How about yesterday’s rice-and-beans leftovers for breakfast? Together with a fresh arepa, tofu scrambled eggs and avocado. Sounds delicious, right? Today I share with you my recipe for a vegan calentado, which is inspired by the traditional and filling Colombian breakfast dish.
Jump to RecipeEsta receta también está disponible en español.
Calentado for breakfast
Calentado (also spelled: calentao) is a traditional Colombian breakfast dish. In Spanish the word calentado means “heated”, and the dish basically consists of yesterday’s leftovers reheated. The main elements usually are rice mixed with frijoles (beans) and some type of animal protein. Sometimes people add more vegetables or potatoes. The calentado comes with an arepa and a fried egg on top, and a warm drink like chocolate or coffee.
Ingredients for a vegan breakfast calentado
For this recipe I chose to make a vegan version, excluding the use of a fried egg, and the butter I normally use in my arepas. However, if you do eat eggs and dairy, you can replace the tofu-scramble for a fried egg. Vegans and vegetarians can use this recipe for Arepas Colombianas (Colombian Corn Cakes).
So what do you need to make a vegan Colombian calentado? Easiest to make this is when you in fact have leftovers from the day before:
- Rice
- Frijoles Colombianos (Colombian Beans)
- Hogao (tomato-onion sauce).
This makes the base of the dish. To finish it off, you serve it with:
- Arepa
- Avocado
- Tofu-scrambled “eggs”
When using leftovers, you can serve this filling and festive dish in less than 30 minutes! Perfect for a weekend-day when you just need a big breakfast…
Looking for more Colombian breakfast ideas? Click here for more vegetarian recipes!
Helpful links
Arepas Colombianas (Colombian Corn Cakes)
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You might also love these breakfast ideas:
Pan Blandito (Colombian Bread Rolls)
Arepas Rellenas (Arepas Stuffed with Hogao, Avocado and Cheese) (use plant-based cheese for a vegan version)
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Do you love Colombian food? Click here for more recipes of Colombian vegetarian food!
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Do you love this recipe? Give it a 5-star rating below and leave me a comment! Or tag @vecinavegetariana on Instagram. You can also pin this recipe now and make it later.
Vegan Colombian Breakfast Calentado
Ingredients
Rice-and-beans
- 2.5 cups cooked white rice
- 2.5 cups cooked colombian beans (frijoles) recipe link in blog post
- 3 tbsp hogao (tomato-onion sauce) recipe link in blog post, or replace by adding garlic, green onions and tomato to rice and beans
- water, if necessary
Tofu scramble
- 250 g firm tofu
- vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper
Vegan Arepas
- 1 cup white precooked cornmeal
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt
Serve with (optional)
- 1 avocado, in quarters
- sliced tomato
Instructions
Make dough for the vegan arepas
- Add cornmeal, water, oil and salt to a mixing bowl. Mix well with a fork and your hands. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes while you prepare the other elements
Tofu Scramble
- Mash tofu with a fork into crumbles. Add tofu scramble to a frying pan with some vegetable oil. Mix in spices and salt and cook for 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Add nutritional yeast (if using) and water, stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Keep warm until using
Rice-and-beans
- Add rice, beans and hogao to a pan. Mix and warm up for about 10 minutes. Depending on how wet the beans are, you might want to add some extra water to prevent the mixture from getting dry. Season and turn low
Cook arepas
- Knead the dough one last time, add water if too dry. Using your hands, a press or a rolling pin, shape arepas in round and flat discs. The recipe yields about 5 arepas. Cook arepas without oil in a (grill) pan for about 4-5 minutes per side
Assemble
- Divide rice-and-beans, tofu scramble and arepas over 4 plates. Add avocado and tomato if using. Serve warm, with Colombian chocolate milk, coffee or tea
