Pasta has been one of my favourite comfort foods my entire life, so when I went plant-based it was essential that I figured out how to make all my favourites. So that’s how I learned how to make tofu ricotta and now you can to! I love to pair this with chia pudding for dessert!
With the exception of the time it takes to press the tofu this dish comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta (or less), so it makes for an easy weeknight meal that adds a boost of both flavour and protein to your Italian dishes. You can even make a big batch of it. It keeps very well in the fridge for at least a week.
This goes perfectly paired with any pasta dish from spaghetti to lasagna and manicotti. But don’t feel like you have to stop there - this is perfect on top of pizza. You can even put it in my lasagna soup as you can see in this recipe here.
From pasta to pizza and even soup there are many ways you can enjoy this the most important thing after you learn how to make tofu ricotta is that you SMASH IT INTO YOUR FACE.
This plant-based substitute for ricotta is all you need to learn how to make tofu ricotta. Use it on pizza, pasta, or anything you want a bump of protein and flavour.
Drain the excess liquid from your tofu and press it to get out the excess liquid. If you don’t have a tofu press then wrap it in a kitchen towel or paper towel and put it between two small plates and stack some heavy books on top. Leave it for 30-60 minutes or longer (it won’t matter).
If you haven’t already, steam your spinach for a minute or two, just until wilted. Make sure you drain the excess liquid off the spinach when you’re finished.
When it’s ready crumble the tofu with your hands directly into the container of a food processor. If there’s still some chunks it’s fine - the food processor is going to do a lot of the work here.
Dump in the rest of the ingredients, minus the spinach (for now). Pulse the mixture until well combined. DO NOT leave it to run otherwise the texture is going to turn into a spread and that’s not really what we’re looking for here.
Now drop in the spinach and pulse once or twice until it’s just nicely combined. If the mixture is too wet it’s likely because you didn’t press your tofu or drain the spinach enough.
Now your mixture is ready! So many ways to use this. Throw it on top of some pasta and sauce, use it for topping on a pizza, or as part of the filling in manicotti or lasagna. Either way SMASH IT INTO YOUR FACE!
Servings 4
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
