Last week was all about carb-loading. Casey was getting ready for his marathon, and so I tried to make a few big hearty, healthy meals to help get him ready to run. We don’t eat a ton of pasta in our house, but when we do I like to try to do something creative.
I wasn’t in the mood for marinara – something creamy sounded just right. I decided to experiment with using tofu and vegetables to create a creamy sauce. Yep, you heard me. Tofu and vegetables. No cream, or even milk in this recipe. The tofu brings that perfect creaminess with an additional punch of protein – and you can’t even taste it. Golden raisins are the perfect slightly sweet garnish!
Penne with Creamy Vegan Sweet Potato Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients (4 servings)
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1 block firm tofu, drained but not pressed
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2 cups cooked sweet potato (~2 large potatoes)
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3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2 cup pasta water (more if needed)
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15 – 20 leaves fresh tarragon
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1 tablespoon Earth Balance
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1 pound penne pasta
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1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
Instructions
Start by cooking your sweet potato. I usually have mashed sweet potato on hand for Cullen, that I make in about ten minutes in the microwave. Poke a few holes in the potato and microwave until the inside has softened – easy as that!
While the sweet potato cooks, get your pasta water on the stove and bring up to a boil.
In a high-powered blender or food processor, add the tofu, sweet potato, nutritional yeast, half the tarragon (about 10 leaves) and salt. When you open the package of tofu, drain the excess liquid out, but there is no need to press additional liquid from the block itself.
Tarragon is one of my favorite herbs, and for some reason it is grossly underused. We planted it in herb pots this year, and I’ve been plucking the leaves off here and there to enhance and garnish our meals.
Blend until the mixture is smooth and silky. It will look like nacho cheese. Yum.
Go ahead and get your pasta started – cooking according to package directions.
While the pasta cooks, transfer the sauce mixture to a sauce pan and warm over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance, and about 1/4 cup of pasta water to thin the sauce.
Since brands of tofu differ in water content and firmness, the thickness of the sauce will vary. Continue to add pasta water until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. As the sauce heats, it will thicken some, so you may want to add more just before serving.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to a large serving bowl. You can either combine the pasta and sauce and toss all together, or portion into individual bowls and top with sauce just before serving. Up to you!
Garnish with minced tarragon and golden raisins – this really takes the pasta up a notch.
Serve and enjoy!
I love that this sauce tastes rich and creamy, but it’s actually protein dense and incredibly healthy. Bulk up the nutritional profile by using whole wheat or high fiber pasta. This is a quick and easy dish that would be great for a dinner party, as it’s simple but elegant, filling but not heavy.
As always, enjoy!
60 Comments so far
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I love sweet potatoes! Looks great.
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Wow, this looks amazing! I would have never thought to make a sweet potato sauce for pasta! I’m so happy I saw your recipe today!!! Thanks for sharing! I have a sweet potato that needs to be used up and I now know what I’ll be making! :)
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Hope you like it!
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I would literally make this tonight if I hadn’t just returned from the store and found out the Nutritional Yeast I went there for was all out! Cooking this is on my ‘to do’ list for this weekend now :)
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Yum! We do a similar sauce using pumpkin or butternut squash and cashew butter and use it as part of a delicious lasagna.
We’ve been out of tofu for a few weeks now, since I didn’t want to stock up right before our move, and I’m looking forward to having some around again, especially since it’s a good finger food for my 11-month-old.
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Mmmmmm this would be SO good in lasagna. Good idea!
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Well, that got my drool started! I’m glad that this sauce is simpler than using those ones that use soaked nuts.
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Yeah I never have the patience to make anything with soaked cashews. Much higher in calories too!
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What a great idea… I could do this with coconut milk instead of the tofu!
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I want to make this now! But I am struggling to find nutritional yeast at the store. Can you sub something else? (I’m not vegan)
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Melissa @ HerGreenLife Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 11:06 am
If you eat cheese, Parmesan would probably work as a substitute.
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Cheese! :)
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This looks/sounds AMAZING! I can’t wait to give it a whirl!!
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This looks so good!! We LOVE your Broccoli “Cheese” Pasta Bake recipe, and my non-tofu loving husband just begs me to make it. :)
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YUM!!! The only sub I would make would be to add thyme instead of tarragon. When I attended JWU and was working Charlotte Shout, a chef I was working with shoved a whole piece of tarragon into my mouth because I, “needed to familiarize myself with the different herbs I was cooking with”. No pun intended but it put a bad taste in my mouth and I haven’t been able to eat it since. :(
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Haha, which chef was that? Fun that you went to JWU Charlotte too! :)
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Perfect timing for this post! I’ve been looking for new dinner recipes! I can’t wait to try this!
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That looks & sounds delicious! I recently discovered using tofu to make pasta sauces creamy, & I love it!
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We’re pasta-fanatics at our house, and this sounds delicious!
I’m not really very familiar with tarragon; it wasn’t one of the herbs we planted this year, but I’ll have to try it sometime.
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Can you suggest a substitute for tarragon for those who do not prefer it? Rosemary? Thyme?
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Thyme or oregano would both probably good, but use sparingly. A little goes a long way!
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This looks marvelous Emily, do you think this would work with butternut squash?
