Happy Monday! Today I’m sharing with you this garlic butter pasta with whipped tofu ricotta. It’s easily one of my favorite dishes I’ve ever made. The simple garlic butter sauce pairs so perfectly with the rich, creamy tofu ricotta and the fresh herbs throughout help keep the dish feeling light and fresh! This is a pasta you’ll always want seconds of. Plus, it’s ready in 30 minutes and super simple!
I know cheese is what holds a lot of people back from going completely vegan or plant-based but when you’ve tried things like homemade whipped tofu ricotta, you’ll start to think it won’t be so hard. Especially when you realize how easy it is!
how to make tofu ricotta
This 7 ingredient tofu ricotta is so creamy, indulgent and rich feeling you won’t believe it’s healthy and the easiest thing to make. All you’ll need is a high speed blender, cashews, silken tofu, extra firm tofu, lemon juice, salt, fresh basil, and nutritional yeast.
Blend the cashews, tofu, lemon juice, salt and nutritional yeast until completely smooth and then pulse in the basil. If you blend the basil until completely smooth that’s completely fine, your ricotta just might be a little green!
You can make tofu ricotta in the food processor, but if possible, I would recommend doing a second step after processing and blending it with an immersion blender to get it completely smooth and fluffy.
You can also refrigerate this ricotta for a few hours or over night if you prefer a thicker texture! Either way, you can’t go wrong. Who knew tofu could be so delectable! And paired with the garlic butter sauce, what could be better?!
Now, I like to add in some sautéed mushrooms, kale and shallots with the ricotta. You can skip this but it is very, very good. Plus, it’s super quick and easy and worth the extra step in my opinion.
making your garlic butter pasta
Finally, the garlic butter sauce!
While your pasta is cooking according to package instructions, over medium heat, melt ⅔ cup of vegan butter in the same skillet we used to sauté the mushrooms, kale and shallot for the ricotta. Add in 2 cloves of garlic, more mushrooms and some fresh sage leaves. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning. You can also lower the heat if it looks like the garlic is browning too quickly. Sauté this mixture together until the mushrooms are soft and the garlic is super fragrant! The butter may also brown and bubble a bit and that is perfect!
Lastly, add in the cooked pasta and toss in the garlic butter sauce until completely coated!
YUM.
Now, you can definitely mix the ricotta in with the pasta at this point but I like to smear a generous amount of it on the bottom of the plate and then add the garlic butter pasta on top. This way you can have some plain, garlic pasta noodle bites and then also some ricotta bites!
It’s also just really pretty this way.
I hope you guys give this one a try and love it as much as we do! It’s hard to believe this dish is as easy as it is when you taste it!
It’s bursting with flavor from the fresh herbs and garlic and also incredibly creamy and rich from the ricotta. It’s the perfect year round pasta dish!
Please leave me a comment down below if you make this recipe and don’t forget to share it with me on social media. You can also pin this recipe for later pasta needs! And if you’re a pasta lover, check out my Creamy Pesto Pasta. It’s equally as delicious and the perfect summer pesto.
Enjoy!
Shop ingredients:
Garlic Butter Pasta with Whipped Tofu Ricotta
Ingredients
- 12 oz pasta
Tofu Ricotta
- 1 cup cashews - raw and unsalted
- 12 ounces silken tofu
- 8 ounces extra firm tofu
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons basil - finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon sea salt - adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups kale - finely chopped
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms - finely chopped
- 1 shallot - diced
- 1 tablespoon tamari - can substitute soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil - for sautéing (can substitute water)
Garlic Butter Sauce
- ⅔ cup vegan butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic - minced
- 4-6 fresh fresh sage leaves
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms - sliced
For serving
- fresh basil - chopped
- sea salt and black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Soak your cashews in hot water for 5 minutes.
- Next, add the drained cashews, silken tofu, extra firm tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a high speed blender. Blend until completely smooth. Then, pulse in the basil until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the shallot, kale and shiitake mushrooms in a teaspoon of oil until soft and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add in a tablespoon of tamari for saltiness!
- Next, fold the sautéed kale, mushrooms and shallot mixture into the ricotta until combined. Place this ricotta mixture in the fridge to firm it up a bit while we make the garlic butter pasta.
- Next, make your pasta according to package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the garlic butter sauce. To the same skillet used to sauté the mushrooms and kale, add the butter.
- Once melted, add in the minced garlic, fresh sage leaves, and shiitake mushrooms and cook about 5-8 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning and turn down the heat if the garlic appears to be browning too quickly.
- After 5-8 minutes, the garlic should be fragrant and the butter may bubble and brown a bit. This is good!
- Lastly, add the cooked pasta into the garlic butter sauce and mix until all noodles are coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Optional: you can also mix in 2-3 cups of the tofu ricotta with the noodles and butter sauce but I like to smear it on the bottom of the serving dish and place the garlic noodles on top!
- Serve immediately with more fresh basil!
- Storage: Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- You can use a food processor to make the tofu ricotta but it won't be completely smooth. If possible, use an immersion blender after food processing to get it to that creamy, whipped like texture!
- You can use all extra firm tofu instead of silken tofu if needed. It may just be a bit thicker.
- You can substitute dried herbs but fresh is ideal.
Note about salt
Please pay attention to the type of salt called for in the recipe (if applicable). Not all salts are made equal and cannot be substituted 1 for 1. If you are substituting table salt for kosher salt, you will need to cut the amount called for in the recipe by at least half.
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
Shop tools used to make this recipe:
This is awesome recipe thanks for sharing
Thank you, Simon!
I am getting ready to make this recipe, and I realize there’s no quantity listed for the silken tofu in the ingredients. Can someone help me out?
Hi Stephanie! So sorry, not sure how that ingredient got deleted – it should have been one 12 ounce package. We have fixed our ingredient list.