by Healthy, easy, and absolutely packed with sundried tomato goodness, this 15-Minute Sundried Tomato Creamy Tofu Pasta Sauce comes together in a large pan and a blender, is totally vegan, and uses silken tofu for the sauce! It’s packed with 23 grams of protein per serving, making it the perfect high-protein, easy vegan dinner recipe!
There are very few things I love more in life than a decadent, creamy pasta sauce, but a decadent, creamy pasta sauce that’s also high in protein? Sign me up!
As you may know, I’m a Registered Dietitian and no stranger to making healthy pasta recipes, but I’ve also been experimenting with making silken tofu pasta sauce, like in my super popular 15-Minute Garlic & Lemon Creamy Tofu Pasta Sauce, and I’ve been blown away by the results!
This dairy-free creamy pasta sauce is absolutely bursting with rich, savory sundried tomato flavor, plus we use nutritional yeast for a cheesey flavor, and lots of lemon to brighten it up! Oh and did I mention it requires basically no cooking or chopping (just an onion!)?! Yeah, it seriously couldn’t be easier.
Plus, it pairs perfectly with my 5-Minute Fresh Green Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette as an easy side you can whip up while the pasta’s cooking!
Have some leftover sundried tomatoes? You absolutely need to try my 15-Minute Vegan Bean Salad with Sundried Tomato Pesto next! It’s healthy, hearty, and the perfect packable lunch that’ll make you actually crave beans!
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My Top Testing Tips!
I tested this recipe a few times to make sure it’s juuuuuust right, and here are some of my tips!
- Pasta water is your secret weapon! I tested this with plain water vs. starchy pasta water, and pasta water wins every time. Add ¼–½ cup to loosen the sauce and help it cling beautifully to the noodles.
- Oil packed sundried tomatoes are the way to go. I did test this tofu pasta sauce recipe with both dry-packed sundried tomateos and oil-packed and oil-packed won by a landslide!
- Lemon last, always! Adding a splash of fresh lemon juice as the last step of cooking makes sure that the brightness really sings, rather than turning the whole pasta sauce bitter, which can happen if you cook lemon juice.
- The sauce will thicken as it sits, so if you’re reheating, feel free to add a splash of milk to thin it out!
Your 15 Minute Dinner Awaits
15-Minute Sundried Tomato Creamy Vegan Tofu Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegan or regular butter
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 300g package silken tofu
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes packed in oil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 ground black pepper
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 500 g uncooked pasta, I used Mafaldine but any shape will work!
Equipment
- 1 Large pot
Instructions
- Cook the pasta as per package instructions in salted pasta water, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.
- Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the diced onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent, then add the minced garlic and sauté for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add the sautéed onion and garlic to a blender with the silken tofu, sundried tomatoes, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Add the cooked pasta to the large pan over medium heat and pour the pasta sauce over top, as well as the reserved pasta water.
- Sauté together until the pasta and sauce are combined and heated through. You can choose to top with more fresh black pepper or lemon juice and enjoy!
