This Vegan Carbonara is so extremely creamy and tacky that you simply’ll neglect it’s plant-based! Tossed with meaty and smoky tofu bits, it’s wholesome consolation meals at its most interesting. Serve it for Sunday supper, dinner events, and when cravings strike!


Savory, creamy, and eggy vegan carbonara proves that meat-eaters aren’t the one ones who get to have all of the dinner-time enjoyable!
That’s proper. Due to smoky marinated tofu, tender pasta, and a creamy “tacky” pasta sauce, this carbonara recipe is vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and egg-free! Although it’s ready in a superb handful of steps, they’re easy (and simple to multitask), making any effort effectively value it.
Child J and I like to twirl up recent forkfuls of this pasta at any time when consolation meals cravings name. It’s a must have in any vegan pasta repertoire!
For extra tasty vegan Italian recipes, try my Vegan Meatballs, Creamy Pasta with Mushrooms, and On the spot Pot Vegan Sausage Pasta.
Elements
Make this vegetarian pasta carbonara with a handful of accessible components and vegan pantry staples.


Smoky Tofu Bits
Additional Agency Tofu: Not solely does further agency tofu have extra protein, but it surely additionally requires much less urgent time. If wanted, you may as well use agency tofu and press it for 10-20 minutes longer.
Tofu Seasonings: Tamari or soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika add smoky, bacon-like taste to the vegetarian spaghetti carbonara.


Vegan Carbonara
Spaghetti: The proper pasta for twirling within the creamy sauce! You may as well use one other lengthy pasta form, reminiscent of linguine or fettuccine.
Miso Paste: Stunned to see miso on the record? Belief me: it provides an unparalleled savory and nutty dimension! Select mellow or white miso paste (not brown).
Aromatics: Minced garlic and shopped shallot add pungent nuttiness, including a cheese-like taste to this carbonara with out cheese!
Non-Dairy Milk: For a silky and custardy carbonara with out eggs, use a non-dairy milk with increased fats and protein content material, reminiscent of unsweetened plain soy milk, although different unsweetened plant milk additionally works. Simply attempt to keep away from plant milks with added “pure flavors” when you can.
Dietary Yeast: This vegan powerhouse provides tacky taste and a great deal of diet to the plant-based and dairy-free carbonara (supply).
Seasonings: Salt (kosher and sea), further virgin olive oil, black pepper, lemon juice, and recent chopped parsley.
Vegan Walnut Parmesan. High this creamy pasta with a yummy vegan parmesan made with walnuts and miso. The recipe is right here.
The best way to Make Vegan Carbonara
This vegan carbonara recipe comes collectively in easy and beginner-friendly steps! Right here’s how you can do it.
Make the Smoky Tofu Bits
- Press Tofu. Thinly slice the tofu into thirds lengthwise, then place it on a plate on a folded paper towel or clear kitchen towel. Cowl with one other sheet of paper towel, and place a heavy pan on prime, instantly on the tofu to press out any extra liquid. Let it sit for 10 minutes or longer. As soon as pressed, cube the tofu into small cubes.




- Make Tofu Marinade. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika. Stir effectively.
- Marinate Tofu. Add the tofu to the marinade and gently toss to coat. Marinate for at the least quarter-hour as much as in a single day.




- Cook dinner Tofu. Bake or sauté the tofu bits following these instructions:
Oven Directions: Preheat an oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Switch the tofu items to the baking sheet, drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and gently unfold them into a fair layer. Bake for half-hour or till the tofu is crispy alongside the perimeters and tender on the middle.
Stovetop Directions: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium warmth. Add the tofu and prepare dinner for 10 minutes, stirring recurrently, or till the tofu is crispy alongside the perimeters.




Make the Vegan Pasta Carbonara
- Boil Pasta. Deliver a big pot of closely salted pasta water to a boil over excessive warmth. Add the spaghetti and prepare dinner in keeping with the package deal instructions. Earlier than draining the pasta, save ½ cup of the cooking water.
- Make Miso Combination. Pour ¼ cup of the pasta water right into a small mixing bowl and whisk within the miso paste. Reserve the remaining pasta water for later.
- Sauté Aromatics. Warmth the olive oil in a skillet over medium warmth. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté till tender, or for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and toast for 30 seconds.


- Make Vegan Carbonara Sauce. Add the soy milk, miso and water combination, dietary yeast, black pepper, salt, and lemon juice. Deliver to a simmer on medium-low warmth, and stir gently till it thickens, about 5 minutes. In order for you a thinner sauce, stir within the remaining pasta water.




- Assemble. Add the drained pasta to the carbonara sauce and gently toss with tongs till mixed. Improve the warmth to medium if wanted to heat the pasta. Add half of the smoky tofu bits and gently toss once more.






- Season. Season the carbonara to style with extra salt, pepper, lemon, or dietary yeast.
- Serve. Benefit from the pasta sizzling topped with smoky tofu bits and recent chopped parsley.


