These vegan egg bites are fluffy, savory, and packed with veggies! Made with a tofu-based "egg" filling and baked in mini muffin cups, they're perfect for meal prep breakfasts, breakfast-for-dinner nights, and grab-and-go snacks.
If you're a regular reader, you probably know that I was never big on eggs. My husband, on the other hand, misses eggs big time, and he can't get enough of dishes like my vegan omelet, vegan breakfast sandwiches, and vegan quiche. I can't blame him — I don't miss eggs at all, and I still love those recipes.
But one thing actual eggs have going for them is convenience. Yeah, my vegan scrambled eggs are pretty easy, but not quite as easy as cracking an egg in a pan. With that in mind, I set out to create a great make-ahead eggy vegan breakfast, and these vegan egg bites hatched. (Sorry. The pun was right there.)
Jump to:
They're kind of like mini versions of my vegan frittata, baked in a mini muffin tin. You've got a creamy, blended tofu base seasoned with ingredients like nutritional yeast and kala namak, making it taste surprisingly eggy. And to make things interesting, you've also got sautéed veggies with a little garlic.
All in all, these little bites are super tasty, easy to make, and perfect for meal-prep, so you can satisfy your cravings any day of the week. They're pretty egg-celent. (I crack myself up. Annnnnnd I'll show myself out now.)
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.
- Vegetable oil. Any neutral high-heat oil is fine — olive, canola, corn, and avocado oil are all options.
- Onion.
- Red bell pepper. Feel free to swap this with another color of bell pepper.
- Baby spinach.
- Garlic.
- Firm tofu. Extra-firm will also work, but I don't recommend using soft or silken (the bites will be too delicate to get out of the pan), or super-firm (they'll be too hard).
- Soy sauce. Substitute gluten-free tamari if you'd like your bites to be gluten-free.
- Nutritional yeast flakes. These will add a savory, almost cheesy flavor to your bites. Look for it in the natural foods section of your grocery store. And whatever you do, don't substitute baker's yeast — it's a totally different thing.
- Cornstarch.
- Lemon juice.
- Turmeric. This is just for color, and you probably won't even taste it. Feel free to leave it out if you prefer, though.
- Salt and pepper.
- Kala namak. This is a type of salt that's high in sulfur, so it gives the egg bites an eggy flavor. You can buy it at Indian grocery stores or online. You're also welcome to skip it — the bites will still be delicious!
How They're 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!
Steps 1 & 2: Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and oil your mini muffin tin. Don't be stingy with the oil — these bites tend to stick.
Step 3: Cook pepper and onion. Heat some oil in a skillet, then add finely chopped onion and bell pepper. Cook the mixture for a few minutes to start softening the veggies.
Step 4: Add spinach and garlic. First, add the baby spinach and cook it until it starts to wilt, then add minced garlic and continue cooking the mixture until it becomes very fragrant.
Step 5: Blend the batter. Add the batter ingredients to a food processor or blender: tofu, oil, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, kala namak (or additional salt), and black pepper. Blend it up until smooth. It'll be very thick!
Step 6: Combine batter and vegetables. You can do this right in the skillet you used to cook the veggies, or you can add everything to a large mixing bowl and stir it up.
Step 7: Fill the tin. Divide your batter among the cups of your muffin tin, gently pressing it in and smoothing the tops.
Step 8: Bake. Pop the tin into the oven and bake your bites. They'll have darkened and will feel set on top when they're done.
Step 9: Cool and finish. Let the vegan egg bites cool in the tin on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes, then use a knife to gently loosen them from the pan. Chill the entire pan for an hour, then gently remove your bites.
Tip: Wondering why you need to cool and chill the bites before removing them from the pan? They tend to stick, and chilling firms them up, so they're less likely to break. If you want to skip these steps, try using mini muffin liners. A good nonstick muffin tin can also help.
Step 10: Serve. Your egg bites will be cold at this point, so warm them up briefly in the microwave before enjoying.
Storage Information
Store your vegan egg bites in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Reheat them in the microwave before enjoying, but keep it brief — a few seconds per bite is all you need!
Variations
- Switch up the veggies. Just about anything goes! Carrots, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and green beans all work great. Just make sure you dice them up finely. The only veggies I'd avoid are those that are high in water, like zucchini.
- Cheesy egg bites. Add a bit of finely shredded vegan cheese to the batter.
- Spiced egg bites. Add a teaspoon of a spice blend such as curry powder or taco seasoning to take your egg bite flavor to the next level.
More Savory Vegan Breakfast Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Egg Bites
Equipment
- 1 Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- ¼ cup finely diced onion
- ½ red bell pepper, finely diced (about ⅔ cup)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 (14 ounce/397 gram) package firm tofu, drained
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon kala namak (or another ¼ teaspoon salt)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Generously oil the cups of your muffin tin.
- Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon of the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook the vegetables for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften.
- Stir in the spinach, then continue to cook the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, until it wilts, then add the garlic and cook everything for about 1 more minute until the garlic is very fragrant. Remove the skillet from heat and set it aside for now.
- Place the tofu, remaining tablespoon of oil, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, lemon juice, turmeric, salt, kala namak (if using), and black pepper into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix the tofu mixture with the vegetables. You can either transfer the tofu mixture to the skillet, or add both mixtures to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin cups, pressing it in gently and smoothing it out on top.
- Bake the bites for about 15 minutes, until darkened and set on top.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack and let the bites cool for 20 minutes. Gently run a knife along the edge of each bite, then pop the muffin tin into the fridge and chill the bites for 1 hour. This helps them firm up so they come out of the tin without breaking (Note 1). Remove the tin from the fridge and gently remove the bites from the tin.
- Reheat the bites in the microwave before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- You may be able to skip this step if you're using a nonstick muffin tin. Check by gently trying to remove one bite. If it resists, proceed with chilling.
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