I’m going to show you just how YOU can make a delicious vegan tofu omelette. I have to confess, this omelette looks WAY better than my first attempts at making vegan tofu omelettes. Making pancake-like things including crepes, omelettes, Indian dosas and Ethiopian injeera bread have all been things that were a little hard for me to get right at first. I realized the problem was my insecurity and lack of patience in making them! Once you tell yourself you can do it and just try it, it works out much better. And hey as long as it tastes good, it’s all that matters the first time!
Making this recipe does take a little bit of practice if you are:
1.) Inexperienced at pouring and flipping pancakes, crepes or omelettes in general
2.) Impatient and paranoid about the omelette sticking and burning to the pan and want to peek and move it around (which it will not, so do not panic and don’t touch it.)
These are things you must learn by experience and you have to accept that it will take a bit of practice being able to pour it, spread it, let it cook (and not mess with it!) and then fold it in half and slide it off the pan.
It took me about 3 cracks at this recipe before I got it right and learned to just trust the process of cooking and the tofu omelette was going to be fine, and stop panicking if it seemed stuck and trying to move it around with a spatula. Don’t do this.
I’ve now got it down pat and even made some for my mom and I over the Christmas holidays (it was her first vegan omelette ever) and she enjoyed it. I think she also enjoyed having some Daiya cheese and mushrooms in it too, but also the novelty of having something omelette-like as she’s been avoiding eggs.
This is a recipe I will make occasionally for a special vegan brunch or breakfast. It’s best for 2-3 people as it can take much much longer if you are trying to use multiple pans or cook for more people.
Tofu scrambles and tofu omelettes seem to take longer to cook than eggs (as they are not raw and drastically changing structure) so they are more forgiving and don’t really overcook. As long as it’s not turning black and you’re cooking it on medium or medium low heat it will be ok.
Also the trick to this is using silken tofu. Do not use regular tofu. You will NOT enjoy the flavour.
Like I said, I’ve made this recipe many times, I have adapted it from Susan V’s recipe at FatFreeVegan.com and made it even LOWER in fat and still delicious. I think I found the perfect vegan tofu omelette recipe! This omelette is gluten free as well!
Hurray!
Low Fat Vegan Silken Tofu Omelette Recipe
Serves 2-3 Makes 2 giant (full pan size) or 3 medium sized omelettes
Ingredients:
1 12.3 oz/349 g package FIRM Mori-nu silken tofu (must be firm or extra firm)
3 tbsp. almond or coconut milk
3 tbsp. of nutritional yeast
3 tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca starch
1 tsp. dijon mustard (essential)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. Herbamare or salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp of smoked paprika (This makes it more delicious)
Filling:
fresh spinach
sauteed mushrooms
sauteed onions
any other desired toppings
vegan cheese *optional
Directions:
1. Place all of the ingredients into a Vitamix or food processor and blend together until smooth.
2. Heat a wide shallow non-stick pan or non-stick crepe pan over medium heat. Make sure it’s very hot before using. Sprinkle a little water on it to test. If it bubbles off right away it’s ready. If not, wait until it’s really hot.
3. Pour batter onto pan about the size of a large pancake. Don’t pour too much or it will be hard to pick up and fold . Spread it out a little very gently into a circle using a small spatula. It will be quite thick, this is ok as there is a lot of air in the mixture. Don’t spread it out thinly.
4. Cook for at least 5 minutes until it almost dries out on top and sets. Turn the heat down to medium low. You have the option of flipping it over if you want the tofu to be cooked firm, or you can add your filling now to the bottom half and flip the top half of it over to cover and cook until the ingredients soften and your vegan cheese (if any) melts. I usually just cook it on one side only and then fill the bottom half.
5. When the omelette is cooked and sturdy enough to move, slide it onto a plate. If your fillings aren’t warm enough you can pop it into the microwave for 15-20 seconds to warm up and set the omelette a little more if necessary. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the cooked omelette.
6. Serve. (Be careful! The tofu will be very hot! Let it cool a bit before eating, I don’t want you to burn your mouth.)
Additional Tips:
Mori-nu silken tofu is sold at almost every store. Whether it’s a health food store or just a regular grocery store. Most commonly it is in the “health nut”/gluten free/vegetarian product section of the store with other dried goods. Sometimes it’s in the refrigerated section with tofu and fake meats, but it doesn’t have to be refrigerated so it’s usually in the dry goods section.
If you need a little extra water or milk to blend your tofu add another tbsp or two. Not much it still needs to be thick enough to set.
If your pan is not very good or tends to stick you may need a spray of non-stick spray. But if it’s a good pan, you’ll be ok. Give your pan a wipe with a wet paper towel in between omelettes and let it come back up to temperature again before making the next one. Make sure your pan is clean and doesn’t have black bits on it, or it will get on your omelette.
Practice makes perfect! Even if you mess up a little it will still taste good as long as you cooked it. Give yourself the first one and then save the nicer ones for your family.
If you have any leftover “batter” you can save it in the fridge for another day. Let it sit on the counter and warm up to room temperature before making.
Variations:
You can use any favourite omelette fillings for your vegan omelette. Get creative. Spinach and mushrooms are just my favourites. Make sure your veggies (aside from spinach) are cooked first before adding them to your omelette and season them a little so they will be delicious.
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Here was my previous attempt where I kind of ripped it while flipping the top half over. It’s ok, it still tasted great!
Have you ever made a tofu omelette before? What are your favourite omelette fillings?
