Cheesy Vegetarian

Creamy Tofu Pasta (with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes)

I adore a creamy pasta sauce. There’s nothing better than twirling some glossy noodles around a fork, flicking little drips of sauce everywhere (the cleaning up afterwards is another matter entirely).

I generally make a cream cheese sauce (because it’s so quick, and I’m lazy), but I thought this time I’d make the sauce using silken tofu instead. And oh my word. It works beautifully. The tofu blends up easily to make a silky, ultra creamy sauce that is honestly just as good as any other cream-based sauce I’ve ever made. I thinned it with a little milk, which could easily be a plant-based milk, if you’d like to make a vegan tofu sauce.

A bowl of tagliatelle with creamy tofu sauce.

I know cooking with tofu can be a bit intimidating if you’ve not used it before – in fact it’s one of those ingredients that people often turn their noses up at (especially non-vegetarians!). But how could anyone argue with a luxurious creamy sauce, flavoured with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil, garlic and onion, spinach and heaps of black pepper?! It’s absolutely dreamy. I implore you to give it a try before you judge!

Overhead shot of a pan full of creamy tofu pasta.

What Type of Tofu Makes the Best Creamy Sauce?

For this creamy tofu pasta, you’ll need to use silken tofu. It a soft, smooth kind of tofu, which blends up beautifully to make the creamy sauce.

I wouldn’t use firm tofu for this recipe, as it won’t give such a smooth sauce when it’s blended up. Firm (or extra firm) tofu is better diced or sliced, and used for something like baked tofu or teriyaki tofu.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

pasta. Any pasta shape will work well, but my first choice would be any kind of long pasta, like spaghetti or tagliatelle – I love the feeling of slurping up a long piece of pasta in a creamy sauce.
silken tofu
onion (half is enough, or one very small onion)
garlic. I used pre-minced garlic because that’s what I usually have in my kitchen. It’s going in the food processor anyway, so fresh garlic will be just as convenient for this recipe.
sun-dried tomatoes. These don’t really need any cooking, so they’re perfect for adding straight to the blended sauce, and they bring heaps of flavour.
spinach. I used fresh spinach, but if you decide to use frozen spinach, thaw it and drain out any excess liquid before adding it to the sauce.
fresh basil
milk – just to thin the sauce a little. Use vegan milk if you prefer.

You could add any kind of extra vegetables to this recipe, if you’d like to. Some examples could be:

grated zucchini (courgette)
frozen peas
thinly sliced red peppers
cherry tomatoes
sliced mushrooms

Becca’s Top Tip

I liked the fact that spinach and sun-dried tomatoes don’t need any pre-cooking, so you can add them straight into the sauce. If you’re using other kinds of raw veggies, they might need to be cooked off in the frying pan first, before adding the sauce.

Recipe Video

Equipment

I generally try to avoid using too much non-universal kitchen equipment in my recipes – but to make this creamy tofu sauce, you do need to use a food processor.

My food processor is an old Kenwood that actually used to belong to my Grandma, so it’s at least 15+ years old. I can’t find the same one on Amazon (like I said, it’s old), but here’s a similar food processor on Amazon, which has great reviews:

Black + Decker Food Processor

If you’re in the UK or Canada, click the link to see a local product.

Creamy tofu pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.

Printable Instructions

Creamy Tofu Pasta

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 426kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

1/2 onion
1 tsp minced garlic (or 2 peeled cloves)
300 g (~ 10 1/2 oz) silken tofu
125 ml (~ 1/2 cup) milk (use plant-based milk if needed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
250 g (~ 9 oz) dried pasta (I used tagliatelle)
1 large handful baby spinach, roughly chopped
85 g (~ 3 oz / ~ 1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
Few sprigs fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

Cut the onion into a few chunks, and add it to a food processor, along with the garlic. Blitz until finely chopped. Add the silken tofu, milk, and salt and pepper, and blitz again until fairly smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor a couple of times to make sure everything is incorporated.
In a large saucepan, boil the pasta in plenty of water, until cooked to your liking (approx. 12-14 minutes).
Meanwhile, transfer the tofu sauce to a frying pan, and turn the heat to medium-low.
Add the chopped spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, and bring to a gentle simmer. If you have one, you can cover the pan with a lid to prevent it from spitting.
Simmer the sauce for at least 5 minutes, or until the pasta is ready. This will cook out the raw onion flavour.
Drain the pasta, and add it to the sauce, along with the chopped basil. Mix to combine – I find it easiest to use a pair of tongs for this, especially if you’re using a long kind of pasta like spaghetti or tagliatelle. Add more black pepper at this point if you’d like to, and / or a drizzle of the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Serve warm.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare the tofu sauce in advance?

Sure – just store it in an air-tight tub in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. Reheat it thoroughly in the microwave or in a frying pan (you might need to add a splash of water to loosen it back up), and serve.

Is this tofu pasta vegan?

As long as you use an unflavoured plant based milk, this recipe is totally vegan.

Other Tofu Recipes

Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

Creamy Tofu Pasta (with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes)

Blackened Tofu Steaks

Pizza Baked Tofu

Smoked Tofu Kedgeree

The post Creamy Tofu Pasta (with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

I usually plan out my dinners for the week, but lunch is often an afterthought – and it shouldn’t be! With these easy tortilla roll-ups, lunch will be something you look forward to all through the morning. They’re quick and easy to make, and they make such a nice change from a plain old sandwich!

Vegetarian tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Just add your chosen fillings in strips along your tortilla, and roll! Make sure you roll across the strips of ingredients, not along them, so that you get a bit of everything in each bite.

To be honest, you can stuff your tortilla roll-ups with whatever you like. Since I’m a huge fan of anything Tex-Mex (I have a huge collection of vegetarian Tex-Mex recipes!), I went for the classic combination of black beans, cheese, and guacamole – plus some jalapeños and black olives for an extra pop of flavour.

How to Serve Tortilla Roll-Ups

Just like a humble sandwich, these tortilla roll-ups are super versatile. They can be served in all sorts of ways:

Make them at home for a quick and easy lunch (sometimes I don’t even bother cutting them into pieces if I’m busy working!).
Pack them into a lunchbox to take to work or school (my kids love them, although I do adjust the fillings to their taste).
Cut them into bitesize pieces and serve them on a vegetarian platter for a party (they can easily be adapted to suit either kids or adults!). I would double or triple the recipe if you’re serving a crowd – you can easily prepare as many as you need.

Tortilla roll-ups in a lunchbox with fruit and crisps.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

tortillas – use flour tortillas, and go for the biggest ones you can find, as they will give neater slices.
black beans (canned, for convenience)
guacamole – to stick the roll-ups together. I used shop-bought guacamole for speed, but homemade would be even better.
grated cheese – I used cheddar
black olives
pickled jalapeños – I used red ones as they’re a little sweeter than green.

A close up image of Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Other Roll-Up Filling Ideas

These tortilla roll-ups can be customised however you like, depending on what you have in the fridge. I’d recommend choosing one ingredient from each of these categories:

A spread (I used guacamole) – this is important to help to ‘glue’ the roll-ups together. If you don’t like guacamole, you could use hummus, sour cream, pesto, or any other kind of spread.
A cheese (I used grated cheddar) – you could also use crumbled feta, soft goat cheese, thin strips of grilled halloumi, etc. Just avoid using huge pieces of cheese, as it might stop the roll-ups from holding together as well.
A lean protein (I used black beans) – you could swap these for any other kind of bean, or use chickpeas or lentils instead. Canned legumes are quick and convenient to use.
One or two ingredients for extra flavour (I used jalapeños and black olives). You could also use finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, finely chopped peanuts or toasted pine nuts, or sliced spring onions.

Becca’s Top Tip

Avoid using any ingredients that are particularly wet (e.g. fresh tomatoes or cucumber), as they can make the tortillas a little soggy and can stop them from holding together properly. Or, if you really want to use these ingredients, remove the seeds first, as this is the wettest part.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Printable Instructions

A plateful of vegetarian Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

Tortilla roll-ups are a quick and exciting lunch option, or to serve on a platter at parties. These cheesy Tex-Mex ones are so tasty!

Course Appetizer, Light lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings people

Calories 464kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 large flour tortillas
4 tbsp guacamole
75 g (~ 3/4 cup) grated cheddar cheese
120 g cooked black beans (1/2 a drained 400g tin, or ~ 2/3 cup)
Few pieces pickled jalapeños (I used red), finely chopped
2 tbsp sliced black olives

Instructions

Lay out the large tortillas, and spread them all over with guacamole.
Sprinkle grated cheese in a strip along the centre of each tortilla, as well as the black beans, finely chopped jalapeños, and black olives.
Roll each tortilla tightly, making sure you roll across your strips of filling, to ensure each ingredient appears in every piece. Cut the rolled tortillas into pieces. The curved end pieces can be a little messy, so if you need your tortilla roll-ups to be particularly neat, you can remove the ends first. I usually get 4-5 good pieces from each tortilla.
The roll-ups are best served straight away, but if needed you can store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these tortilla roll-ups in advance?

Ideally, you’ll prepare the roll-ups soon before serving. However, if you’re making them for a party and you want to be ready beforehand, they can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, and stored in the fridge. They can get a little soggy if left for too long.

Can I make these tortilla roll-ups vegan / gluten-free?

Sure – just customise the ingredients to your own needs (e.g. use your favourite vegan cheese, or your favourite gluten-free tortillas).