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
I don’t see why not!
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Alice Reply:
June 22nd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
I just used butternut squash and it was delish! Great idea Emily
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this sounds amazing – i love using silken tofu in things that are normally creamy! i think i’ll have to make this soon and trick the hubby with it ;)
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This looks divine, Emily. I don’t love pasta, but when there’s a creative, healthy sauce — I’m all about it.
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Thanks Ashley!
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Anne Reply:
June 21st, 2012 at 5:42 am
Ashley, your creamy pasta recipe with chickpeas and cheese is a classic in our house !
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I totally did a double take on this post. I read creamy pasta and went “Bleh! Too much fat for me.” but then I came back to it and saw you made it with tofu and sweet potatoes…You blow me away! That is an amazing idea and I intend to try it now. Thanks for being so innovative.
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Hardly any fat at all! :)
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YUM! I cannot wait to make this! What could you use to substitute for the Earth Balance? Coconut oil? Thanks for sharing, will try this this weekend! :)
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
You can just leave it out. It just adds a bit of richness to the sauce, but isn’t totally necessary.
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This looks great, but I don’t eat tofu! Is there a good substitute?
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
hmm. im sure you can try it with actual cream or milk, but the tofu was meant to be a sub for that.
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Wow, this looks fantastic! Great excuse to use my new food processor. :) I can’t wait to try this recipe!
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What a cool spin on penne! What does the sauce taste like? Sweet potato or something else?*
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 20th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
creamy sweet potato! :)
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I have a question about nutritional yeast–what is it exactly, where can you buy it, and can you recommend a store/brand that has it for a reasonable price? I tried your strawberry avocado salad (which turned out yummy!) but I just skipped the nutritional yeast in the dressing. Is it something that can be skipped or not really? Thanks!
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 22nd, 2012 at 9:58 am
Here’s an old post with a lot of info about nutritional yeast:http://www.dailygarnish.com/2010/04/cheast-sauce-recipe-culinary-school-page.html
It’s similar to cheese, and you can definitely skip it, but it does add a lot of flavor!
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Looks delicious! I have a giant tub of nutritional yeast to use and this looks like a great recipe! My husband isn’t big on “creamy” things but I’m betting this will be different since it isn’t milk-based, and I’m dairy free until my son is a year (good ol’ breastfeeding!)… so this looks like something I’ll be trying soon!
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This looks great! I’m going to get a tarragon plant soon :) We’ve got all the other herbs on hand (basil, rosemary, dill) but no tarragon!
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This sounds awesome! I’m not a big fan of squash or sweet potatoes but we are part of a CSA and I’m sure we will have plenty in our weekly pick up in the fall. This would be a great way to enjoy them!
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Mmmmmmm . . . this looks awesome! I made a similar one with dijon mustard and served it over zucchini noodles. Butternut squash works super well for pasta sauce! Thanks for sharing:)
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This looks amazing! Would any kind of tofu work–silken or firm refrigerated?
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 22nd, 2012 at 9:56 am
I used firm, but silken would likely work too.
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I love my sweet taters so this is a must make.My kids will flip over it!
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I am very excited to try this.
I LOVE sweet potatoes. Ironically I was just looking at some cashew sauces the other day. It isn’t winter, but pasta is in the air. I am more excited about this one though.
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This looks real good, perfect for carb loading!
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Oh I cannot wait to try that sweet potato sauce. I don’t know why I don’t use my blender for sauces more often. It really is a duh moment for me.
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I’m interested to know if your sister Sarah is also vegetarian or just when she visits you? Or perhaps not even when she visits you? :)
Love your blog!
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Emily Malone Reply:
June 22nd, 2012 at 9:49 am
She wasn’t last year, but she is now. Starting eating vegetarian once she got home and went back to school. My mom and older sister are vegetarian too! :)
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Sally Reply:
June 23rd, 2012 at 5:37 am
That must make family gatherings easy with everyone vegetarian! :)
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Yummm I love sweet potatoes but have never used them in sauce! Could you taste the tofu at all?
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this looks so delish, can’t wait to try it!! I love tarragon too…and agree it’s very underused
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Hey there!
Great recipe — we’re eating it right now, for the 2nd time this week! I just wondered if you are using something like a VitaMix blender — and if so, might I suggest making a note for “regular” blender users that they will need to add some liquid in while blending? Ours was way way way too thick until we added about a cup of water — it wouldn’t even blend. :) Just a helpful heads up!
Thanks SO much for this recipe — it’s our new fave!
Emily
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Great tip! Thank you! (Yes, we used a Vitamix)
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I am so excited to find this blog! I was vegetarian before falling pregnant and gave up. Im wanting to get back into it, but my breastfed daughter is dairy intolerant so I’ve been looking for recipes that cater for us both (and don’t leave my hubby eating lettuce!). Looking forward to reading and trying your vegan recipes!!!
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This was delicious! Loved the tarragon; thanks for the recipe!
-Marina
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 18th, 2012 at 9:52 am
Glad you liked it! :)
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[...] recipe was inspired by The Daily Garnish, and the original can be found here. I adjusted some of the seasonings and decided against adding the Earth Balance as it was [...]
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