Yes, Tofu Bolognese is a thing. It's a very delicious thing that you should make immediately.
I grew up in a household where whenever we didn't know what else to make for dinner, or we were feeling lazy, or tired, or hungry, or it was Monday, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or even Friday, we would make pasta. Sure, we had other meals some nights, but who needs them when you could just have pasta? Probably the worlds most perfect food in my opinion. I'm pretty sure I could eat pasta every day and I would still love it.
Thinking back, I always loved pasta sauces with meat in them. My dad always preferred pasta without any meat in them... my how the times have changed... So whenever we went to restaurants, I would hunt the menu for something along the lines of a meaty, tomato-y, spicy pasta and order, then devour said pasta dish.
Just because I went vegan, doesn't mean that I don't love that satisfying hearty bowl of goodness. Except now it's even better because no one had to die, it's cholesterol free, lower in fat, higher in fiber, and the best part, it's so freaking lick the bowl scrumptious. Ohmygoodness, I just had Tofu Bolognese for dinner last night and these pictures make me want it all over again. (Am I allowed to drool over my own pictures)?
I learned this trick of crumbling the tofu and drying it in the oven from The Sexy Vegan Cookbook by Brian L. Patton. If you don't have this cookbook, you should pick up a copy. Unfortunately, it lacks in pictures which makes me sad (I ♥ pictures), but the recipes are pure comfort food goodness. If you are cooking for a carnivore type person, this is the book that might help them change their minds. I find the recipes can be a little complicated and require a lot of spices, but when I'm in the mood I bring the sexy vegan to the kitchen with me, and he never disappoints. Yeah, I went there.
To make Tofu Bolognese: Start by grabbing a large bowl, whisk together the seasonings to make this kinda paste like stuff.
Drain the block of tofu, no need to press it first, it will dry out in the oven anyway. Break off chunks of tofu and use your fingers to crumble the tofu into small pieces. It's easiest to do this with two hands, but I had to take a photo of the process and I didn't have three hands at that particular moment. #FoodPhotographerProblems
Once you have crumbled all the tofu it will look something like this. Tah dah! (I know, so impressive).
Combine the tofu with the seasoning making sure all of the tofu is evenly coated.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper (I ♥ parchment paper), or lightly grease the baking sheet. Spread the tofu evenly across the sheet in a thin layer.
Bake the tofu for 35 to 45 minutes, stopping every now and then to give it a stir. Keep a close eye on the tofu as nears the end of baking time so that it doesn't burn. The tofu will have shrunken quite a bit in size, and browned up nicely. The smaller pieces will be darker and some may even be a bit crispy. The larger pieces will be lighter and softer. I like this because it adds nice variation in texture. Store or use right away.
When you are ready to enjoy your dish, heat your tomato sauce in a pan. I like a spicy tomato sauce, but you can go with whatever kind you're into.
Stir in the tofu crumbles and heat through. The tofu will suck up some of the sauce, so if it gets a bit thick, just add water to thin as needed. If you find that there are some crispy bits in the sauce and you aren't into that kind of thing, simmer for longer to soften. Serve over pasta with a bit of Parmegan and devour.
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Tofu Bolognese
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 block (350g) extra-firm tofu, drained (no need to press it)
- 3 cups tomato sauce (700ml jar or homemade)
- 1 pound spaghetti or pasta of choice, (gluten-free if preferred)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line with parchment paper or lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- In a large mixing bowl mix the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, olive oil chili powder, garlic powder, and liquid smoke. It will make a brown paste-like texture. Break the tofu into a few large chunks and add them to the bowl, then us a potato masher to mash the tofu into crumbles. Stir the tofu crumbles well making sure all of the tofu is evenly coated in nutritional yeast mix.
- Spread the tofu crumbles evenly over the prepared pan. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, stopping to stir the tofu every now and then. Keep a close eye on it towards the end so that it doesn't burn. You want the tofu to be nicely browned. The smaller crumbles will be darker than the larger crumbles, and that's good because it will provide a variety of texture to the chili. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In the meantime heat the tomato sauce, and cook pasta according to package directions. Stir the tofu into the sauce, and heat through. If you find the sauce is too thick, stir in a bit of water until desired consistency is reached. Serve over hot pasta with a sprinkle of Parmegan.
Notes
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Shaileen Forsberg says
I love love love this recipe and probably make it at least once every few weeks and crave it regularly! This is my go to website for all my recipes and every single recipe is AMAZING!!! Thank you Sam! My mom hated tofu before I made her try this!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that's so amazing!!! Thrilled you are loving all my recipes, Shaileen! This is one of my go-to's as well!!
Joy K says
Delicious! I poured this over roasted spaghetti squash, and my husband and I devoured it like starving beasts. We were out of chili powder (who RUNS OUT of chili powder?!?), so I used the same amount of homemade taco seasoning (which was where the chili powder went in the first place) and it worked fine.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing 🙂
Émilie says
This tofu bolognese is really versatile, we love it here. I’m french canadien and I make my « paté chinois » with this and it have almost the same texture as meat.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!
Laura says
You are changing my life with this new way of preparing tofu! This is the second time I've made it (the first was in your chili recipe), and I loved the addition of the liquid smoke.
It was too spicy for my kids (I'm still hunting for a truly mild chili powder), but I bought it to a potluck and it was a hit.
I'm going to be using this way of doing tofu in all my ground meat replacement dishes- can't wait to try it in the family favorite turkey chili recipe that I never make anymore cuz it didn't taste the same when i just leave the ground turkey out. Do you think it would be best to just stir it end at the end or would it hold up to simmer for a while?
I used plain old Prego sauce, but I imagine it would be even more delicious using a better sauce!
Now I'm excited to try your tofu bites you just posted on IG- I think my kids might actually eat them!!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it! Once the tofu has been baked like that you can stir it in and it can simmer. I won't lose the texture 🙂
Gemma says
We made this and loved it but I swapped the chilli powder for paprika as my kids dont like anything Too spicy either 🙂
Shannon says
Hi Sam!! Just wondering if you mean like jarred pasta sauce or the cans of plain tomato sauce? I really want to make this soon. It looks delicious!!
Sam Turnbull says
I would recommend jarred pasta sauce for best flavour 🙂
Shannon says
Thank you so much for your response!! Im going shopping today! Can't wait to make this
Shannon says
You are such a genius!! This was so good! I wish i could give it a 10 star rating. My meat eating husband even ate it and said he liked it! He said it has the texture of meat! This will definitely be made frequently!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you both loved it 🙂
Shannon says
Just had to come back here AGAIN and say thanks for this recipe!! I make it all the time! Tofu is actually in the oven right now because I am making this again!
Jessica Hashman says
This was AMAZING! I omitted the oil and it came out beautifully. My boyfriend who doesn't like tofu thought it was incredible. Definitely a better (and cheaper) substitute for those awful vegan junk food frozen crumbles he uses. This tofu recipe will be a rotating meal prepping lunch staple for us!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you both loved it, Jessica 🙂 It's one of my faves too!
Liandra says
Hi,
Can I make this recipe without the chilli powder?
Liandra
Sam Turnbull says
Chili powder adds flavour so if you cut it, the recipe might not taste as good but you are welcome to omit it if you prefer.
Ronnie says
Hi I was just wondering if the leftover sauce could be frozen please?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, absolutely! Enjoy 🙂
Ashley says
I just made this for dinner tonight out of your cookbook and it was heavenly. I used your tomato sauce recipe too. I’m so glad it’s available online. I will be sure to share it with friends, family, and my patients that I so desperately want to cut meat out of their diet. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! So thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Ashely, and thanks for sharing 🙂
Jan says
Wow! This is delicious! I was looking for something easy to make tonight so thought i’d give this a try. My husband and I loved it! The only thing I added were some fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden....yum yum yummy! I love that your recipes are so user friendly and easy to follow. Thank-you very much!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Jan!! I'm so happy you enjoy my recipes so much 🙂
Carol says
Hi Sam
I recently tried one of your other recipes that uses tofu crumbles, and we loved it.
I can't wait to try this bolognaise recipe now, but being pretty much a newcomer to vegan/vegetarian recipes,I don't have any nutritional yeast in my store cupboard - do you think this recipe would work without it?
Sam Turnbull says
It will, yes, but I highly recommend picking some up anyways as it is a vegan staple. Enjoy!
Jeremiah Roark says
Hey I wanted to use those crumbles in vegan lasagna. I was worried if I baked these first then baked them with the lasagna that it would overcook the tofu. Any thoughts?
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jeremiah! Nope that should work fine as the sauce should keep them nice and moist. Enjoy!
Jeremiah Roark says
Ok thank you :)! I use this in my chili all the time now love this!
Kim says
I tried this today with my lunch from work. It was so good! (Everyone thought it was ground beef)
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! So happy you loved it, Kim 🙂
Sanjiv says
This is a delicious recipe! I've made it many times over! And now I've made it my own, giving it my own twist and tweaking it to me and my family's liking. It brings me joy to prepare inexpensive, meat-free dishes, like this, the whole family loves.
Thanks Sam!
Keep up the great work!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you love it so much, Sanjiv 🙂
Susan Singleton says
Though I'm not vegan, I cook lots of meatless meals. This recipe is my "go to" for any recipe requiring tomato sauce!
Juanita says
This was absolutely DELICIOUS!! My first foray into using tofu, and dh had no clue that was what was in it! I added portabella mushrooms to the tomato sauce, just because I had so many. He commented that he was a bit surprised that he could feel full and satisfied without meat. THANKS SAM!!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! So happy it was enjoyed. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy to hear that Susan! Every little bit helps 🙂
LeAnn says
This is delicious and so easy! I had all the ingredients on hand, which made it even better . I pressed my tofu for a few hours before hand (I always do because I like it very firm) and then baked it for 40 mins, stirring every 10 mins. It came out perfect! I will definitely make this recipe often! Thanks, Sam, for all your yummy vegan recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, LeAnn! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Josh Jensen says
Amazing!!!! I added minced onion and garlic and let them sweat. Then I added diced roma tomatoes (fresh) and let them cook a little with some wine. I also placed the sprouted tofu in the air fryer (didn’t add smoke liquid but it was still so tasty). Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn’t use the pasta—instead, I used spaghetti squash. Even tastier!!!! Happy boy right here!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad enjoyed!
Nicole says
This was so good! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Nicole. I hope you enjoy many more 🙂
Martisa Browning says
This was super easy to make and so delicious! We definitely will be adding this to our routine of vegan dinners! Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome! 🙂
Ben says
Just curious if it matters if we dry the tofu or not? What is the difference
Sam Turnbull says
Nope, there is no need, it will dry out in the oven regardless 🙂
Lovethescents says
Excellent recipe. Freezes so well also. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome!