I’ve long relied on soups as a way to cram as many vegetables as I can into my family’s diet, but the truth is, my daughter prefers to eat her leafy greens mixed into one of her two favorite foods: lasagna and tofu. Lasagna will always be her first choice, but for a super-quick meal that hits all of the nutritional bases, I love a veggie-packed scrambled tofu with a starchy vegetable on the side. And when it comes to leafy greens, almost nothing packs more nutritional power than kale or has such a mild flavor that goes with practically any seasoning.
For this easy scramble, I used about as much kale as tofu for a decidedly green main dish. To add a different hue to my dinner plate, I chose sweet potato fries as our starchy vegetable. If you’ve never baked sweet potato fries, you’re in for a treat: Simply preheat your oven to 400F. While it’s heating, peel the potatoes (about 1 medium per person) and cut them into long, narrow strips. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the potato strips on it in a single layer. Sprinkle with the seasonings of your choice (I used Creole seasoning). Bake for 15 minutes, turn, sprinkle again, and bake for another 15 or until the fries are cooked all the way through. Heat under the broiler for another minute or two to crisp them up but be careful not to burn them (or the parchment!) They won’t be as crispy as fried potatoes, but they will be a delicious and fat-free side dish to go with your vegetable-tofu scramble.
Simple Scrambled Tofu and Kale
Be sure to use a pan that has a cover so that the kale will steam properly.
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 ounces tofu, firm or extra-firm, crumbled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (mild or spicy)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and discarded and leaves thinly sliced (about 12 ounces)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- additional salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a deep, non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the red pepper and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add the tofu and sprinkle it with the paprika, cumin, salt, and turmeric. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant and the tofu is hot throughout.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the kale and stir. If the mixture seems dry, add a tablespoon or two of water. Cover and steam, stirring every minute or so, until the kale softens, about 4 to 7 minutes, depending on how tender you like your kale. Stir in the nutritional yeast, check the seasonings, and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cook for another minute or two until heated through.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s) | Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Nutrition (per serving): 210 calories, 61 calories from fat, 7g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 631mg sodium, 674.5mg potassium, 21.3g carbohydrates, 4.7g fiber, 3g sugar, 20.6g protein, 6.1 points.
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
I love how there is so much kale packed into this, Susan! Sign me up for a quick and tasty meal!
This looks like a super easy weeknight meal. Awesome!
My sweet potato fired NEVER come out looking like this. What is the secret to yours looking like this and mine looking burnt in some places and undercooked in others?
I don’t know, Diane! Mine did have little spots of brown, particularly on the tips, but I just did what I said in the post and watched them like a hawk toward the end and when I had them under the broiler.
Sounds yummy!!! Does the nutritional value include the sp fries, or is it just the scramble?
Thanks!!
That’s just for the scramble. The nutritional info for the fries would be the same as for a medium sweet potato plus any salt added: 103 calories, 0 fat, 41mg sodium, 4g fiber, 2g protein.
Great thank you!!
Gosh Susan. Your photography is GORGEOUSSSSSSSSS. What a stunning picture. Thank you for my weekend breakfast idea
You can also leave the skin on the baked potatoes for added fiber and nutrients.
I am SO going to make this! I’ve been wanting to make scrambled tofu for the longest time! Thank you so much! <3
Susan,
Thank you for your wonderful website. I have thoroughly enjoyed many of your recipes that I’ve tried. Here’s my only problem — I really do no like nutritional yeast and neither does my family. So many vegan recipes call for it, and I know it’s intended to give a cheesy type flavor. I really don’t miss cheese, I just don’t like the smell or taste of nutritional yeast. Do you have any good ideas of alternative ingredients I can try? Thanks for your help! Donna Christian
In recipes like this one, where only a little nutritional yeast is used to add a depth of flavor, you can just leave it out or add a little vegetable bouillon to increase the flavor. For recipes in which it’s a major ingredient, though, I’m afraid I don’t have a solution. For more info, see my post on nutritional yeast: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/what-the-heck-is-nutritional-yeast.html
Sometimes when I’m not in the mood for tofu, I make something similar to this but with cooked garbanzo beans.
Susan, this looks great, scrumptious–I am going to have to get some tofu now next time I am at the store. I love all the colors–once again you’ve got us eating the rainbow!
Thanks,
xo
moonwatcher
Love it and pinned it! And those sweetheart fries look amazing!
May sound like a silly question, but can you make the full recipe and just reheat leftovers?
Definitely! It reheats perfectly.
This sounds delicious and quick. I’m going to try this for dinner tonight. We love kale and I have been looking for new ways to incorporate it into my family’s diet.
Thanks!!
Made this last night and forgot the nutritional yeast. It was sooo good. I love the kale and actually wanted more of it. Hubby says add it to the list again. First time he had eaten tofu like this and it was a winner.
Wonder how to adjust the seasonings to go toward Mediterranean? Maybe marinate the tofu first?
I’d add oregano and basil and, if they’re on your diet, kalamata olives. Oh, and sun-dried tomatoes, too. Yum!
I made this yesterday with the Mediteranian spin and it was wonderful! I didn’t have enough kale in my square foot garden to make a batch so I finished it up with rainbow chard. Added fresh basil and oregano from the garden as well….it was WONDERFUL. My first tofu scramble but for sure won’t be my last! Next time maybe I’ll even try the “fries”!
Thanks for the suggestions!
I noticed you mention something below about vegetable bouillon and was curious: is there a bouillon that you’d recommend? The ones that I’ve seen have oil in them, and I’ve been trying to stay oil-free, BUT bouillon seems like a more affordable option than buying veggie stock.
Thanks! I love your blog and recipes so much!
Thanks, Landree! I often use a mushroom bouillon that I buy in the Asian grocery store, and it doesn’t contain fat (though it does have too much salt). Seitenbacher and Better Than Bouillon are both fat-free, though they also contain too much salt. Rapunzel is okay for salt-free, but it contains fat. So the moral of the story is that I haven’t been able to find the perfect fat-free, low-sodium bouillon yet, but I’m still looking–and making my own broth more often.
Ah, thank you for your speedy reply! Yeah…I may just have to suck it up and make my own broth….full disclosure, I’m a bit of a lazy cook, and for some reason I’ve balked at making my own broth.
BUT in the meantime, I love the other options that you gave me. I am trying to be mindful of sodium, but currently the biggest concern is the oil. Thanks again Susan!
This recipe will definitely get us out of our tofu scramble rut. Sure we love kale and nutritional yeast but these sweet potato fries look awesome!
I made this scramble for dinner tonight, adding an onion, an extra garlic clove, and doubling the spices. It was great! I’ll definitely make it again
hi susan,
i’m one of your german followers! i have had many delicious dishes from your blog, thank you!
can you do me a favor and tell me how many ounces or grams one bunch of kale actually is? i think that the german packing/packaging sizes are different and i want to get the quantities right.
thank you and warmest greetings from icy cold germany,
uli
Hi Uli, I actually weighed this bunch of kale, and it was 12 ounces, so I think that’s about average.
Thank you Susan, that helps a lot!
I always wondered how you make sweet potato fries without oil! They look great! I will definitely try it!
This looks wonderful and something I’ve never had before. This may be a silly question but do you drain and press the tofu first? Also, did you chop it up or does it scramble easily?
Not silly at all! Yes you drain the tofu, but you don’t need to press it. Then use your hands to crumble it into the skillet. I should have made that more clear.
LOVING this recipe! We’ve already made it twice. And I add a bit of thyme and celery salt to it as well as some Sirache sauce to the finished product. SO good!
This looks great! I look forward to trying it.
Interesting! I never tried making sweet potato fries without the oil – never thought of parchment. Hooray!
I find myself perusing and using your website at least 3 times a week. And lately I’ve been pining away for a real cookbook made by YOU!!!! Is there one in the works???? Please say yes!
I’m considering it, but it would mean time away from writing recipes for the blog, so it’s one of those tough decisions. Thanks for letting me know you’d like one–that helps!
Just made this for lunch for my young vegan who adored it! So incredibly tasty. I added some onions to the mushrooms and peppers when I sauteed them. So good! Thanks Susan!
this sounds totally delicious. love your vegan recipes.
Tofu scramble was my dinner of choice when I first went vegan – I ate it so much I actually got really sick of it! But now that some time has passed, it remains a favorite dish. This looks terrific.
This was so delicious, even my 13 month old munched on the fries and tori. We had leftovers and wrapped them up for breakfast burritos this morning. Thank you!
I have made several tofu scramble recipes and my families never liked it. I just couldn’t get the seasonings right, even with black salt. I tried this recipe and the whole family loved it, including the kale. I did add black salt, but made everything else exactly as you specify. Thank you so much for adding another recipe to our regular rotation. The sweet potato fries were yummy too!
I am so thrilled to have come across your site, via the Circle of Mom’s top vegan/veg mom blogger contest. As I try to incorporate more meatless meals into my family’s repertoire, your site is a wonderful source of inspiration. I actually just added it to my list of “sites that inspire” on my blog, in hopes that my readers will come over and delve into the delicious recipes and ideas you have shared. Thank you for taking the time to create such a wonderful resource for all of us. Warmly, Eila Johnson, writer of the full plate blog
What a beautiful meal! I love having a good color balance on my plate, too. I’ve tried sweet potato fries but always coated them in oil – and yours look exactly the same! I will have to try your oil-free recipe. I’ve been trying to reduce or eliminate oil wherever it doesn’t make a big taste or texture difference.
You know what really pops out at me in that photo though? Those mushrooms! They look so delicious I can almost taste them.
i loved this recipe. i made a pot and ate it for breakfast lunch and dinner,
with the baked fries.
I made this tonight. Soooo delicious. Definitely a keeper.
Thank you!
I hate to say this, but I’ve been a vegetarian for over 18 years and this was the first time I’ve ever had a tofu scramble. It was fantastic! I’m not sure why I waited so long!
I love that you’ve gone kale-crazy! I just recently made a tofu scramble for the first time, and we really enjoyed it – looks like your variation is up next!
I tried it the other night and it was great! I didn’t have mushrooms but my hubby would have picked them out anyway – he and I definitely had a good filling meal that night (which is hard when we have two little ones) Thanks Susan!
This looks delicious! Would it be ok to eat leftover? Thanks for the awesome website! I made the potato soup in my Vitamix last nite and plan on making your stuffed collards this weekend. My friend just brought me 10 heads!
Sure! Leftovers make a great wrap, too. Enjoy your collards!
Delicious! Equally good with ketchup or salsa on top. I am thinking of filling a wrap with my leftovers for lunch… Yum!
Mmmm, I love the simplicity of this meal and photo is gorgeous, so vibrant! I never think to make scrambles for a quick weeknight meal, thanks for the inspiration, I know what I’m having for dinner tonight.
Susan thanks so much for linking to my blog post on kale in this post!! It was wonderful to have so many new readers read something I wrote!! Thank you!!
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Yummmmmmm! Tried this the other day with a few added veggies as my first tofu scramble recipe. Let’s just say I was not disappointed and have great visions of tofu scrambles in my future. Maybe even breakfast ones! Thanks for the inspiration and great recipes. I have enjoyed several others as well:)
This sure packs a lot of nutritional value especially for breakfast or light meal(less the fries). Based from the picture, and if i’m not mistaken, it seems like you used button mushrooms for this recipe? I was wondering though if other kinds of mushrooms goes well with this dish.
Sure, any kind of mushrooms will do. I have another scrambled tofu recipe in the archives that uses porcini mushrooms.
Hello Susan.
I was craving tofu scramble, especially something I can make for brunch on Sundays.
Instead, I’m having this for dinner tonight.
I’ve substituted the kale (didn’t have any…) for baby spinach (I had plenty..) and, I only added a tiny bit of nooch. I’m not a big fan of nooch.
Next time, can I use nama shoyu for flavoring? I can save the leftover nooch for a mac and cheese or polenta recipe instead.
Thanks Susan.
Yes, Tam! That’s the beauty of this recipe–you can flavor it however you like.
Thanks Susan! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!!
Susan, this dish is fantastically delish! I add onions to everything and this was no exception.
Didn’t have kale so used frozen Collards. I also added some oregano. Here in NM cumin and oregano hold hands.
The frozen Collards got me to thinking about your ridicously easy meals. If someone so desired, they could use frozen bell pepper, the garlic that’s already chopped for you or maybe granulated garlic. I always use fresh, but for a quick meal in a pinch, the other choices are available and nice to have around.
Frozen greens are nice and easy, we have Swiss Chard, Collards and spinach in our local frozen section of the grocery store. I normally have some in my freezer. Also for fresh, Earthbound has the organic greens and baby grens would be nice too. We just recently got Earthbound organic kale here.
So sorry to be so windy, but just thought that might help some others to give this a try……it’s a winner!!!
I love everything about this recipe! I am up for trying anything with kale. Can’t wait to whip it up. The picture looks delicious
Will frozen tofu work okay?
Frozen tofu will have a chewier, less creamy texture. I wouldn’t like it in scrambled tofu, but if you think you would, then give it a try.
Made this for my roommates, total hit! Added asparagus, egg, and extra spices. It’s definitely gunna be a regular for us! Thank you!
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