I’m not a big breakfast eater. In fact, ordinarily I skip breakfast and don’t even miss it. But I’ve been trying to change my ways since finding out that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight than people who skip it. In addition to speeding up your metabolism, eating breakfast has also been shown to improve your memory, and as someone whose metabolism has been sluggish longer than I can remember, I’ve decided that I need to become a breakfast person.
The trouble is, whenever I eat the normal breakfast foods, I’m immediately hungry for more. If I eat oatmeal, cereal, potatoes, or even fruit first thing in the morning, I’m ready to eat lunch by 10:00. And again at 12:00! Eating something rich in protein doesn’t seem to have the same effect, so I’ve been trying to eat breakfasts that balance carbs with protein. Often these breakfasts lean toward the untraditional: edamame, chickpeas, even leftover chili or lentil soup. But this morning I had a craving for an omelette, a vegan omelette, and boy am I glad I did. It turned out to be one of the most delicious–and most filling–breakfasts I’ve had in a long time.
If you’re a fan of my Mini Crustless Quiches, you’ll love this recipe because I based it on that one. But unlike the quiches, this omelette takes literally minutes to prepare, if you already have a filling made. Fillings can be as simple as beans and salsa or as elaborate as veggeroni, pizza sauce, and soy cheese. You will be amazed at how the outside sets up while the inside is flavorful and moist.
Vegan Omelette for One
It’s essential to use a truly non-stick skillet to make the omelet come out of the pan intact. Be sure to oil it and have it hot before you pour the batter into the pan. If the unfortunate happens and your omelet sticks, open-faced omelettes taste good, too!
Also: You may double this recipe but you must divide the batter in half and cook it as two separate omelets. If you try to cook too much at one time, your omelet will not cook properly.
Ingredients
6 ounces (1/2 package) Mori-nu lite silken tofu (or regular extra-firm silken tofu)
1 tablespoon soymilk
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
1 teaspoon tahini
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 pinch chipotle pepper or smoked paprika (optional)
1 pinch kala namak (black salt), optional (adds an eggy taste; look for it in Indian grocery stores)
Also needed:
Omelette filling of choice (have filling warm or at room temperature)
Instructions
Blend together all ingredients until smooth. (I use a Magic Bullet blender, but you may use any small blender or hand blender. To use a larger blender, you may have to make a double batch.)
Spray a large non-stick skillet with olive oil and heat on medium-high until very hot. Pour the batter into the center of the skillet in a circular pattern about 6-8 inches across, and use a spoon or spatula to smooth over the top. Place your filling ingredients over the batter, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cover and cook for about 3-5 minutes, checking often to see if it’s done. When the edges have dried out and the middle is no longer liquidy, lift a small section with a spatula and check to see that the omelette is set. It will be golden in color and browned in spots. When it’s ready, loosen the omelette by sliding the spatula under it from each direction, and then fold one side over the other.
Cook for about one more minute. Carefully lift or slide it onto a plate and serve hot.
Tips
- If you make more than one omelet, clean the skillet and re-heat it on high. To cook through properly, the skillet must be hot when you pour the batter in.
- Make sure that your filling ingredients are dry. Drain vegetables well before adding to the omelet.
- The texture of the omelet inside is similar to scrambled tofu, moist and creamy, not fluffy as an egg omelet. If the tofu still looks wet in the middle, continue cooking on low until it appears more set. Even if it does not get completely dry, it will still be tasty, though moist.
- If you have trouble getting your omelets to cook all the way through, divide the batter in half and make two small omelets.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 1
Makes one serving. Without filling, this provides 157 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (22% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 687mg Sodium; 2g Fiber.
I wanted to include vegetables in my breakfast, so I filled my omelette with fresh spinach and mushrooms that I had sautéed beforehand and topped it with a little of the chipotle remoulade leftover from Monday’s black-eyed pea cakes. Mmmmm. It was out of this world!
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{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan, is the batter supposed to have a thick, hummus-like consistency? Mine did. Could/should I use more soymilk? I blended it with a hand blender.
