example is quinoa, tofu, kale, tomatoes and pickled onions. Have fun and make it your own.
