Migas | Mexican Breakfast Made Vegan
Migas are delicious Mexican breakfast made with corn chips, sautéed tomato, onion and chile. Traditionally egg is added but these are a vegan version. You’re going to love this vegan breakfast, promise!
Breakfast First
I for one can’t ever skip breakfast, I have blood sugar problems, so that means that my first meal of the day has to be loaded with protein and be filling enough to get me through to lunch or dinner time. So, sadly but also good, the whole pancakes or other sugary breakfasts are a no-no for me — they can be a small treat on the side, but never a main for any meal.
Not sure about you but I’m not a big fan of waking up and dragging my sleepy butt into the kitchen for an extended period of time. But occasionally when I get nostalgic I wake up and want to fill my soul with childhood memories of favorite breakfast foods.
Huevo con Tortillas or Migas con Huevo
Growing up my mami would make us huevo con tortilla or what is also called migas. I’m actually not sure if it’s a regional thing that we didn’t call them migas.
Regardless of the name it’s something that I so enjoyed eating whenever she made it for us. It’s something so simple, just scrambled eggs coating crispy fried pieces of corn tortillas, but in every bite, it was like just one of those good for the soul, satisfying kind of meals.
What Are Migas
If you speak to a Spanish person (like as in the country Spain) to them migas are a completely different dish. There they are still a breakfast food but made with day old bread instead of corn tortillas, you know because corn and corn tortillas are not native to that land.
But just like in the Mexican migas recipes, in Spain too there are some variations. I won’t go into detail about them because after all, you came here for the Mexican version.
The word migas simply means crumbs and in the country of Mexico it can be the breakfast food I described or it can mean a soup.
Breakfast Miga Variations
Depending on the region of Mexico, migas can mean just the crispy fried corn tortilla pieces with the scrambled egg. The tortilla pieces can be cut into little squares, long and smallish strips, or triangles. It really doesn’t matter because a fried piece of corn tortilla tastes amazing in any shape.
Some people do just eggs, corn tortilla pieces and others will add a bit of onion too.
Then there are the more elaborate migas that consists of tomato, chili, onion, (sometimes garlic too), eggs and corn tortilla pieces. These latter ones are sometimes called Tex-Mex migas.
Tex-Mex Migas can be taken a step further and served on flour tortillas as tacos. Sometimes they also add cheese. So many variations!
In Mexico City migas are more of a stew than an eggy breakfast food. This version, like the Spanish one, uses day-old bolillo to thicken the stew.
Migas con Huevo or Huevo con Tortillas
Another name this dish is called is huevos con tortilla or migas con huevo.
As I previously said migas are traditionally made with egg. The eggs are scrambled into the fried tortillas to coat them.
This is how I grew up eating them. If you’d like this vegetarian version just swap the tofu for the eggs.
You can add 3 medium or large eggs after you’ve sautéed the vegetables and added the corn chips. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl then pour over the chips. Stir now and then and cook a few minutes just until the egg is cooked. Serve just like the rest of this recipe.
Vegan Breakfast
I love to make both vegetarian and vegan versions of this Mexican breakfast. I do still make the egg-based migas but since I bought a bit too much tofu I decided to make some migas instead of my usual tofu scramble.
These vegan migas are super satisfying and just as memorable as the classic recipe.
I used extra firm silkened tofu, normally I use regular firm tofu, but that’s what I had on hand. I did, however, discover that the silkened tofu worked great for that soft egg texture, and of course, tofu of any kind will never coat the tortilla the way eggs do.
Like tofu, turmeric isn’t a traditional ingredient in Mexican cuisine. But it’s added to tofu to give it a similar color as scrambled eggs. It works perfectly and doesn’t interfere with the other flavorings in the dish.
If you have black salt do add some for that “eggy” smell and taste. You can get it on Amazon or local Indians food stores.
You’ll also notice that I didn’t demonstrate the frying of the corn tortilla, that’s because I’m super lucky to have a tortilleria that sells fried corn chips ready to use in migas, chilaquiles and for your snack dipping needs.
I love having this option because I really don’t like to fry foods because I somehow always get a little oil splash burn, so I’ll take the cheat when I can get it.
If you have either a tortilleria or Mexican food store nearby do look for the corn chips or totopos as they’re called in Mexico.
How to Make Vegan Migas
Ok amigos get the easy recipe below and check out the video too. Also look at the notes if you have any questions or send me a DM on IG and I’d be happy to help!
Migas | Mexican Vegan Breakfast
Equipment
- Large pan, cutting board, knife, wooden spoon
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 6 oz of silkened extra firm tofu
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or Indian black salt
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup white onion chopped
- 1 large garlic clove minced, optional
- 1 whole green serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 2 cups corn tortilla chips*
To Serve:
- 1 cup refried beans
- salsa of your choice
- 1/2 medium avocado sliced
Instructions
- Chop up the tofu into small pieces, heat the oil in a large pan then add the tofu and saute for a couple of minutes before mixing in the salt. Next, sprinkle in the turmeric powder and saute for 5 minutes. Then remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.
- Add the onion to the pan and if needed add a splash of olive oil, cook onion until soft. Mix in the garlic then add the serrano slices and then the chopped tomato. Cook until the tomato has begun breaking down, then mix in the cooked tofu and stir until well combined.
- Add the corn chips and stir until they are coated with the tofu mixture. Cook until the chips have softened. Serve with refried beans, salsa, and/or avocado slices. Enjoy as breakfast, or lunch or brunch or even dinner.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Help us Rate This Recipe
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Mexican Breakfast Ideas
Please not that for any of these recipes instead of using eggs you can use a tofu egg or other options like Just Egg or VeganEgg.
- Berrylicious Matcha Chia Pudding
- Chorizo with Eggs
- How to Make Nopales con Huevos
- Breakfast Tacos: Huevos con Salchicha
Nancy Lopez is a food blogger and author of the cookbook Mexican Tamales Made Meatless. Born in Mexico, raised in the US, and currently living in Southern Mexico, she has followed a meatless diet for almost 10 years. It is her passion and mission to share all she has learned about vegan Mexican cooking and vegetarian Mexican recipes. Mexican Made Meatless is a blog dedicated to preserving the authentic flavors of Mexican cuisine just without the meat. It’s a place to celebrate Mexican culture and all it’s delightfully delicious traditional foods. Read more…
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