Description
Explore our top 100 vegan recipes—chef-crafted, flavorful, and reader-approved. Here’s our very popular Tofu Paprikash and easy vegan dinner with lots of 5-star reviews!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 8-12 ounces pasta
- 16 ounces firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons olive, more as needed
- 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked peppercorns
Paprikash Sauce:
- one onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced ( cremini, button, shiitake, etc.) If you are not a mushroom fan, feel free to leave these out. You can add more bell peppers or other veggies.
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 large tomato, diced with juices (or 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with juices, or crushed tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup water
- 3/4-1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika (or regular paprika, not smoked)
- pinch cayenne, optional
- 14-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream (see notes for other options)
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, more to taste!
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped, divided
Serve with your choice of cooked noodles, pasta (or rice, or roasted cauliflower florets) with an optional handful of baby spinach.
Instructions
- Cook pasta. Start cooking pasta in salted boiling water.
- Prep Tofu. Place the tofu on paper towels and lightly blot all sides-no need to press. Cut into ¾ inch slices, then bite-sized pieces.
- Sear the tofu. In an extra-large skillet or braiser, heat the oil over medium heat. Sprinkle salt and fresh pepper on the oil itself and swirl. Carefully add the tofu. Season the top of the tofu with a generous pinch of salt. Let it get golden without moving it (it will naturally release itself from the pan as it forms a crust). Once golden, flip, and sear the other side, letting it get deeply golden. Move the tofu over to a plate.
- Saute. To the same pan, add a little more oil if needed. Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and bell pepper and saute until fragrant, about 6 minutes, lowering heat if need be.
- Simmer. Add the tomatoes and their juices, cook 3-4 minutes. Pour in the water, season with salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne, give a stir, cover, and simmer on low for 5 minutes; check, adding more water if it seems dry.
- Season. Once the tomatoes have broken down and the peppers are tender, add the coconut milk, stirring to incorporate. Add the vinegar and stir.
- Taste. It should be slightly salty (pasta will soak up this salt) and slightly tangy. Adjust salt and vinegar to taste. The coconut milk will make it sweet, so counter this with the vinegar. If you like spice, add more cayenne to taste. The flavor should be nice and bold.
- Combine. Fold in the tofu and half of the parsley.
- Serve this over pasta, rice, or even roasted cauliflower! I like to top my pasta with a handful of baby spinach, then spoon the creamy tofu paprikash over it.
Notes
One vegan meal I always try to have on hand is this Red Lentil Soup. Meal prep a few vegan recipes for the week ahead. Or try Buddha Bowls, Vegan soups , Vegan Salads, or my favorite Vegan Dessert- our vegan ice cream!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ⅓ cup without pasta
- Calories: 318
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 604.2 mg
- Fat: 24.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.3 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 13.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg