This Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta is the perfect balance of creamy, comforting pasta with the balance of bright, citrus flavors to keep it light and fresh. And the addition of garlicky kale and sun dried tomatoes to pack it with flavor. It’s impressive enough to serve to company but easy enough to cook on a weeknight.
During my plant-based journey, I’ve tried a couple different versions of vegan ricotta to try to find the perfect flavor and texture. This is currently the winner, especially for a pasta dish when you want that creamy, rich texture. It’s made with tofu that has been pressed for a short period of time to get any excess water out and then blended to a smooth consistency and packed with flavor. The results are a vegan version of ricotta that is filled with protein and mimics the flavor and consistency of the real thing.
Once you whip up the vegan ricotta, the pasta is tossed with it and some pasta water to achieve a delicious creamy sauce. It’s then combined with the quick sautéed kale and sun dried tomatoes. Make sure to top this Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta with plenty of this vegan parmesan cheese topping and some additional vegan ricotta for extra “cheesiness” – yum!
Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta
Course: MainDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
- Vegan Lemon Ricotta
16 oz. firm tofu
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
- Garlicky Kale and Sun Dried Tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
One bunch of Kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
¼ cup of sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- Pasta
16 oz. of Rigatoni or other desired pasta shape
Vegan Parmesan for topping
Directions
- Vegan Lemon Ricotta
- Remove tofu from package and drain excess liquid.
- Press the moisture out of the tofu by wrapping in a towel and setting a heavy item on top such as a a large book or cast iron pan for 15 minutes.
- Combine drained tofu with all remaining ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender and process on high until smooth. Set aside.
- Pasta
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot.
- Garlicky Kale and Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Heat olive oil in large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add kale and sun dried tomatoes and toss well.
- Reduce heat to low-medium and cover for 5 minutes until kale is wilted but still bright green.
- Serving
- Once everything is prepared, combine cooked pasta, cooked kale, and most of the ricotta in the large pot that you cooked the pasta in.
- Slowly add pasta water in until desired consistency is achieved. Taste anddjust seasonings a needed.
- Top with remaining ricotta and vegan parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to substitute the kale for other greens you have on hand such as spinach.
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