Creamy Baked Tofu “Feta” Pasta
An easy vegan version of the viral feta pasta using a creamy tofu “feta” stirred into blistered cherry tomatoes, rich olive oil and pasta.
If you’ve been browsing around the internet, you most likely have seen the classic and viral video of the preparation of Feta Pasta. The original recipe created by Jenni Häyrinenwas so popular that it caused feta to become sold out in Finland. The recipe has become viral and now food bloggers are creating their own variations of the original. And recently, vegan variations have popped up as well by bloggers such as Plant You and Veggiekins to name a few. I wanted to share my own plant based spin to this recipe and really help amplify some of the umami and salty notes of feta throughout this variation using ingredients like miso, nutritional yeast and sun-dried tomatoes.
Why You’ll Love This Pasta
- Simple ingredients that when combined together make for the most creamy, dreamy pasta. It’s the closest you will feel to being a 5 star chef, no previous cooking skills required!
- This recipe is non-dairy, vegan and can be made gluten free by using gluten free noodles.
- Because we are using tofu as our Feta cheese replacement, this dish is higher in plant based protein in combination with the nutritional yeast and pasta.
Key Ingredients
- Tofu: to help make this creamy and hearty, I recommend using a firm block of tofu
- Nutritional Yeast: for just a tiny hint of cheesy umami flavor
- Miso Paste: extra umami and salty notes
- Lemon Juice: helps to build a balance of tart to compliment the salty notes
- Cherry Tomatoes: helps to build the base of our sauce
- Olive Oil: keeps everything saucy
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: really love the added tomato flavor it adds to this dish
- Fresh Basil: ties this dish together at the end with a little fresh flavor
How to make this pasta
- Start by making your tofu “feta”. In a food processor add in your tofu, nutritional yeast, miso paste, salt and lemon juice. Process until smooth and reserve half for preparing this dish.
- To a baking dish, add in tomatoes and garlic cloves along with a drizzle of olive oil, and lemon pepper and stir to combine.
- Scoop half of your tofu “feta” mixture into the middle of your baking dish and sprinkle over with some oregano, basil, sun dried tomatoes and remaining oil.
- Allow to bake in the oven for 30 minutes to allow tomatoes to burst. And while waiting, prepare pasta according to package.
- Once baked, mash tomatoes and garlic well with a fork and mix into the tofu to create a sauce.
- Add cooked pasta and pasta water to the mixture in the baking pan and mix well to coat.
- Stir in fresh basil, more sun-dried tomatoes and adjust salt and pepper to taste before serving.
Tips for making this pasta
- Make sure you use enough olive oil and tomatoes to help create a sauce that sticks to the noodles. If making a full pound of pasta, you will need to double the tomatoes and recommended oil in the recipe.
- I know a lot of people are sensitive to spicy food, so please feel free to add red chili flakes over top to garnish if desired. I truly think this helps complete this dish, but again, if you are not into spice, please feel free to leave that out.
- If you have an allergy to soy, you can swap out the tofu “feta” recipe and instead use store bought garlic hummus as your cheese substitute. Warmed hummus might sound odd, but this is actually how it is prepared and served in Mediterranean countries. Follow the same steps to prepare this dish following the addition of the hummus in place of the tofu “feta” and should still come out delicious and pretty cheap as well.
- To make this recipe gluten free replace the listed wheat pasta with gluten free pasta.
- You can make this dish ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Mix well, place in a microwave safe dish with a tablespoon of water, cover and microwave to reheat. Stir well and then serve and adjust seasonings before serving.
More Quick & Easy Dinner Meals
Creamy Tofu “Feta” Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
An easy vegan version of the viral feta pasta using a creamy tofu “feta” stirred into blistered cherry tomatoes, rich olive oil and pasta.
Ingredients
Scale
Tofu “Feta”
- 1 block firm tofu, drain and pat dry with a paper towel
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp miso paste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
Tofu “Feta” Pasta
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 6–7 cloves crushed garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
- 1/2 of the Tofu “Feta” Recipe
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- 1/2 tsp dry basil
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced
- 4–5 leaves of fresh basil
- 8 oz of dry pasta
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta liquid
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Tofu “Feta”
- In a food processor, start by adding in your tofu, nutritional yeast, miso paste, salt and lemon juice.
- Process on high until smooth, then set aside.
Tofu “Feta” Pasta
- Preheat oven to 400F. In a large baking dish, add in cherry tomatoes, crushed garlic, half of the olive oil and season with a generous amount of lemon pepper before stirring well to coat evenly.
- Make a well in the middle of your baking dish and scoop half of the tofu mixture in the middle of the tomatoes, reserving the remaining half to store in the fridge for future use.
- Sprinkle in your sun dried tomatoes, dry oregano and dry basil then drizzle the remaining olive oil over top.
- Place baking dish into the oven for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to burst and release their juices.
- As tomatoes and tofu are cooking, cook your pasta according to the package. Make sure to reserve your pasta water before draining the pasta.
- Remove baking dish and carefully with a fork or cooking spoon mash the tomatoes and garlic well to release all the juices and stir into tofu to create your sauce.
- To the baking dish, add in your pasta and pasta water and stir well to coat. Your sauce will thicken and coat the pasta as you stir to combine.
- Stir in your fresh basil and adjust seasonings to taste before serving.
Notes
- You can replace the tofu “feta” recipe with 1/2 a tub of garlic hummus. Hummus will bake up nice and warm and create a lovely creamy sauce to pair with your pasta.
Did You Try This Recipe?
Then let me know what you thought! Share your creations by tagging me on Instagram with the hashtag #plantbasedrdeats
★ Catherine
Should the tofu be pressed of all moisture for this recipe? Or is okay to use straight-out-of-the-package for this recipe? Looking forward to making this!!!
Hi Jenn! For this recipe you do not need to press. Just drain the fluid from the container and you are all good to go.
What size is the block of tofu please?
So sorry about that, this should be a 450g block of firm tofu.
What type of miso paste did you use: white, yellow, or red? Thank you!
Hi Avery! I typically use white or yellow as they tend to be more mellow. Hope that helps. 🙂
Made this last night for two friends and did not tell them it was vegan. They both loved it and so did I. Great recipe and super easy to make!
I’m so so happy to hear this! It’s always the best when they don’t know any better. So glad you all enjoyed it. 🙂
Do you have other recipe suggestions that include the tofu feta so I can use the other half of the Mixture?
Yes! You can pair it with this Lasagna Soup: https://plantbasedrdblog.com/2021/02/vegan-lasagna-soup/. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! It was amazing!!! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!!
Yay! So happy to hear that. Thank you and hope you keep enjoying the recipes. 🙂
Hello, I’m excited to try this recipe tonight. What do I do with the second half of the tofu mixture?
Thank you so much for the question Andie. You can save half the mixture to use for more pasta later (so feel free to freeze it or store in the fridge for up to 5 days). You can also use it for stuffed shells as well. Hope that helps!