My smoky tempeh scramble is the savory vegan breakfast that you probably didn't know you needed in your life, but trust me — you do! It's made with crumbled tempeh, peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes cooked in smoky, savory spices. It's super satisfying and incredibly flavorful.
This isn't your typical savory vegan breakfast. Most use something along the lines of tofu or chickpea flour to replicate eggs. That's what I did with my tofu scramble and chickpea scramble. And that's great! I love those dishes. But in this recipe tempeh is the star, and it's not pretending to be anything it's not. Tempeh crumbles up really well, and the texture is nothing like eggs.
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Instead of incorporating eggy flavors into this tempeh scramble, I went with smoky ones, which work great in tempeh bacon, so it's no surprise that they're delicious in here. In addition to smoky tempeh, this dish includes some roasted sweet potato, peppers, and whatever accompaniments your heart desires.
Oh, and even though this is breakfast recipe, there no reason in the world not to enjoy it for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. You can use another high-heat oil if preferred.
- Sweet potato. We're using a standard orange or red sweet potato, which may also be labelled as a yam at some American supermarkets.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Red bell pepper. Feel free to use a pepper of another color if that's your preference.
- Tempeh. This can be found in the refrigerated are of the natural foods section of most supermarkets, usually near the tofu. You may want to check out my guide on how to cook with tempeh if it's a new ingredient to you. You'll find different varieties of tempeh containing different grains and seeds — any of them will work in this recipe. Or, if you're up for it, try making some homemade tempeh.
- Garlic.
- Spices. We're using ground cumin and smoked paprika.
- Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Maple syrup.
- Lemon juice. Definitely go with freshly squeezed lemon juice for maximum flavor.
- Salt & pepper.
- Accompaniments. You can serve your tempeh scramble on it's own, with toast, or stuffed in tortillas, topped with scallions, avocado, hot sauce, or anything else you desire!
Tip: Tempeh naturally has a slightly bitter flavor, and not everyone is a fan. If this sounds like you, try steaming your tempeh for a few minutes before cooking with it. This will reduce the bitterness.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven to 400°F.
Step 2: Roast your sweet potato. Dice it up, place the pieces on a baking sheet, and rub them with olive oil. Pop them into the oven for about twenty minutes.
Step 3: While the sweet potato roasts, heat some oil in a skillet, add your diced onion, and cook it for a few minutes until it gets soft and starts to brown.
Step 4: Add your bell pepper to the skillet and cook it with the onion for a few minutes, just to start softening it up.
Step 5: Add crumbled tempeh to the skillet and cook it for a bit, until you start to see some browning.
Step 6: Now add minced garlic to the skillet, along with your spices. Cook the mixture for just about a minute, making sure to stir the mixture constantly to prevent anything from burning.
Step 7: Now add your liquid seasonings: soy sauce, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Keep cooking your scramble while stirring, just long enough to let the liquids dry up.
Step 8: Finally, add your roasted sweet potato. It should be out of the oven by now, but if not, you can simply take the scramble off of heat until it is.
Step 9: Your smoky tempeh scramble is done cooking! Top it with avocado and scallions, along with any other toppings you enjoy.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover tempeh scramble will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Variations
- Add veggies. This tempeh scramble is great with extra veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach or kale. You can roast or steam them and throw them in at the end with the sweet potato, or sauté them, adding them at the same time as the bell pepper.
- Add beans. Throw a can of your favorite type of beans into your scramble! I love adding black beans to my tempeh scramble, but any variety will do.
- Make it a bowl. Serve your scramble in a big bowl, over a bed of rice, quinoa, or another grain. This is a great variation to make if you'd like to have your tempeh scramble for dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! Just swap out the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari.
Simply break it up in your hands. It's made from beans that are bound together by fungus, so they will break apart easily.
It has a lot of flavor, but no heat at all. Feel free to cut down on the amount of cumin and/or smoked paprika if the flavor is too intense for you. You can also add some cayenne pepper or hot sauce if you'd like the dish to have some heat.
More Savory Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Smoky Sweet Potato Tempeh Scramble
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 small sweet potato, diced (½ inch or smaller)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 (8 ounce/227 gram) package tempeh, crumbled
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For Topping
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 scallions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Arrange the diced sweet potato on a baking sheet and drizzle it with a tablespoon of olive oil. Use your hands to rub the oil into the sweet potato. Place the baking sheet into the oven and roast the sweet potato for about twenty minutes, until the pieces are easily pierced with a fork.
- When the sweet potato has just a few minutes left to go, coat the bottom of a large skillet with the remaining tablespoon of oil and place it over medium-high heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion. Sweat the onion for about five minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes soft and just begins to brown.
- Add the bell pepper to the skillet and cook it with the onion, stirring frequently, for about two minutes, until it starts to become tender and brightens in color.
- Add the crumbled tempeh to the skillet. Continue to cook the mixture for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tempeh begins to brown and crisp in spots.
- Add the minced garlic, cumin, and smoked paprika. Stir everything well and cook the mixture for about one minute, until the garlic and spices become very fragrant.
- Stir in the soy sauce, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Continue cooking the scramble and stirring frequently for another minute or two, just until most of the liquid dries up.
- Stir in the sweet potato (Note 1).
- Remove the skillet from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and/or some additional soy sauce. Top the scramble with avocado and scallions. Serve alone or in tortillas or toast.
Notes
- If you've timed everything well, the sweet potato should be out of the oven by now. But if not, don't worry! Just take the scramble off of heat until it is.
- This recipe was updated in March, 2025. The original version called for cooking the diced sweet potato in two tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet for about five minutes, then proceeding with the recipe and adding the remaining ingredients with the sweet potato still in the skillet.
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Yum! I'm always looking for ways to use tempeh and this was a really good recipe!
Very tasty! I doubled the "sauce" ingredients and added stone ground mustard and kale. Served it with seasoned quinoa. Very versatile recipe!
This recipe didn’t impress us too much. It has a lot of healthy ingredients, but the flavor factor seemed really off. Lemon juice, maple syrup, soy sauce combined with smoked paprika and cumin did nothing for our tastebuds. This makes a big quantity for two people, so I’ll probably make a peanut sauce to finish it off tomorrow. I am always looking for interesting tempeh recipes, but somehow this one seems to miss the mark. Thank you.
(It should be added that I made the dish just as directed without substitutes.)
This recipe has been in my wheelhouse since I first started really cooking!! Big fan. I usually add greens in at the end for the added nutrients. Tonight I made this and threw in some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that I needed to use up and it was delicious! A new go-to mod. This recipe is so versatile! Breakfast, dinner, burritos, bowls, a variety of toppings...so simple and so yummy!
My tempeh hating family was won over tonight because of your recipe! Even my picky 5 year old asked for seconds! There were chopped tomatoes, chopped avocados, homemade salsas, limes, hot sauces and sour cream to add to the tasty scramble. Thank you for posting such a fantastic recipe! We will definitely be making this again:)
Tasted really nice, and even non vegan family enjoyed it:)
That's so awesome to hear!! Thanks so much Simon!
I've been making this for years. It's become a breakfast favorite and my meat lovers enjoy it, too.
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Thanks Lisa!
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. I made it this morning and it was wonderful. The cool avocado slices on top of the warm scramble sends it over the top. I also added one cut up field roast Mexican chorizo sausage and that gave it more flavor and texture. Best to you.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I love Field Roast Mexican sausages and I bet they were great in this!
This looks so yummy and I want to save the recipe but the Pinterest link doesn't work! :(
Sorry about that! Pinterest has been acting weird lately! Here's a link to my pin if you'd like to repin from that: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/312226186639136761/
We had some friends 'round and served this as a 'diy buritto' night with various toppings (inc the sweet potato nacho cheese!) amd it was amazing. Everyone loved it!! Excellent and super easy!
I love a good DIY burrito night, and this sounds like an awesome addition! So glad you all enjoyed it. Thanks Joey!!!
Haha, definitely know what you mean about social media - I'm a musician and in this internet day and age have found myself with no CHOICE except to start using Facebook to promote myself. But really it just doesn't come naturally at all XD
I've been experimenting with tempeh a lot lately, trying to figure out the best flavours to match it - definitely going to try this next, it's making my stomach growl just looking at it!
Good to know it's not just me! It's definitely a learning process with me and social media, but I'm trudging along and have gotten (a little) more familiar with twitter in the couple weeks since this post...
I think you'll like this! The spices really compliment the tempeh nicely. My boyfriend doesn't even like tempeh but he enjoyed this. Hope you do too :)
Love this recipe. It's a keeper. Thanks!
Awesome! Thank you so much and enjoy!!!
This sounds fantastic and would be great in burrito form!! :)
Thank you! Yeah, I tried it plain and as burrito, and burrito was definitely my favorite. I might try it on toast as well...next time!
Oh man, I LOVE tempeh scramble!
This is my first tempeh scramble! I'm a huge fan of tofu scramble, and this is the first time I decided to sub tempeh. I love how it turned out :)