Ivy, the batter isn't supposed to be that thick, so maybe your tofu was drier than mine. I think adding more soymilk is a good idea. Or, if you have a regular blender, you could try using that and see if it makes a difference in the thickness.
Did you cook it yet? If so, how did it come out.
Hi, Susan. I used the Mori-Nu silken lite. Maybe if I blended it in the Vita-Mix it would be soupier. I did already "cook" it if you could call it that lol. It kind of sat there in the middle of the pan and when I tried to flatten it out it got stuck to the spatula. I made it for my mom. She ate it. I made it last year when she was visiting and it came out better. I had a plain old blender then. Well, if anything can make it soupy, the Vita-Mix can. I'll try that with the other half this week and will let you know if it's better. And will add more soy milk if I need to before cooking.
Great recipe! I highly recommend the addition of black salt for those who really want the taste & smell of real eggs. (so real it's scary). The only place I know of where you can get black salt is http://www.cosmosveganshoppe.com. You won't regret it!
I often use black salt in this recipe. It's readily available at any Indian grocery store, without any shipping charges.
This was awesome,thank you for sharing!!! I added artichokes
Wow! This is so amazing with Daiya cheddar cheese–it's a perfect cheese omelette! I had a 'vegan omelette showdown' between this recipe and the one from the Vegan Brunch cookbook. This was far and away the winner in terms of texture, color, and flavor.
A couple of recipe notes:
My supermarket only carries firm (non-silken) tofu, so I used that and it worked great.
I refrigerated some leftover batter and made it the next day and it was fine after adding some water to thin the batter (it seemed to thicken as it cooled).
In terms of being difficult to spread, after ruining my first one, I actually added a good amount of water to the batter so that it was thinner and would spread more easily in the pan. It worked great, which makes me think this is a wonderfully forgiving recipe that's hard to fail at!
It also makes incredible 'egg mcmuffin'-style sandwiches with daiya cheese and vegan canadian bacon.
Thanks for your genius, Susan!
Sellena, tahini is sesame seed butter, an ingredient in hummus, and it provides flavor in this recipe. You can leave it out but I do not recommend making this with non-silken tofu because the density and texture will be too heavy, and I'm afraid you'll wind up with scrambled tofu rather than an omelet.
I just tried this, and ended up with scrambled mess. It still tasted good, and hopefully I can do better next time. I have a very non stick pan, and used plenty of oil. Perhaps the heat was too high. But I suggest to anyone hoping to surprise their partner with an omelette, this will take some practice.
I tried this today and was happy with the outcome although i had some trouble spreading out the batter on the skillet – so i ended up making 2 small ones instead of 1 large one.
I used Daiya vegan cheese for filling in addition to the sauted mushrooms. Worked out really well!
Thanks Susan! I am surprised that none of the vegan companies have come out with a ready to use vegan omelette mix! There's one in the UK called egg free omelette mix by AllergyCare but that seems to use whey – so don't think it is vegan.
It's such a long time since I made an omelette. It's something my mom made all the time when I lived at home but I forgot all about that until I spotted this. I will definately be trying it maybe at the weekend when I dont have to rush getting the kids to school
I look forward to trying this!Many thanks!!!
I am gradually working at adhering to a vegan diet, while also not eating sugar, flour, rice, potatoes, etc.. I cut out those other things long before I cut out animal products and omelettes were a staple for me. I’ve enjoyed this recipe and was thankful to have found it. I’ve used vegan Feta, Monterey Jack and Mozzarella, asparagus, artichokes and sundried tomatoes. I use Pam (for which I’ve found no indication that it is not vegan) and allow my omelette to sit at a low temperature. It usually comes off in one piece. I’ve modified the recipe in many ways, but all of them seem to work; sometimes I’ve used soy flour instead of cornstarch, baking powder when I didn’t have yeast, etc..
It’s supposed to be nutritional yeast, not baking yeast. Baking powder is definitely not a substitute!
Oh Wow!! We made a double batch of these this morning for a long weekend treat and were not disappointed! Boyfriend is completely vegan, and I’m… getting there
We sauteed some mushroom and spinach beforehand, then mixed up the batter in the blender. We poured and spread – it ripped a bit in the middle but I’m pretty sure that means the heat was too high? so down it went, then added spinach and mushrooms – cook – flip! He LOVED it. For mine I poured and spread – easier this time, added some mushrooms and cheese – cook – flip! DELICIOUS!
It was a little difficult in my big blender – but it’s not a very good blender to begin with. I think we’ll be picking up a magic bullet this afternoon!
Thank you SO much.
We are both huge fans of this site. I try to make something new from it every week. We are vacationing later this summer and both want to lose some weight before we go so your recipes are a staple in our diets. Your Mexican Lasagna is being made weekly, and we had Lite Goddess Salad Dressing with our salads last night. Tonight – Grilled Asparagus and Spinach Salad!! Haven’t been disappointed yet
Thanks again
Brown + Boyfriend
This recipe has become a staple in our house. It is so good! Next time I’ll try adding black salt to it. Thank you for that fantastic recipe.
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! Mine just turned into pudding, it was a pretty pudding like texture before I added it and it looked like it was working when it was cooking It flipped for the most part but was very very mushy on the inside. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!
Does it turn out fluffy and dry like a real omelette?
Jessica, I wouldn’t use the word fluffy. Tofu just isn’t going to give the same texture as eggs, and though it will get drier the longer you cook it, you don’t want it to dry out too much because then it would be powdery. If you try it again, try using a larger pan, spread it thinner, and cook it for a little longer. You want the top to be set before you flip it over. Sorry it didn’t work for you the first time!
I made this, with a few subs as my granulated onion has turned to rock… added some dried herbs to the mixture. I doubled the amount and had two batches – adding some extra soy milk.
Firstly I always fail at omelette – always have… I blame our crappy electric cooker. However, after managing to fail at flipping completely and then attempting to rescue it but converting it to scrambled ‘egg’, it suddenly formed into an omelette-like-thing when I turned the heat up! Not as lovely as yours – mine was smaller, thicker and more browned in an uneven way…
So, for those with soupy mixtures – saw through that stage – try:
1. Halving the mixture, making two mini omelettes – easier to manage.
2. Turn the heat up, making sure its set at the bottom – edges start to lift on their own – flip, turn down heat and wait. This may give you a browned omelette…
On the ‘tearing’ stage – yes this happened to me too
Try turning up the heat, as it happened to me on the low heat but once I turned it up, the bottom set perfectly, aside from a little browning, without the tearing.
By browning, I mean it was a kinda toasted colour with darker spots.
would it be alright to leave out the nutritional yeast?? and if i were to add an extra tbsp of almond milk would it effect it?
You’ll be missing a lot of flavor without the nutritional yeast, but you can leave it out if you want. Consider increasing the other seasonings a little. Why would you want to add extra milk? Any extra liquid is going to increase the cooking time and the possibility of it not holding together.
Good idea
Works better if you add more cornstarch and arrowroot.
Amazing. So yummy! Mushrooms and vegan monterey jack on top – just wonderful!
Super Yum. Tofu (scrambled) is one of my breakfast cravings. I wish I didn’t eat breakfast, but food is the only think that will get me out of bed in the morning!
Just made these for breakfast and they were fantastic! We just had the refrigerated silken tofu, and so it was quite watery at first, and the first omelet became a mush that I had to scrape into the sink…BUT! I added some chickpea flour and it worked wonderfully (since I already find chickpea flour to have a kinda eggy flavor to begin with). Stuffed it with sauteed green peppers, onions, and “ham”….’twas quite the breakfast. Thank you!
Hello Susan
I use this recipe a lot. Have loved it from the moment I read it lol. Today I made a lovely brunch for My Love and I and have blogged about it with photos. Linked your recipe via my blog..hope you like the photos..I’m slowly getting there.
Thanks ~Red~
Hello there Susan
Thank you for sharing the link to my blog last week. We brunched again today with your fab omelette recipe and the filling this time was Broc & Garlic with Chorizo…very tasty!
Thanks again for the inspiration
~Red~
I know that this is an old post but you just made me realize something – this is an easy replacement for egg sheets!
