Last Updated on February 14, 2021

Have you had any non-traditional Japanese style breakfast yet? This is a bit different from what you would think as Japanese food. My Anko Butter Toast offers unique flavor combination of sweet adzuki beans and butter together on toast. This is a very casual yet very original style vegan breakfast when you crave sweet stuff!

Anko + Butter + Bread

Before starting this topic, are you wondering what is anko? It’s a common name for cooked sweet adzuki beans. It can be in two different forms; as whole beans or paste. If you are curious about anko, you can read the post & recipe here.

For the Japanese people, this combination is not something new. The perfect example would be Anpan [あんぱん] which is a baked bread with anko filling. When you bite into it, the buttery aroma from the soft & fluffy bread hits you right away, and the sweetness of anko with a touch of saltiness just makes it better. It is one of the popular Japanese style bread that you can find at almost all bakeries.

At this point of my life, I have never baked my own anpan yet, but I can get something close to it by making this Anko Butter Toast [あんこバタートースト]  or An-Butter Toast [あんバタートースト] to be called more authentically. It’s super easy to make as long as you have anko prepared in advance. You can also buy canned prepared adzuki (red beans) with sugar.

The Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this delicious toast.

• Your Favorite Slices of Bread
• Anko
  • Adzuki Beans
  • Water
  • Sugar
• Vegan Butter (Salted or Unsalted)
• A Pinch of Salt (omit if use salted butter)

Do you have all the ingredients ready? Great! You can read the next section for some tips and recipe notes that may help you.

The Tips / Recipe Notes

Here is the break down in more details.

Bread

You can use any bread you like as long as they are not savory or have dominant flavor  (ex. olive bread, focaccia, raisin bread, chocolate swirl, everything bagel etc. will not work!) Regular loaf of bread, sourdough bread, multigrain bread, baguette, croissants, bagel will be a good for this. I used this sprouted lentil grain from One Degree Organics.

Toast any bread of your choice until crunchy, warm and toasty!

 Anko

It is better to use warm or at least room tempered anko. No time to do so? It is still fine to use cold one out of the fridge.

I must say, it is best to use your homemade anko. You can check out my recipe here. Making anko is not a quick-fix process but when you have time, you can make a large batch and separate into smaller portions and keep it in the freezer. This is super convenient and exactly what I do! All you have to do is to thaw (in the fridge overnight or countertop for a couple of hours) as much as you need to use at a time.

As mentioned earlier, you could also use canned prepared sweet adzuki beans. If so, make sure to drain the liquid before putting on the toast. You do not want a soggy toast…

Butter

I used unsalted vegan butter from Miyoko’s, then add my own salt as a finishing touch. The salt is one of the key component of this toast so you will definitely want to use it. For that reason, you can use salted butter. In this case, you do not need to add extra salt at the end!

In the main picture of this recipe, it shows the butter on top of anko. You can butter the toast then put extra butter on top. This method works very well especially anko is warm! Or, you can just simply butter the toast only.

Salt

Sprinkle just a pinch of good salt is all you need to give that sweet & savory taste! Again, if you use salted butter, you can simply skip it!

How to Serve

This can be served breakfast or afternoon snack! You can either do open-face or make a sandwich.

Feeling Inspired?

Be sure to check out other sweet & breakfast recipes in Japanese style!

Anko (Japanese Sweet Adzuki Beans)

Vanilla Gelato with Sweet Adzuki Beans & Strawberries

Japanese Sweet & Savory Tofu Scramble (Iri-Dofu)

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Anko Butter Toast

This is a bit different from what you would think as Japanese food. My Anko Butter Toast offers unique flavor combination of sweet adzuki beans and butter together on toast. This is a very casual yet very original style vegan breakfast when you crave sweet stuff!

*Total Time does not reflect the time to make anko from scratch

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast & Brunch

Cuisine: Japanese, Japanese Inspired

Servings: 2

Author: Plant-Based Matters

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread (use any regular bread of your choice)
• 1/2-3/4 cup anko (cooked Japanese sweet adzuki beans) homemade or prepared (canned)
• 1/2-1 tbsp vegan butter salted or unsalted
• A tiny pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)

Instructions

• Warm up anko on stovetop until slightly warm but not hot (optional.)
• Toast the bread until golden brown.
• Spread butter on the toast then top it with anko. Then sprinkle a tiny pinch of salt over the anko. Drop extra butter on top for more richness (optional.)

Notes

• For the choice of bread, it works with any bread as long as they are not savory breads like olive bread, rosemary focaccia etc.
• It’s best to use warm anko or room temperature one. If there is no time to do so, you can still use cold one from the fridge.
• I recommend making your homemade anko (you can keep it in freezer and thaw as needed.) Alternatively, use canned (prepared) sweet adzuki beans.
• A hint of saltiness is the key to this dish. You can use either “salted butter only” or “unsalted butter plus a tiny pinch of salt.”

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plantbased_matters or tag #plantbased_matters!