Hello, and welcome to Eight Years In. And if you’re a returning reader, welcome back. Today we’re talking about vegan breakfast again, which slowly seems to be becoming one of my favorite subjects.
The vegan’s eggs-periance
Before going vegan, I went through a phase where I ate scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast every single morning. I remember the days when we used to eat omelets for dinner, too, as it was always a special night for my family.
When I went vegan I didn’t have any idea how to substitute these things. I was willing to give them up on the ethical grounds of veganism. And while I never really craved them, I would think about them from time to time as a pleasant memory of something I used to enjoy.
I did try making tofu scramble. And I found that I enjoyed it very much. It definitely wasn’t eggs though. I do still make tofu scramble semi-frequently, but I don’t make it to imitate scrambled eggs. I put beans and vegetables with it and eat it more like a breakfast hash or use it for breakfast burritos. Vegan eggs…well, that’s proven more difficult to find.
The famous product
That all changed when I came across the product Just Egg. I don’t remember exactly when it was, probably about three years ago at this point. But when I tried it, I was incredibly impressed.
It’s a yellow liquid in a bottle, and it looks like if you took an egg and beat it in a bowl (but more yellow in color, while egg yolks look more orange.) It was a little pricey, for my budget at least, but I knew that I wouldn’t have to miss scrambled eggs or omelets anymore.
If you haven’t tried Just Egg and you have the chance, I would recommend it, definitely! They also have pre-cooked patties, which are good for breakfast sandwiches or chopped up in dishes you’d want scrambled egg in.
So…chickpeas?
Now you may be wondering where chickpeas fit in. I mean, Just Egg is made out of mung bean, not chickpeas.
And it’s true. The thing is, even though Just Egg is very good at replacing any scrambled egg dish (fried rice, French toast, seriously, whatever you want), I am always on the lookout for new foods, recipes and ideas. And one day I came across a recipe that I probably saw pitched many times before, but it never caught my attention until then.
All of you old school vegans might scoff at the idea that the Just Egg omelet would be the first thought and the chickpea omelet a revelation, but I don’t know, it was certainly a new and exciting prospect for me. To spell it out for you who aren’t already well aware of this fact, yes! You really can make an omelet out of chickpeas!
So what is this chickpea omelet?
If I’m being transparent, chickpea omelets have become my new favorite breakfast recently, and I wanted to write this post because I’ve been enjoying them so much that I just had to talk about it with more people.
I think the most difficult part of making chickpea omelets is finding the ingredients. Chickpea flour will make the base of your omelet, and if you’re missing that sulphuric egg-y smell, you’re going to want some black salt, also known as kala namak. Then, I also recommend nutritional yeast, which helps get the richer umami flavor that you remember from the egg yolks. (And if you’ve been vegan for a while, you’re probably pretty familiar with nutritional yeast as well.)
The other ingredients are easy. Salt, pepper, water, and then whatever fillings you want to put in your omelet. (I’m partial to spinach, onion and peppers, with a sprinkle of vegan cheese, but you could really get creative here. Maybe mix it up with some vegan sausage, tomatoes, anything you might put in an omelet or you have on hand in the fridge is a good candidate.)
How to make it
What you want to do is mix all the dry ingredients with a whisk and then add your water. You want enough water to make a thick liquid, like you get from a beaten egg once it’s all whisked together. It’s not going to be exactly the same texture as an egg because you’re mixing powder with water instead of simply starting with a viscous liquid, but you can eyeball the proportions. You want enough water so it is a liquid, but you don’t want so much that there’s extra water on top once you’ve mixed it all thoroughly. If you’re looking for actual measurements, then take a look at this recipe.
And once you’ve got your egg mixture, go ahead and pour it in a greased frying pan. You can cook your omelet very much the same as a regular omelet. The only difference I’ve noticed is that you want the top of your egg mixture to be dry enough so that you can flip it—in fact, a little extra crisp on the bottom of your pan makes for an easier time of things.
My favorite breakfast
As I said, this has definitely become a favorite of mine. I was able to find chickpea flour at a local Indian grocery store and since then, these omelets have been solidly in my food rotation, especially for weekend breakfasts where I have time and want to cook something nice.
They’re not going to fool anyone into thinking it’s egg, so don’t do it for that reason. But they do smell and taste remarkable. They have protein from the chickpeas but more fiber than a regular omelet, and I always feel so satisfied and energized after eating one.
If you are at all interested in the idea of a chickpea omelet, I can’t recommend it enough. Try it, they’re amazing! And as always, thank you for reading my thoughts. If you’re interested in more vegan content, please subscribe to the blog to get updates when a new post goes live. And if you’ve tried chickpea omelets before, let us know what you think of them in the comments! I hope you have an amazing day!