Vegan Breakfast Casserole

This healthy vegan breakfast casserole is packed with veggies, potato, tofu and even plant based sausages. It's an easy, comforting breakfast recipe perfect for entertaining during the holidays.  

For some reason, during the holidays, breakfast becomes very important in my family. For me personally, breakfast is important all year long.

And among my family members, dinner is a much-discussed topic. We'll literally be planning dinner for next weekend on a Friday afternoon.

But come the colder months, breakfast starts to work its way into these heated conversations. Whether it's saving starter for sourdough pancakes or making a big batch of homemade granola, we've got breakfast on the brain.

Of course, when it's cold out, we also go on a serious comfort food kick. See vegan sweet potato casserole with maple granola and sweet potato risotto for evidence. That's where this comforting vegan breakfast casserole comes to the rescue.

It's warming, thanks to the creamy tofu potato filling. Plus, it's cheesy with bites of flavorful plant based sausages. Not to mention that the smell alone will wake up even the sleepiest houseguests!

I know it sounds a bit strange based on the ingredients, but the texture turns out pretty similar to an egg-based casserole. Even if you're not vegan, it's a great option for those with egg allergies!

Instructions

The secret to this vegetarian breakfast bake is building flavor with veggies, adding protein with tofu and beans, and finishing everything off with gooey melted vegan cheese.

Tofu

Before you get started with the vegetables, you want to get the tofu as dry as possible. Remove it from the packaging, drain any water and slice the pieces in half lengthwise. You'll have thin rectangles of tofu.

Wrap these loosely in a few layers of paper towel on a cutting board or plate. Then place something heavy, like a cast iron skillet, or a plate weighed down with a book, on top. Let the tofu sit like this for 20-30 minutes, if you have time.

This helps remove all the internal moisture. Less moisture means your vegan breakfast casserole will bake evenly and crisp up on top.

Vegetables

While the tofu dries out, you can start prepping your veggies.

First, sweat down your onion and some minced garlic. Add in a bell pepper for color and sweetness too. The color is up to you, but we recommend yellow or red.

Next, we add some sliced button mushrooms. These mix in nicely with the other veggies and give the meaty, umami flavor we love 'shrooms for.

All of those sautéed veggies get a hit of flavor from chili powder and cumin.

Next comes the plant-based sausages. There are a few good brands out there to choose from. Field Roast makes yummy Italian flavored sausages. However, they do contain gluten.

Beyond Meat also offers gluten-free Hot Italian sausages. If you don't like the spice, you can always go for the unflavored variety. Or, if you're not a fan of plant based sausage in general, simply leave them out of the recipe!

We also add vegan cheddar into this flavorful vegetable casserole. Whole Foods brand makes plant based cheese that melts pretty well. Melting can always be an issue when it comes to vegan cheese. But we've generally had good luck with the Whole Foods brand for cheddar.

Of course, if you're not dairy free or vegan, you can always sub regular cheddar cheese in for this breakfast casserole.

Blend up the tofu & beans

While the veggies and sausages cook, bring out your food processor. You'll blend the pressed tofu, white beans, nutritional yeast and lemon juice into a creamy sauce. This should happen pretty quickly in a good food processor.

No food processor? You can try to blend this in the blender, but it will probably take a good amount of mixing with a rubber spatula.

Bake

The last step is to combine the cooked vegetables with the creamy tofu base in a ceramic baking dish. Before the casserole cooks all the way through, don't forget to sprinkle it liberally with the remaining vegan cheese.

The casserole is finished when it's fully set in the center and beginning to brown on top.

More Vegan Comfort Foods for Breakfast

If you're still on the hunt for more delicious plant-based breakfast recipes to warm your winter mornings, we've got you covered.

Here are the vegan breakfast recipes we're making all season long:

• Spicy Breakfast Potato Tacos. One of our favorite vegan breakfast taco recipes. Who doesn't love tacos?!
• Crispy Gluten Free Waffles. We always drizzle these with good maple syrup and a dollop of coconut cream.
• Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes. Vegan and gluten free, perfectly, fluffy and delicious. Sub chocolate chips for something more decadent!

If you make this Vegan Breakfast Casserole, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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