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Murielle Banackissa

Vegan Eggs Benedict

Print recipe
45 mins Prep: 15 mins Cook: 30 mins
Serves 4

Satisfying, healthy, featuring vegan lox, wilted spinach and pan seared tofu, these vegan eggs benedict are what every breakfast lover ever dreamed of.

Ingredients

Pan Seared Tofu

  • 1 tsp avocado oil
  • 1 (454g) block of firm tofu , patted dry and cut into 8 cubes
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper

Silky Nut Free Hollandaise

  • 1 (300g) pack silken tofu
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp black salt
  • ¼ tsp turmeric (or more for a deeper yellow color)
  • ¼ cup filtered water
  • Pinch of cayenne or more, to taste
  • Pinch of black pepper or more, to taste
  • Sea salt , to taste
  • 1 tbsp melted vegan margarine

Wilted Spinach

  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper , to taste

Other

  • 4 English muffins (white, whole wheat, or gluten free)
  • Vegan tomato lox (recipe from Carrots & Flowers)
  • Fresh chives , for garnish

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Heat a medium pan over medium heat. Add avocado oil and spread evenly on the pan.

  2. Step 2

    Season blocks of tofu with salt and pepper and arrange on the pan.

  3. Step 3

    Cook on each side until golden (about 3 minutes per side).

  4. Step 4

    In the meantime, make the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients except the margarine in a blender. Blend until smooth.

  5. Step 5

    As the blender is running, slowly pour the melted margarine into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer the sauce to a small saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring regularly.

  7. Step 7

    Heat a medium pan and add the spinach to it. Sauté over medium heat until the spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

  8. Step 8

    Cut your English muffins in half and toast to your desired doneness.

  9. Step 9

    Assemble your eggs Benedict by placing both halves of English muffin on a plate. Top with a few slices of tomato lox, followed by some wilted spinach and a cube of tofu.

  10. Step 10

    Pour some hollandaise over and garnish with chives and a crack of pepper.

  11. Step 11

    Serve as is, with roasted potatoes or a simple salad.

Common Questions & Swaps

  • If you are looking for an alternative to the tomato lox, simply swap it with a mashed avocado.
  • Want extra flavor infused in your tofu? Grill it on a cast iron grill pan.
egan Eggs Benedict with silky nut free hollandaise
Vegan Eggs Benedict with silky nut free hollandaise
Vegan Eggs Benedict with silky nut free hollandaise being poured

When I was in Vancouver at the beginning of the month, I had some of the most amazing vegan food I’ve ever had! Burgers and poutine at MeeT, Afghan dishes at East is East, decadent donuts at Cartems, the famous fried artichoke sandwich at the Arbor and much much more!

 If you are interested in my recommendations on the best places to eat in Vancouver, just check out my previous blogpost Vegan Vancouver Eats.

As mentioned in that blogpost, one of my favorite restaurants in Vancouver was Heirloom. Their eggs benedict dish was to die for – seriously! I was not a huge fan of eggs benedict before turning vegan as I always found them too rich and decadent, but Heirloom’s eggs benedict totally converted me.  

The eggs benedict I preferred were the Avocado Benny. They were simple: English muffin, mashed avocado, fried or crumbled tofu, hollandaise sauce. So simple and yet, this dish left me eating every single crumb and literally licking the sauce off the plate.   

When I got back to Montreal, after publishing my previous blogpost, I asked my Instagram followers what recipe inspired by the food I ate in Vancouver I should recreate. The two options were Earl Gray donuts (inspired by Cartems Earl Gray baked donuts) or… eggs benedict (inspired by the dish I had at Heirloom).

The majority voted for eggs benedict – how suprising!

I mean who could resist to this decadent brunch dish?!

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Vegan Eggs Benedict with silky nut free hollandaise
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I was on a mission to create the eggs benedict of my dreams: uber-tasty, satisfying, filling and healthy! I think I hit the nail on the head with this one. Let me explain the different layers & hopefully convince you that YOU should make this recipe for your next brunch:

  • Whole grain English muffin, this one goes without saying. You need a doughy base. You can definitely stick with the traditional English muffin, but I thought why not add a little bit of extra fiber and whole grains?
  • Tomato lox. When I was brainstorming for this recipe, I looked online and it seemed that a lot of people love their eggs benedict with smoked salmon. I tried looking for an alternative to it and stumbled upon Megan’s recipe for tomato lox on her blog Carrots & Flowers. I had had a tomato lox at a restaurant at some point last year, but never really attempted to make it myself. I followed Megan’s recipe to a t and the result was so tasty, I could not believe my taste buds. Honestly, who needs salmon?
  • Wilted spinach. Simple explanation for their presence in this recipe: we all need to eat our greens.
  • Pan seared tofu. Quick and easy to make, but makes this dish a lot heartier.
  • Liquid gold. Quick question, why have we been calling it hollandaise sauce all these years? It’s pure magic! This sauce, contrary to many of the vegan hollandaise recipes on the web, does not contain cashews therefore it is a lot lighter, while still tasting like heaven! It has one ingredient that you might not necessarily be familiar with: black salt (which ironically is pink!). Black salt is often used in vegan cooking to give an eggy flavour to a dish. It is not a must to make this recipe, but it really does make a difference so I would suggest getting your hands on some – it is available online or can be found at Indian grocery shops.  

Well now that I have described every element of this recipe, let’s jump right in and show you how to make it yourself! If you do end up whipping up this recipe, snap a photo and share it on social media by tagging me (@muriellebanackissa).

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