Vegan Cheeseburger Oats

Okay, this is totally weird, I know. But this morning, I made Vegan Cheeseburger Oats. 

Let me explain. I've long been a fan of savory oats over sweet oats. Don't get me wrong — I can certainly get down with maple-sweetened oats piled high with dollops of almond butter and fresh berries. But give me a choice, and I'll pick noochy oats over fruity oats any day.

I've made a number of actual recipes for savory oats (like this Loaded Savory Oat & Lentil Bowl from the Oh She Glows Cookbook), but I typically just wing it. I'll start with plain rolled oats or steel cut oats, stir in some nutritional yeast, flax oil, hot sauce, etc. And then I'll top the bowl with walnuts or pumpkin seeds or sesame seed gomasio or something nutty. My fave-ever bowl was one that I topped with green olives, pepitas, and sundried tomatoes. Yum!

But this morning, I was feeling a little wacky. I knew I wanted to add protein to my oat bowl, but my nut supply is running short. I do, however, have a lot of veggie burger crumbles. I opted for the Dixie Diner Beef Not! crumbles, which are basically TVP crumbles. I rehydrated them and then sauteed in Magic Vegan Bacon Grease and seasoned with shoyu, liquid smoke, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Then I put 'em atop my noochy oats! Cheeseburgers need tomatoes, so I added those on top. And I stirred some spinach into the oats for good measure. You can't go wrong adding greens. Delicious! The only thing that would have made this bowl even better are slices of avocado. Yum! And maybe some ketchup and dill pickles, no?

Vegan Cheeseburger Oats
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1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
1/2 cup baby spinach
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup seasoned veggie burger crumbles
1 large slice tomato, chopped
hot sauce to taste
optional extra toppings: avocado slices, dill pickle, ketchup, mustard, thinly sliced red onion

Combine the oats and water in a large measuring cup and microwave for three minutes.

Stir in spinach until it wilts. Stir in nutritional yeast. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top bowl with seasoned veggie burger, tomato, hot sauce, and other desired toppings.