Susan,
a number of your recipes call for soymilk. Can I use unsweetened soymilk or unsweetened almond milk withoout altering the recipe result? I’m assuming I can substitute arrowroot for the cornstarch /potato starch?
Art, I almost always call for the milk to be unsweetened, so you are safe using it. Almond milk is a little trickier to predict than soymilk, but it should work in this recipe. I haven’t used arrowroot in this recipe, but it will probably work.
I tried this recipe with Morinu lite silken tofu, made the double batch in my vitamix. The omelettes became so huge they took up my whole large crepe pan. It was very very hard to lift off the pan. I probably had to cook each omelette for 10-15 minutes and it didn’t firm up enough. I ripped both of them trying to lift it up and fold it over.
It tasted good but I was really disappointed with how flimsy it was. I think I will have to try again with more adjustments like some flour so it sticks together, especially with the lite silken tofu.
Once again I made this wonderful recipe for brunch today. I cooked a mushroom based filling for My Love and I had a Spicy Lentil filling. Just delicious Susan and can’t thank you enough for this recipe.
Photos are up on my blog. Although it had to be taken in seconds because the plates was being pulled away from me! lol.
~Red~
Sounds good! I have this big container of nutritional yeast and didn’t know what to do with it.-I’m new to veganism and have been missing omlets-I’m going to try this!!
I love cooking vegan but regularly vegan recipies for this dish remind me of a folded pancake, do any of your modifications help out with keeping it a bit “creamier” texture when folding?
I made this omelette recipe this morning, but it just came out clumpy and the consistency was not at all like the picture shwon. I used my magic bullet to process it, and maybe I should have kept it in there longer? The taste was decent, just overridden by the texture. I’ll have to work on it, but thank you for sharing!
Should the tofu be ‘pressed’ before using it in this recipe?
No. You should use silken tofu for this, which should never be pressed.
I’m a single gal, so I try to make stuff with tofu that I can freeze before a package goes bad-do you think this (or the little quiches) would freeze if I made a double batch? Or how long would one of these keep in the fridge?
I haven’t tried freezing either recipe, so I’m not positive, but I think both would freeze, though the texture will probably change and become more chewy. Of the two, I think the mini quiches would probably freeze better.
Thanks-I’ll probably make a new batch of the quiches over the weekend and throw a few in the freezer. I’ll post how they hold up. I ended up eating the whole first batch pretty quick because I was missing eggs that bad, and they really hit the spot. Planning to make some for my omni friends soon. They’re awesome too since they didn’t get all weepy like sometimes happens with an egg based custard. I was so skeptical of how they would turn out, but they RULE.
Looks great & like major comfort food!
I just wanted to let you know that I made this today! my first ever tofu egg anything!! even though i forgot the corn startch and didnt have any tahini it was very tasty! I made some home fries and breakfast links to go with it. this is a keeper! Thank you for the yummy recipe!
I’ve made this recipe a number of times, and it’s always a big hit at my house! My Hubby much prefers this to regular tofu scrambles, and I love that I can make us each our own personal omelet with the different fillings of our choice.
I use unsweetened coconut milk (my fav non-dairy milk), when I make these, and I also use my food processor to blend everything together, and they come out really well. My batter is usually pretty thick though (I can’t seem to get it to thin out, even if I add way more “milk”), but they taste great anyway!
I finally tried this! First, my big blender did an OK job blending, so I think it was too thick. It cooked pretty good, but the middle was quite mushy. I blame it on my huge blender. And I also discovered I am a horrible omelette flipper (though I never cooked an omelette with eggs before either.)
Thank you for the post! It was easy to make and filling!
So good! I added more soy milk to make it more like batter. Had it with a morningstar farm sausage, udi’s toast and blackberry jam from my farmer’s market. Delish! Thanks so much!!
I love my pancakes and omlets in the weekend. But I do feel I am eating a few too many egg (whites). This looks like a great alternative; I will certainly try it. Thank you for sharing!
This changed my life!
I made this with a filling of mushrooms, courgettes and asparagus and I enjoyed it so much. Will be making this again.
