I find it hard to believe that I have never tried vegan pesto before. I actually LOVE it! I have never been a big pesto fan before but OMG, this is to die for.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not one to add a lot of commentary to my recipe posts. I just want to share the relevant information for the recipe.
I’m also not one for staging the pictures of my food. I can tell you that the pictures that I take never look as good as the food tastes and this is no exception.
Another recipe adaptation
The recipe for today came from the Everyday Plant-Based recipe book that I modified again for our use. We don’t eat dairy so I made a vegan pesto that will become a staple in my cooking from now on. I’ll share both recipes here.
I use brown rice pasta because I prefer to stay as gluten free as I can. I don’t think I have a high level of sensitivity to gluten but I feel better when it isn’t in my diet. I also choose foods that have no added sugars.
The marinara sauce I use is very basic. It has only the ingredients one would want in a pasta sauce.
Spaghetti with Tofu Squares
Ingredients
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu it calls for 14 oz. but I used 1 lb. and I drained and squeezed it almost dry between paper towels
- 1/4-1/2 cup prepared pesto I just used the whole amount from the recipe
- 8 oz uncooked spaghetti I used gluten free brown rice penne pasta
- 24 oz jar marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts I didn't add these because the pesto had plenty
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Prepare shallow baking pan to prevent sticking
- Cut tofu into 1 inch cubes and combined with pesto in a bowl until coated
- Arrange coated tofu in baking dish and bake 15 minute (i baked it longer to make it extra crispy
- Cook pasta until al dente; drain and return to pan
- Add marinara sauce to pasta and stir to coat; heat over medium heat until hot
- I stirred the tofu into the sauce and pasta but you can serve with tofu on top
- Top with pine nuts if you use them and some vegan parmesan cheese. Both are optional
Here is the vegan pesto. It was really easy to make. I used a small food processor and dried basil instead of fresh because it’s all I had in the house. This will be a staple in my house from now on.
Vegan Pesto
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil tightly packed I used 2/3 cups dried basil
- 3 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 large cloves peeled garlic
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp water use more if thinning is needed
Instructions
- put all ingredients except oil and water in food processor and process unless a loose paste is formed
- drizzle in olive oil
- scrape sides as needed
- add water a little at a time until desired consistency is reached
This just proves that you can live a vegan, gluten free life and not suffer. The food we eat is delicious, satisfying and really good for you.
Try this and let me know what you think.
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Hi Karen, Your recipe looks delish, as usual. Question, my husband can have nut flour but not chopped nuts. Do you think almond flour would work instead of pine nuts?
You might try sunflower seeds to keep it nut free but almond flour might work also. Good luck!
I love nutritional yeast in foods. It packs a lot of flavor. Great idea to use sunflower or possibly pumpkin seeds instead of the chopped nuts.
I never thought nutritional yeast tasty particularly cheesy until I used it in this recipe. You don’t even miss the cheese. I haven’t had cheese in many years but always enjoyed it back in the day.
Looks delicious, I’ll be sharing this with my vegan friend!
It was Martha…but you don’t have to be vegan to enjoy it.
Karen, I often make pesto, using basil and pine nuts, sea salt, lemon pepper, oregano– such a versatile food! And I see Tinkyad.a brand pasta– it has the best texture of any non-wheat pasta! Your recipes look great! Maybe I will create something tomorrow.
It really was tasty Kebba. Definitely on the ‘make it again’ list. That’s my favorite pasta to use.
Dietary changes don’t come easy for most people, but they are well worth the time for health and just plain feeling great! Change is seen as some sort of enemy in our culture and I often wonder why when life is nothing but change.
I think change scares a lot of people and they would rather maintain the status quo than do something uncomfortable…no matter how damaging staying the same will ultimately be.