Smoky marinated cremini mushrooms and peas are tossed with spaghetti in a silky tofu and cashew sauce to create this decadently delicious vegan spaghetti carbonara!
Have you ever had spaghetti carbonara? I have not. It's a dish that's also often referred to as "bacon and eggs pasta," which means it's basically not my jam. I didn't even like bacon and eggs back in my omnivore days when I was a kid.
I learned about the dish when a customer requested it at an Italian restaurant I waited tables in during college. She had to explain what it was. And frankly...it sounded terrible. But I guess I filed it away somewhere in the totally irrelevant-to-me-at-the-time portion of my brain, and then retrieved it, years later when I was trying to come up with recipes to veganize.
Even though I can't stand bacon or eggs, I LOVE vegan bacon and eggs, so I was totally keen to get working on this one. We're using smoky mushroom "bacon" and a silky tofu/cashew sauce for this dish.
I had to run the final version by my husband, because I've never had non-vegan carbonara. He said this version is better. Wow.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Maple syrup.
- Liquid smoke. Look for this near the barbecue sauce at your supermarket.
- Smoked paprika.
- Cremini mushrooms. This might also be labelled as baby bella or baby portobello mushrooms at your store. Use regular button mushrooms if you can't find them
- Olive oil.
- Dried spaghetti. Feel free to substitute with another pasta shape, although spaghetti is traditional for pasta carbonara. Gluten-free pasta can be used if needed.
- Raw cashews. This is one of the main components of our vegan carbonara sauce. They definitely need to be raw (not roasted) for the sauce to taste right.
- Non-dairy milk. Use something unsweetened and unflavored such as soy, almond, or cashew milk.
- Silken tofu. I used firm silken tofu to make this recipe, but you can use soft if that's what you have on hand. Cut back on the amount of non-dairy milk if you do this.
- Nutritional yeast flakes. Look for these in the natural foods section of your supermarket, and feel free to leave them out if you're not a fan of them.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice to give your vegan carbonara sauce the best flavor.
- Salt. You can use regular table salt, or a product known as kala namak for extra eggy flavor. Kala namak is also known as black salt. It has a high sulfur content, so it tastes like eggs. Look for it in Indian markets or online.
- Garlic.
- Frozen peas.
- Fresh parsley.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. This is totally optional and just for topping our pasta. Feel free to use store-bought or homemade vegan Parmesan.
- Red pepper flakes. These are optional — just use them if you'd like your vegan spaghetti carbonara with a little kick!
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- To make your mushroom bacon, start my mixing your soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and smoked paprika in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add roughly chopped mushrooms. Cook them for a few minutes, letting them sit on the hot surface in order to properly brown, then flip and cook them a few minutes longer.
- Carefully pour the sauce over the mushrooms and continue cooking them until the liquid has dried up and caramelized.
Tip: Avoid crowding the mushrooms in the skillet, as each one needs contact with the hot cooking surface. You can cook them in batches if you don't have enough space.
- Start cooking your pasta. Refer to the package directions and just cook it until al dente, then drain it into a colander. Reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water when you drain it.
- While the pasta cooks, make the sauce by blending the cashews (soaked in water to soften up first), milk, tofu, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt. I'm using a blender, but a large food processor will also work.
- Heat some olive oil in a skillet and briefly sauté minced garlic, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Add your cooked pasta to the skillet, along with the sauce and (thawed) frozen peas. Toss everything well to distribute all the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a bit of your reserved pasta water.
- Take the skillet off of the stove and season the sauce with salt or kala namak. Adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste, then top the pasta with vegan bacon as well as some vegan Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley if you'd like.
- Enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan spaghetti carbonara will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days or in the freezer for about 3 months. The sauce may thicken during storage. Simply add a splash of water when reheating if needed!
More Classic Vegan Pasta Recipes
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Vegan Spaghetti Carbonara
Smoky marinated cremini mushrooms and peas are tossed with spaghetti in a silky tofu and cashew sauce to create this decadently delicious vegan spaghetti carbonara.
Ingredients
For the Mushroom Bacon
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
For the Pasta
- 16 ounces dried spaghetti
For the Vegan Carbonara Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 12 ounces silken tofu (Note 1)
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, or to taste (optional, but adds a really nice flavor)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste (Note 2)
The Rest
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Vegan Parmesan cheese, optional
- Red pepper flakes, optional
- Chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
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To make the mushroom bacon, first stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and smoked paprika together in a small bowl.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the mushrooms in an even layer. (Note 3)
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Cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes, flipping them only once or twice, until they've shrunken a bit and browned.
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Carefully pour the soy sauce mixture over the mushrooms and allow them to cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the liquid evaporates and forms a coating on the mushrooms.
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Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta into a colander.
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Make the sauce while the pasta boils. Place the cashews, silken tofu, milk, nutritional yeast flakes, lemon juice, and salt into a blender or food processor bowl and blend until smooth and creamy.
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Wipe out the skillet you used to cook them mushrooms (it doesn't need to be perfectly clean) and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the garlic. Sauté the garlic for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Add the cooked pasta to the pot, along with the sauce and peas. Toss everything to coat the pasta in sauce. You can thin the sauce with your reserved pasta water if it seems too thick.
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Remove the skillet from heat. Season the pasta with additional salt if desired. Top with mushroom bacon.