I made them with regular, extra firm tofu today. It works out fine, but you have to use a blender or food processor and add lots of extra milk or water. Just keep adding it until you have a good consistency.
maybe they are right…
Of course my kids asked me to make it blue next time??!? They never had eggs, and see our ‘obsession’ with making breakfast tofu dishes yellow as boring and unoriginal!
Susan, thank you!!! These are to die for, have made them many times and they are delicious and fulfill every omelette fantasy, minus the cruelty and yucky cholesterol laden eggs!! In fact I’ve been told (and I do agree) that these are better than any egg omelettes (even meat eaters have told me this). While egg omelettes are usually rubbery and taste like sulfur these are slightly crispy on the outside but dreamy and creamy on the inside…yum!!
Just made a batch tonight to last me a couple of days and I’m so excited for omelettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I usually don’t have onion powder so I throw in a clove or two of garlic, I also end up making these with extra firm tofu without any problems, just add more almond/soy milk until it’s the right consistency. Also I find that preparing the batter ahead of time and refrigerating it overnight prevents the batter from sticking!!
Do I have to use mori-nu tofu? I used nasoya silken tofu from the refrigerated section. Is there a difference? I think this is why mine wouldn’t cook all the way through.
I haven’t tried it with refrigerated tofu, but I suspect that the moisture content–and maybe the amount in a package–is different, and that can cause problems.
I’ve made it with refrigerated “extra firm” tofu and it was fine. First, I pressed the tofu to get the water out.
I tried it with the brand/style you recommend, and it definitely turned out perfect this time! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
I made this for lunch today and wrapped it in nori!
I messed it up a bit because I used an egg replacer and it didn’t bind, but the taste still was delicious, just like an egg omelet! Some people here used black salt, so I used plain sea salt with a bit of black pepper.
Anyway, my brother is a flexitarian and loved it, my mum loved it and I, who used to make and devour omelets all the the time, loved it! :p
I just wanted 2 say thanks 4 posting your recipe! I have made tofu scrambles but wondered if a vegan omelet was possible & alas found your recipe! Can’t wait 2 try it!
I realize your post comes from 3+years ago, but did want 2 say 2 u & anyone who reads… if u eat breakfast (LOVE it always have) & find yourself RAVENOUS just a short while later, as u mentioned, likely u’re a person who requires more protein. Some of us (me) require more than others. It took me so long 2 figure that out. In fact I happened 2 c something on Dr Oz (not sure if u get that in the UK) which he profiled 3 types of metabolisms, one that is like me with more protein, another that required more carbs and one that had equal parts carbs, fats & protein.
I found that if I did oatmeal especially, I would b crazy ravenous! Vegan solution? Since I make my own soy milk, I save the okara from it & add it 2 smoothies, baked goods, oatmeal, faux nochicken fingers/burgers etc…. Of course beans will do it too (not crazy 4 beans @ breakfast though!)
Anyway hope this helps others!
OH MY GOD! this was so DELICIOUS! Seriously, crazy good. Best breakfast I have had in a LONG time! I forgot to add soymilk, and I subbed miso for tahini (out at the moment) but it was amazingly good. Deliciously creamy, far better than an egg-based omelette. If you have the ingredients, go in your kitchen and make this NOW!
I have tried this so many times and can never flip it without it being scramble.
You might try adding a little more cornstarch and letting it cook longer on the first side.
I just made these and they turned out fantastic!
Changes:
Forgot to add the soy milk
Didn’t have tahini
Quadrupled the recipe and added 1/4 c chickpea flour for extra bite
Used two packs of Trader Joes Silken Tofu- no clue if it was firm or not.
1 whole tsp kale namak.
I also stuffed mine with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cashew cheese. I have never gotten a tofu omelette recipe to work before, and my omelette missing hubby is ecstatic that these were so easy! I noted that I had to have my pan so hot the the tofu splattered a bit when added to the pan, and to let them cook until all the way dry on top before stuffing- this made them flip and hold up the best.
I am definitely trying this! How delicious.
I really must track down some black salt! Super intrigued at the idea of salt-induced egg-flavour.
This recipe looks damn good!
I litterally make this every Sunday morning for brunch! So good
Thank you for these wonderful recipes! It makes being vegan (and gf) a lot easier.
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