Homemade creamy pasta recipe with fried tofu, mushrooms and spinach

Pasta is rooted in Italian tradition and it comes in different shapes and sizes. Meaning ‘cut’ in English, Tagliatelle is perfect for making creamy tofu pasta because it swirls well when combined with thin oily or creamy sauces. This dish is high in iron and protein, and offers a balanced diet with the carbohydrates and vegetables, an ideal dinner for vegetarians. This creamy pasta is delicious and compliments the texture of the mushrooms and tofu, making it a feast for the senses!

75g of Tagliatelle pasta, fried tofu, 2 handful spinach leaves, 4-5 white mushrooms, 4 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 100mls of single/double cream, 1 teaspoon of grounded pepper flakes, sea salt, 2 garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon of garlic granules), 5 fresh basil leaves. You can also use dried basil, oregano and other herbs as desired.

Preparation

Pasta: Pour 500mls of water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Add Tagliatelle pasta, turn down heat and let it simmer uncovered for about 7 to 10mins. 75g of pasta serves one person; this produces about 180g after cooking. While the pasta is cooking stir occasionally; drain excess water before tossing into your sauce.

Vegetables: Cut 5 white mushrooms into about 3-4 slices and crush the garlic cloves using a garlic press (or cut into tiny slices using a knife). To chop the basil leaves, place them on each other, roll it up like a cigar and slice with a knife. You don’t have to do this if you’re using dried basil or oregano. Wash the spinach under cold water before using (it doesn’t need slicing).

Fried Tofu: Fried tofu is the most common and easiest way to cook tofu; using this method your tofu will be ready to eat in 5mins. Uncooked tofu is usually soaked, so the first thing to do is to get all the water out of the Tofu. You will need a baking tray, kitchen towel and maybe a mortar or anything with weight. Place a couple of kitchen towels in a baking tray, then place the tofu in and cover it with another couple of kitchen towels; place a frying pan on top of the tofu, place the mortar in to the pan to apply pressure which drains the water out. You can use any other kitchen utensils; the goal is to drain the water out of the tofu by applying pressure. Let it stay like that for like an hour before dissecting the tofu.

How to fry Tofu

1. Set the hob at high heat and place a non-stick frying pan on it.
2. Add 100mls of olive oil (you can used any type of cooking oil) in frying pan. 
3. Once the oil is heated up, add the tofu and let it fry for 2 ½ minutes each on both sides. A well fried tofu should be crispy brown on both sides.
4. Place the fried tofu on a plate and sprinkle salt on it while it’s still hot.

Fried tofu can be eaten as a snack, vegetarian/vegan appetizer or used as cook gravy sauce

Vegetarian creamy tofu pasta

Recipe by Oluwaseyi O’shea

5.0 from 3 votes

Course: DinnerCuisine: Italian, VegeterianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

250

kcal

Total time

25

minutes

PS: The ingredients and instructions to the recipe does not include frying tofu. See ‘preparation’ above for how to fry tofu.

Ingredients

• 180 grams Cooked pasta

• Fried tofu

• 2 handful Spinach

• 4-5 White mushrooms

• 4 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil

• 100 mls Single/double cream

• 2 Garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon of garlic granules)

• 1 teaspoon Grounded pepper flakes

• 5-7 Fresh basil leaves (1 teaspoon of dried basil)

• Pinch of salt

Directions

• Set your hob to medium heat, place your saucepan and add 4 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. if you just fried your tofu, you can just use the same saucepan without adding extra oil
• Add mushroom slices and 2 handful of spinach and sauté for 4mins using a spatula.
• Add fried tofu, pressed garlic, chopped basil leaves, grounded pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Stir together gently and leave to simmer for 2 mins. You should be able to smell the sizzling flavours and inviting aroma.
• Add 100mls of single or double cream; stir together gently and cook for 3mins under medium heat.
  
• Add cooked Tagliatelle pasta (you can use other types of pasta), mix with the veg and leave to simmer for 4mins. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
• Serve hot! This recipe is enough for 1 serve.

Notes

• You can make creamy pasta without heavy cream and it will still be tasty. Milk can be subbed for heavy cream and you can add parmesan cheese to thicken it up. This will still have less calories compared to using heavy cream.
• PS: Nutrition information is estimated using an online nutrition calculator and based on ingredients used.

Other Pasta Recipes:

• Spaghetti Pasta with green pesto recipe
• Healthy Creamy Shrimp Pasta
• Healthy Chicken alfredo with cauliflower sauce

Utensils and tools

Saucepan, chopping board, knife, spatula and garlic press (You can buy any of the items on Amazon by clicking the link. This opens a new tab on your browser so you will still remain on this page).

Can you freeze creamy mushroom pasta?

No. The dairy content in creamy pasta doesn’t make it suitable to be frozen. If you’re not ready to eat straightaway, cover with Clingfilm and chill in the fridge until ready to eat. Microwave for about 3mins on high heat before serving.

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