High Protein Vegetarian Pasta With Tempeh Tomato Sauce

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful start to 2019. I know many of you are taking this time to set some goals for the new year, and perhaps one of them is to eat more plants. While I would never expect or pressure anyone to become vegan or vegetarian, I think finding fun ways to get in more plants and veggies is always a good idea!

A common concern with plant-based meals is that you can’t get enough protein; however, this is simply untrue! One of my favorite sources of plant-based protein is tempeh. Have you guys tried tempeh before? It has a slightly meaty texture and taste, and crumbling it up into this vegetarian tomato sauce (in place of ground meat) tasted delicious and totally up-ed the protein content of the meal. I hope you guys enjoy it!

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High Protein Vegetarian Pasta With Tempeh Tomato Sauce

This plant-based pasta sauce uses ground tempeh instead of ground meat to increase the protein content of the dish, creating a filling and nutritious meal! Recipe is vegan/dairy-free (unless topping with cheese), and can be made gluten-free if using GF pasta. If you want something lower-carb, lower the amount of pasta and increase amount of zucchini noodles.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword basil, garlic, mushrooms, pasta, tempeh, thyme, tomatoes, zucchini

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Carrie Walder

Ingredients

• Pasta of choice (enough for 4 people)
• 2 zucchinis, spiralized
• 1 package tempeh, crumbled
• 8-10 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Approx. 2 cups whole canned tomatoes, or fresh cherry tomatoes (if in season)
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 handful fresh basil, chopped
• Olive oil (for cooking and finishing)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Slice mushrooms and mince garlic. Make zucchini noodles using a spiralizer or vegetable peeler. Set aside.
• Using your hands, crumble one package of tempeh into a large bowl. The goal is to achieve a similar texture to ground meat. 
• Once water has boiled, add pasta and cook according to package directions.
• Heat 2 large pans over medium heat. Add olive oil and minced garlic to pans, cooking for 1-2 mins until slightly browned. In one pan, add crumbled tempeh and cook for 3 mins. In the other pan, add mushrooms and cook until browned and tender, approx. 10 mins. 
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, and salt to pan with tempeh. If using fresh tomatoes, you will need to add water to the tomato paste (start with 1/4 cup and go from there until the correct texture is achieved). Cook until sauce thickens, approx. 5 mins. 
• When mushrooms are cooked, drain and add to tomato mixture. Continue cooking for a few mins, adding chopped basil at the end. Adjust seasonings as needed.
• In the used mushroom pan, lightly sauté the zucchini noodles for 1-2 minutes. The goal is to get them heated but not soggy! Add zucchini noodles to drained pasta, and toss with olive oil.
• Pour sauce over pasta and zucchini noodles, mixing well. Top with freshly grated parmesan or nutritional yeast as desired. Enjoy hot!