Recipe Review

This week I tried a few new recipes from the Whole Foods website. If you are ever looking for recipes or new ideas check out their website; it’s awesome. I love it because I can search for recipes tagged vegan instead of searching through all of them trying to find some that might work for me. They of course have a ton of non-vegan recipes and from what I’ve seen they look fantastic.

My favorite recipe I tried this week was Pasta Bake with Tofu Cheese. Oh my word it was amazeballs. It’s like having baked ziti or lasagna without the layers. It was very reminiscent of the heavy, cheesy, ooey gooey yummy pasta dishes I grew up eating. However, it was cheese less. It wasn’t heavy at all. It was filling but not in a ‘I have to unbutton my pants’ way and just as tasty (tastier in my opinion) than the original it’s based off of. Since you are using tofu instead of cheese you totally up the protein content making it a dish that keeps you feeling full long after you’ve eaten. It rocks.

Go make this

Now

It has only nine ingredients and you probably have at least three (olive oil, salt and pepper) in your pantry already.

Pasta Bake with Tofu Cheese
​*From Whole Foods
Serves 4
Serve this vegan baked pasta with a simple salad and steamed vegetables.

Ingredients

8 ounces small whole wheat pasta shells
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups pasta sauce, divided
1 (14-ounce) package soft tofu, drained
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup soy or rice Parmesan-style cheese, divided
Salt and black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package instructions. Drain well and transfer to a 7-x-11-inch baking dish. Stir in olive oil and a cup of the pasta sauce. Set aside.

Put tofu, basil, garlic, half the cheese, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spread tofu mixture over the cooked pasta and top with remaining pasta sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

*I had some Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese on hand so I topped the pasta with that instead of the remaining ¼ cup of parmesan. It was so good. This would be the perfect addition to your Meatless Monday repertoire. Two thumbs up!

Speaking of food, what do you have planned for the big game Sunday? I checked out a bunch of vegan-friendly party food/snack recipes posted on different websites but I haven’t really decided on anything yet. To be honest, I am more concerned with packing for my vacation next week than I am with the Super Bowl. Can you blame me- I’m an Eagles/Bills fan so I have a strong dislike for the Giants and the Pats. Oh, well. I will still watch. I love the commercials 😉

Thanks for reading!