Walnut Tofu “Meat” and Homemade Tomato Sauce

This incredible Walnut Tofu "Meat" and Homemade Tomato Sauce pairs exceptionally well with pasta! Try it tonight!

I have been meaning to get this one on here for a long time and TBH I thought it was until I reposted another fabulous bolognese on my feed and realized that it hadn’t made it up yet. Well today is the day. We originally made this recipe for tacos cause a)who doesn’t love meaty tacos and b)TACOS. AMI RIGHT?? A couple days after eating said tacos I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner when I realized that I had the makings for spaghetti bolognese at my fingertips.

I have been vegan now for almost as long as I’ve been sober. When I gave up the booze a few other things came for the ride. Cigarettes, same day as booze. Gluten came next and then dairy and meat. Fish was the last to fall off and that was about 5 years ago. I was a pescatarian for about two years after I got sober and truth be told I really needed to be. My body was going through a major transition detoxifying and I needed the rich fat from the fish to not literally lose my mind. I started to feel incredibly guilty about it and eventually that went too. What does this have to do with tofu bolognese? Not much except for the fact that sometimes I still really miss eating a carnivore’s diet. There I said it. I have no intention of starting again, kinda like I’m never going to drink again but this is a one day at a time kind of like for me so I’ll just say today.

To the SAUCE! I looked in my fridge that day, saw leftover tomato sauce, leftover tofu meat and a lightbulb went off. OF COURSE! How can this be bad? I was somewhat worried about the texture but then all the memories of meat bolognese came back and I knew that this sauce was going to rock my world.

a pot of pasta with walnut tofu meat

Walnut Tofu “Meat” and Homemade Tomato Sauce

Teri-Ann Carty

This incredible Walnut Tofu "Meat" and Homemade Tomato Sauce pairs exceptionally well with pasta! Try it tonight!

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Equipment

food processor or blender
oven
stove

Ingredients

WALNUT TOFU MEAT INGREDIENTS

1½ cup walnuts
1 package extra firm tofu
1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder & oregano
½ tsp each ground cumin, cayenne, smoked paprika
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil and maple syrup
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste

INGREDIENTS FOR TOMATO SAUCE

1 can of San Marzano tomatoes
½ yellow onion (diced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
pinch of cayenne (optional)
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

WALNUT TOFU MEAT INSTRUCTIONS

Crumble walnuts in the food processor until pea sized.
Mash tofu with fork (or hands!) until pea sized.
Whisk wet and dry ingredients together and combine with walnut and tofu mix.
Spread on baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 35 min, stirring at half way to ensure even baking.

TOMATO SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS

Sauté onions, add garlic.
Add tomato paste and cook for 1 min.
Add tomatoes, cayenne and cook on simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
Cook pasta, heat pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil, add walnut meat just to heat through, add 1-2c of tomato sauce (more if you like really saucy-less if you like more meaty) to create the bolognese.
I added in sautéed cremini mushrooms, fresh basil, tons of vegan parmesan, olive oil and chili flakes! You could throw in spinach, red pepper, zucchini, black olives or whatever else you desire.
Buon Appetito

Keyword dairy free, gluten free, meat alternative, plant based, sauce, tomato sauce, vegan, walnut

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