Vegan Carbonara
This Vegan Carbonara is made with two kinds of tofu, it’s so dang creamy, delicious and topped with smokey cubes of tofu “pancetta”!
Vegan Carbonara is something I’ve wanted to make for a while but figured it was difficult to make. Well I couldn’t be more wrong! This is actually quite easy to whip up, in fact, you should be able to do it in about the same time it takes to boil pasta!
It’s rich and creamy thanks to Silken Tofu, and the Tofu Pancetta compliments that perfectly with some crispy, chewy and smokey bits!
Ingredients for Vegan CArbonara
- Tofu Pancetta – I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu for the Tofu Pancetta as it’s vacuum packed and doesn’t require pressing. I haven’t tested this recipe out with Extra Firm but if you can only find that, you’ll wanna press it for at least 30 minutes. It may take longer for it to crisp up too.
- Pancetta Marinade – This is very similar to the marinade on my Tofu Bacon. We’ll be using ingredients like Soy Sauce, Smoked Paprika, Onion and Garlic Powder and Nutritional Yeast!
- Silken Tofu – We’ll be replacing the Eggs in Carbonara with Silken Tofu!
- Carbonara Sauce – Aside from the Silken Tofu, we’ll be using Vegan Mayo, Plant Milk, Nutritional Yeast, and a few more pantry staples to make a super savory sauce!
- Vegan Parmesan – If you can get some Vegan Parmesan, it really helps with this dish! Otherwise you can use more Nutritional Yeast!
how to make Vegan Carbonara
Whisk or blend the ingredients for the Tofu Pancetta Marinade.
Dice the Tofu.
Cook the Tofu until Golden Brown and Crispy!
Combine with the Marinade.
Cook your pasta, in the meantime blend up the ingredients for the Carbonara sauce.
Add the sauce to a pan and heat over medium low. Once pasta is cooked, add to the sauce and stir to coat. If the sauce feels too thick, add a bit of pasta water to loosen it up and make it creamier too!
Season with anything you like! Salt and Black Pepper, Vegan Parmesan, Black Salt for an eggy flavor.
Top with the Tofu Pancetta and enjoy!
storage
This is best served fresh, but you can store leftover pasta in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave. It might need some added liquid if it’s a bit dry.
The Tofu Pancetta can be stored for longer in the fridge. I’d say up to a week or so. It’s great on a Baked Potato or Breakfast Taco too!
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If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!
Vegan Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8 – 12 oz. Spaghetti
- 8 oz Super Firm Tofu
Tofu Pancetta Marinade
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Mayo (or Neutral Oil)
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (use Tamari for Gluten-Free)
- 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire
- 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp MSG (or use Salt to taste)
Carbonara SAUCE
- 1/4 cup Vegan Mayo
- 3/4 cup Silken Tofu (or Cashew Cream)
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Plant Milk
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/4 cup Vegan Parmesan (or more Nutritional Yeast)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Miso Paste
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp MSG (optional but recommended)
- Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)
- Dash of Black Salt (optional, for eggy flavor)
- Pasta Water (as needed)
Instructions
Tofu Pancetta
- Whisk together the ingredients for the Tofu Pancetta Marinade. I recommend blending in a small bullet style blender if possible to fully emulsify it, but whisking will work too.
- I highly recommend using Super Firm Tofu which is vacuum packed with very little water for the Tofu Pancetta. You can try using Extra Firm, but you’ll want to press it for at least 30 minutes and it may not crisp up as much.
- Pat the Tofu dry, then dice it into small cubes (about 1/4″ thick)
- Heat up a non-stick or well seasoned pan over medium heat with 1 – 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add the cubed tofu, toss to coat in the oil, then let them sit undisturbed for 2 – 3 minutes. Toss them again, and repeat this process until they are browned to your liking.
- Lower the heat to medium low, and pour over the sauce. Stir to coat. Cook until the sauce has been absorbed. Stir frequently to avoid burning, and lower the heat more if you notice any black bits forming. Once cooked to your liking, remove from pan and reserve.
Carbonara
- Cook Spaghetti according to package instructions. Use 8 oz for a very saucy pasta, or up to 12 oz for less saucy. I cook 10 oz for this recipe and find that to be perfect.
- While pasta cooks, blend up all the ingredients for the Carbonara sauce except the Black Salt and Pasta Water. A bullet blender is great for this too.
- Add the sauce to a pan and heat over medium low. Once pasta is cooked, reserve a cup or so of the pasta water. Add cooked spaghetti to the sauce and stir to coat. If the sauce feels too thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up and make it creamier too! Start with 1/4 cup or less and add as needed.
- Season with anything you like! Salt and Black Pepper, Black Salt for an eggy flavor. More Vegan Parmesan, or fresh herbs like basil or parsley.
- Important Note: I don’t recommend mixing the Tofu Pancetta directly into the Sauce or Pasta. I find that the marinade will sometimes come loose from the tofu once heated and will disperse into the sauce which makes it too salty. It’s best to top the finished pasta with it on each plate so you get nice little salty isolated bits instead!
