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Up close mixing bowl with pesto tofu salad.

Tahini Pesto Tofu Salad

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  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This tahini pesto tofu salad uses an untraditional pesto sauce rich in basil and tahini. The perfect pairing for a lite summery tofu salad.


Ingredients

Scale

Tahini Pesto

  • 2 cups fresh basil (loosely packed)
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 5 cloves garlic (crushed and peeled)
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/41/2 cup cold water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Tahini Pesto Tofu Salad

  • 1 block extra firm or super firm tofu (press and drain extra firm tofu to remove excess water)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved )
  • 1/4 small red onion (finely diced)
  • 1/4 cup pesto sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

Tahini Pesto Sauce

  1. In a food processor, add all ingredients except water in and process until basil is chunky.
  2. Add in 1/4 cup water and blend on high to smooth out the sauce. If too thick, add remaining water and process until mostly smooth.
  3. Store sauce in a jar in a fridge for up to 4-5 days.

Preparing Baked Tofu (Optional)**

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. If using extra firm tofu, make sure to drain and press some of the water out before handling.
  2. Cut your block of tofu as desired. Season as desired, I just went with a little salt.
  3. Place tofu on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for at least 20 minutes. Remove tofu from oven and allow to completely cool.

Assembling Salad

  1. In a mixing bowl add in tofu, sliced cherry tomatoes, and red onions.
  2. Toss to mix and then squeeze lemon juice over top.
  3. Add lemon zest and then give mixture a nice toss to combine.
  4. Add recommended amount of pesto sauce and mix together carefully with a spatula.
  5. Adjust amount of sauce, adding more if desired until salad is coated to your liking.
  6. Serve salad as is or chill in fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

  • You can leave your tofu plain and unbaked to save time. The sauce should add enough flavor to make the tofu tasty.
  • If you don’t like the taste of tahini, you can replace with 1/2 to 1 full avocado avocado.