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Oil-Free + Soy-Free (No Chickpea, No Tofu)
A while ago I made a vegan omelette using beans, mung beans to be exact. I was pretty impressed with how well mung beans held together like real eggs. So from there, I wondered what else I could do with them.
In a recent recipe I used mung beans, or mung bean flour, rather, as a binding agent in baking. It worked well so I decided to keep on this trend of using mung beans in recipes. That brings us to today’s recipe.
The following recipe is for a vegan breakfast casserole. This breakfast casserole is oil-free and soy-free. Unlike a lot of vegan breakfast casserole recipes available, this recipe does not use chickpeas (or chickpea flour) or tofu. I didn’t intentionally exclude soy to be allergy-friendly, but after doing so, I realized how this recipe is a great option for people with that allergy.
The Case for Mung Beans
Mung beans aren’t a common ingredient found at most grocery stores. I can’t think of any dishes I grew up eating that had mung beans. But just like tofu, or nutritional yeast, or tempeh, or any of the other formerly obscure ingredients now known to the plant-based community and transitioning vegans/vegetarians, mung beans are making their way.
One of the reasons I started this blog and love it is because I get to try out new ingredients. Cooking with something unfamiliar is fun! The results of using new ingredients, failure or not, are what make it fun!
I know that cooking is already intimidating enough for some people. I also know that throwing in unfamiliar foods makes cooking even harder; but that’s how you get better at it! Learning to do something new is an uncomfortable process, but after doing it enough times it becomes comfortable.
The first time I cooked tofu it turned out mushy and broken and watery. I thought it was the tofu’s fault. Like, “well, I guess tofu is just supposed to be gross”. Obviously I kept trying at it and now I’m comfortable with it, but I had to be uncomfortable first to figure it out.
So go ahead and buy that bag of mung beans and get uncomfortable with me.
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Vegan Breakfast Casserole | Oil-Free + Soy-Free (No Tofu, No Chickpeas)
- Total Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This easy vegan breakfast casserole is oil-free and soy-free. This recipe is made from mung beans and contains no chickpea flour or tofu.
Ingredients
For the “egg” mixture:
- 1 1/4 Cup Dried Split Mung Beans, Soaked overnight then rinsed*,**
- 1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- 2/3 Cup Cashew Cream***
- 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp. Kala Namak (Black Salt)****
- 1/2 Tsp. Salt
- 1/4 Tsp. Turmeric
For the vegetable filling*****:
- 1 Yellow Onion, Diced
- 1 Bell Pepper, Diced
- 1/2 (8 oz.) Package of Mushrooms, Sliced
- 1 Large Handful of Spinach or Baby Spinach (Approximately 2 Cups)
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
Cook the veggies:
- Place a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat and add a splash of water or vegetable broth. Add onions and sauté until translucent.
- Add in the bell pepper, mushrooms, and salt and sauté for 2 – 3 minutes until the mushrooms soften and begin to reduce in size.
- Add in the spinach and stir to help the spinach wilt. When the spinach has wilted, turn off the heat and add all veggies to a large bowl to cool.
Blend the “egg” mixture & bake:
- Before blending, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the “egg” mixture into the bowl with the veggies and mix to combine.
- Grease or line with parchment paper an 8 x 8 inch or 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Pour “egg” and veggie mixture into the baking pan and use a spatula to smooth the surface.
- Bake for 48 – 50 minutes. To make sure the casserole is fully cooked use a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean then it’s done. Serve as desired.
Notes
- *Soaking the split mung beans: After soaking overnight the mung beans will expand to equal about 3 1/8 cups of mung beans. All of the soaked mung beans will be used for this recipe.
- **Where to buy split mung beans: I buy split mung beans from my local Indian foods store, but if you’re not able to find them then you can order them online here.
- ***Cashew cream: To make cashew cream add 1 cup of raw cashews to a blender along with 1 cup of hot water. Allow the cashews to soak in the hot water for 5 minutes before blending it all together.
- ****Where to buy kala namak (black salt): Just like mung beans, I also buy black salt from my local Indian foods store, but this can also be ordered online here.
- *****Vegetable filling: This recipe can be easily customized to include any type of filling or toppings: vegan sausage, vegan cheese, potatoes, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, etc. (go nuts!).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes + overnight soak
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Want more breakfast recipes? Check out my recipe for Vegan Double Chocolate Muffins!
Hi Marissa! This recipe looks great. I’ve never worked with mung beans before, but I’m looking forward to buying some soon and trying this out. 🙂
Hi, Kayla! My name is Maria, btw (no worries – happens all the time). 🙂 Thank you for the nice comment. I hope you like the recipe! I have other mung bean recipes that you might also like such as my “Egg” Patties for Breakfast Sandwiches recipe or my most recent Vegan Omelette recipe! I hope you’re able to find some mung beans and start experimenting soon! 😊
MARIA–so sorry about that. Would you believe that’s my sister’s name? 🙂 Thanks again for the recipe and the mung bean tips!