Jenné’s Recipe Professional-Suggestions
- Press and Marinate the Tofu. Urgent removes the moisture, making the tofu thick and meaty. Marinating provides savory smokiness, imparting a taste just like that of bacon!
- Season the Pasta Water. Do just like the Italians do and don’t skip this step! Salting the cooking water seasons the pasta, enhancing its taste. Add 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher or coarse sea salt for each 1 quart of boiling water earlier than including the pasta.
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta. For one of the best texture, observe the package deal directions to prepare dinner the pasta till al dente, or evenly agency however not arduous. The pasta will proceed to prepare dinner within the carbonara sauce with out egg, so cooking al dente will maintain it from getting mushy.
- Don’t Rinse the Pasta. If the pasta is finished earlier than the sauce, toss it with 2 teaspoons of olive oil after draining. Don’t rinse the pasta.
- Multitask. Reduce your time within the kitchen by boiling the pasta and making the carbonara sauce whereas the tofu cooks. As soon as finished, assemble the pasta, add the tofu bits, season, and serve!
- Gluten-Free Possibility. Change the spaghetti along with your favourite gluten-free pasta, and use chickpea flour as an alternative of white flour for the roux.
Serving Options
Get pleasure from this no egg carbonara sizzling, topped with smoky tofu bits and freshly chopped parsley. Make it a scrumptious, well-balanced meal by serving it with any of those tasty salads:


Storage Instructions
- Refrigeration: Leftovers maintain lined in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
- Freezing: Cool the vegan spaghetti carbonara utterly to room temperature earlier than transferring it to a freezer-safe container and freezing it for as much as 3 months. Defrost the pasta within the fridge in a single day.
- Reheating: Heat the leftover pasta in a saucepan over low warmth with a splash of unflavored soy milk for 3-5 minutes or till sizzling. You may as well heat it on light warmth within the microwave.
Regularly Requested Questions
Make carbonara with out bacon by swapping it for tofu marinated with liquid smoke and paprika. If wanted, you may as well sauté sliced mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, or garbanzo beans on this marinade for a distinct however nonetheless tasty twist.
Although the vegetarian carbonara recipe does reheat effectively, the dish is greatest loved recent for the last word expertise. Every time attainable, I like to recommend making it to serve.
Extra Vegan Pasta Recipes
I hope you like this Vegan Carbonara Recipe as a lot as I do. In case you loved it or any of the opposite recipes on this weblog, please depart a score and evaluation!
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Smoky Tofu Bits
Thinly slice the tofu into thirds lengthwise, then place it on a plate on a folded paper towel. Cowl with one other sheet of paper towel, and place a heavy pan on prime, instantly on the tofu to press out any extra liquid. Let it sit for 10 minutes or longer. As soon as pressed, cube the tofu into small cubes.
In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, tomato paste, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika. Stir effectively.
Add the tofu to the marinade and gently toss to coat. Marinate for at the least quarter-hour as much as in a single day.
Cook dinner the tofu within the oven or stove-top:
Oven Directions: Preheat an oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Switch the tofu items to the baking sheet, drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and gently unfold them into a fair layer. Bake for half-hour or till the tofu is crispy alongside the perimeters and tender on the middle.
Stovetop Directions: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium warmth. Add the tofu and prepare dinner for 10 minutes, stirring recurrently, or till the tofu is crispy alongside the perimeters.
Vegan Carbonara
Deliver a big pot of closely salted pasta water to a boil over excessive warmth.
Add the spaghetti and prepare dinner in keeping with the package deal instructions. Earlier than draining the pasta, save ½ cup of the cooking water. Pour ¼ cup of the pasta water right into a small mixing bowl and whisk within the miso paste till dissolved. Reserve the remaining pasta water for later.
Warmth the olive oil in a skillet over medium warmth. Add the garlic and shallots and sauté till tender for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and toast for 30 seconds.
Add the soy milk, miso and water combination, dietary yeast, lemon juice, black pepper, and salt. Deliver to a simmer on medium-low warmth, and stir gently till it thickens, about 5 minutes. In order for you a thinner sauce, stir within the remaining pasta water.
Add the drained pasta to the carbonara sauce and gently toss with tongs till mixed. Improve the warmth to medium if wanted to heat the pasta.
Add half of the smoky tofu bits and gently toss once more.
Season the carbonara to style with extra salt, pepper, lemon, or dietary yeast. Serve the pasta sizzling topped with smoky tofu bits and recent chopped parsley.
- Refrigeration: Leftovers maintain lined in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
- Freezing: Cool the vegan spaghetti carbonara utterly to room temperature earlier than transferring it to a freezer-safe container and freezing it for as much as 3 months. Defrost the pasta within the fridge in a single day.
- Reheating: Heat the leftover pasta in a saucepan over low warmth with a splash of unflavored soy milk for 3-5 minutes or till sizzling. You may as well heat it on light warmth within the microwave.
- Press and Marinate the Tofu. Urgent removes the moisture, making the tofu thick and meaty. Marinating provides savory smokiness, imparting a taste just like that of bacon!
- Season the Pasta Water. Do just like the Italians do and don’t skip this step! Salting the cooking water seasons the pasta, enhancing its taste. Add 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher or coarse sea salt for each 1 quart of boiling water earlier than including the pasta.
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta. For one of the best texture, prepare dinner the pasta till al dente, or evenly agency however not arduous. The pasta will proceed to prepare dinner within the carbonara sauce, so cooking al dente will maintain it from getting mushy.
- Don’t Rinse the Pasta. If the pasta is finished earlier than the sauce, toss it with 2 teaspoons of olive oil after draining. Don’t rinse the pasta.
- Multitask. Reduce your time within the kitchen by boiling the pasta and making the carbonara sauce whereas the tofu cooks. As soon as it’s finished, assemble the pasta, add the tofu bits, season, and serve!
- Gluten-Free Possibility. Change the spaghetti along with your favourite gluten-free pasta, and use chickpea flour as an alternative of white flour for the roux.