- That said, top with the Tofu Pancetta and enjoy!
My wife is a carbonara fiend, orders it every time we go to our favorite high-end vegan restaurant, so she’s been begging me to make a vegan carbonara at home for a while. I finally made this one tonight because the in-laws were in town. Not only did it receive the seal of approval from my vegan BIL and my meat-loving MIL, but my wife said it’s BETTER than the one she always orders. I subbed tempeh bacon + crisped oyster mushrooms for the tofu pancetta to make it closer to the restaurant version, but my wife said the sauce from this recipe was the best part of this dish!
That’s amazing to hear, it makes my day! So glad everyone dug it, thank you!
The tofu pancetta came out so freaken delicious. Recipes like this make it easier for me to switch over to a more vegetarian lifestyle. I did omit the mayo and milk in the pasta sauce base for cottage cheese since I am not vegan, and it tasted great and even gave me a chance to up the protein! I did reserve more pasta water though since using cottage cheese messed with the consistency.
Overall, this is a 10/10 recipe and I look forward to trying it again.
Glad you enjoyed it! Try it vegan next time if you’re so inclined and see what you think! Thank you!
Saw this come across my feed on tiktok I think it was and had both types of tofu in the fridge already. This was unreal. I used even more pasta than you suggested and there was enough sauce still. Also haven’t been able to find Miso paste but it wasn’t missed. Unreal… Leftovers were even better than the first time. Never had a bad dish from your site!
Oh nice, so glad to hear that it worked for you! Happy to hear you are enjoying the recipes, thank you!
This is amazing, holy shiiiit. I’ve been vegan for 6 years and was a bit of a carbonara fiend when I ate meat, and never found anything that satisfied the same craving – including high end restaurant options. My partner asked me to make this and I said why not, thinking that at least it’d be good (it’s a thee burger dude recipe, after all), but not truly like a carbonara. This has hit the spot like nothing else has in YEARS. We devoured it with reckless abandon. The tofu pancetta is unreal, the sauce is so glossy and savory and delicious.
You always hit it out of the park, dude. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thank you that means so much to me! I live for this kind of comment, so glad you dug it!!
Every single one of these recipes is always a winner! Someone posted that they made this online and I immediately got to cooking. It turned out even richer, tastier, and more full of flavor than I could imagine! The cooking techniques, depth, and having most of these items as staples in my pantry, leave me happy, satisfied, and excited for the next recipe of his I’m going to try! 10/10 recommend!
Nice, so glad you dug it! This makes my day to hear, thank you!!
Wow! So rich and smoky. The one food I’ve occasionally missed after going vegan is cured meat and the tofu pancetta really hit the spot.
At first I was slightly annoyed that I was going to only be using half a block of super firm tofu, but after making the recipe I get it. With a whole block the pan would have been too crowded to get the crispy bits.
I’ll definitely be making this again.
Realized I forgot to leave stars in my other comment. This recipe is excellent.
Thank you so much, happy you dug it!!
If this is good i will petition Peter to let you enter the Pearly Gates!
INCREDIBLE!
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. Plant based for 7 years and I’ve missed a cabonara SO much. Had a plant one once at a restaurant and this recipe knocks it out of the park.
The flavours are next level and this is so worth the bit of extra prep. I forgot to buy miso and had no liquid smoke on hand, I also only had ABC sweet soy too and it still turned out incredible.
Can’t wait to make this for friends and family!
Oh love to hear it’s better than a restaurant!! Makes my day, so glad you liked it! Thank you!
Every recipe I’ve tried from your site has been fantastic. The chicken and beef soycurls are always in stock in my freezer. The use of vegan mayo is a great trick for flavor and texture. I’ve tried using oil instead but the mayo brings more flavor and browning to the party.
Now, I’ve never eaten carbonara as I’ve been vegetarian since I was quite young. So as a freestanding recipe, this is DELICIOUS! The sauce reminds me of hollandaise (in a good, tangy way) actually and I will be 100% making some kind of benedict with the leftovers.
I only had regular firm tofu so I cooked it quite a long time with no marinade to dry it out, then cooked it in the marinade. It’s delicious! I doubled everything in the bacon recipe because leftover tofu bacon is such a savory addition to all kinds of things.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it! I plan on making a Tofu Hollandaise soon, so I will look at this recipe for inspiration!
I was skeptical of this recipe (especially that it makes A LOT of marinade) at several points but I was wrong every time because it’s amazing. That tofu pancetta dude??? Unreal. I will say that I think adding 1/8-1/4 tsp of black salt is a necessity, not optional. I will also say that the carbonara sauce part was easy enough to become a weeknight recipe if you use like a tempeh bacon instead of going through the labor of making the pancetta. That said, that marinade knocked my socks off and I want to try making vegan bacon with it!
So glad you liked it and that it worked out despite your reservations haha! Thank you!