-
Divide onto plates and serve with vegan Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes
- I used firm silken tofu, but the recipe will also work with soft. Simply cut back on the non-dairy milk by a few tablespoons if using soft.
- A portion of the salt in this recipe can be substituted with kala namak/black salt, available at Indian Grocery stores. This will add eggy flavor. I recommend starting with no more than ¼ teaspoon of kala namak, then adding more to taste.
- The mushrooms can be cooked in batches if you don't have enough room in your skillet. It's important not to crowd them.
Alexa [fooduzzi.com] says
Oh this sounds so so delicious! There's nothing like a big bowl of pasta to make you feel ALL the feels <3
KLR says
Best carbonara you will ever have!!! Carbonara was one of my absolute favorites - so high calorie that I used to reserve it for my birthday....mostly. Going vegan was the absolute best choice I've ever made but I missed dishes like carbonara, gyros, etc.
This is better than any I have ever had - including a $250 version in NYC a few years back! Lucky to have people who post their amazing ideas!!!
Alissa Saenz says
Oh wow! I am SO happy to hear that!! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Lora Galloway says
Thanks so much for posting , I just said last night , I wish someone would come up with a vegan carbonara :) looking forward to giving this a try , looks relishes , you rock !!
Alissa Saenz says
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!
Amelia says
Bookmarked this page! It looks and sounds like such a delicious meal!
Lisa says
Definitely making this one. Looks delicious!
Debbie says
Is there a fB button I am missing where we are able to share your recipe from an email and post directly to fB? That would be so helpful.
Alissa Saenz says
Hi Debbie! There should be a bunch of social share buttons near the bottom of the email, right above the list of recent posts. They're very small, so easy to miss. I'll see if I can figure out a way to make them a bit larger next time I work on my email template. And thank you - I always appreciate a share! :)
Jennifer says
Do you need to drain the tofu before putting it in the blender?
Alissa Saenz says
Nope! It's silken tofu, so it's it's not packed in water like regular tofu. It's more like a custard that you can scoop right out of the package.
A recently converted vegan says
Just made and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I downplayed how much I would enjoy the mushrooms lol, next time i am putting in significantly more - they were the best part! Will be making again, thanks again for the recipe!
Alissa Saenz says
Yay! The mushrooms were my favorite part too. :) Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment!
Elise says
I just made this, and it's incredible. I'm vegetarian (and a huge fan of carbonara from the meat-eating days), my boyfriend is vegan, and we're both in love with this dish. Thank you!
Alissa Saenz says
Yay! Glad you're both enjoying it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. :)
The Guys says
We made this tonight and it was delicious! We love spicy food so extra black and red pepper amped it up to our preferred spice level.
Alissa Saenz says
I'm all about adding extra spices! Glad you liked it. Thanks for letting me know. :)
Noreen says
Wow! I just made this and I'm on my second bowl! This was my first time cooking with silken tofu and I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off. But it turned out great! Thanks for sharing!
Alissa Saenz says
Awesome! So so glad you enjoyed it!!
Eddie says
I love pasta and yours looks delicious. It makes me want a bowl of it right now. Using cashews is so good for me because I always need to increase magnesium in my diet. And mushrooms are also my favorite, a winning combination, perfect.
Alissa Saenz says
Thanks Eddie! I hope you get a chance to give this a try, and enjoy. :)
Angelina Bell says
Made this last night. Absolutely delicious! Looking forward to making.many more of your recipes. This was our first.
Alissa Saenz says
Thanks Angelina! I'm glad you enjoyed this!
Trish says
Just finished scoffing this down. Absolutely fabulous, and I mean FABULOUS! My parents are here visiting and they raved on about this meal. This dish is a keeper. I make new dishes at least three times a week and this is the best in quite a long time. I did cut back on the oil by frying the mushrooms with a spritz of olive oil from a can and did the same with the garlic. I swear I'm probably one of a handful of chubby vegans out there lol. I also added the black salt directly to my sauce before blending it all. Forgot to soak the cashews so I let them soak in boiled water for 30 mins. Vitamix did the rest ;) Thank you so much for a really, really, really great meal. Did I say really enough? Last night's new meal was somewhat of a flop so I was thrilled in presenting this scrumptious dinner tonight. Thanks again!
Alissa Saenz says
Awesome! I'm so happy to hear that it was a hit! Thank you so much for such a thoughtful review!!
Kylie says
Does it matter if you use firm or soft tofu? Silken has a couple varieties.
Look forward to making this!
Alissa Saenz says
You could probably get away with either, though I think soft would work best. I'd also go for a refrigerated variety, rather than shelf stable - I just think it tastes cleaner. :)
Michaela says
I made this today and it is PHENOMONAL. Absolutely decadent. Killer recipe.
Alissa Saenz says
Glad you think so!!
Heather says
Do I drain the mushroom marinate or cook it with the mushrooms?
Also, do I drain the tofu?
Alissa Saenz says
I don't usually add the marinade when I cook the mushrooms for this, but you could if you want them to get extra flavorful. I'd give it a few more minutes of cook time for all the liquid to evaporate. Silken tofu isn't packed in water so there's no need to drain it. :)
Marlene @ Idle Hands Awake says
Oh WOW! Just made this for the first time tonight and I am THRILLED with how it came out! It is sooooo creamy and flavorful. Love the mushroom bacon -- I was a little skeptical as I like the "crunch" of tempeh bacon, but the mushrooms were perfect. A new favorite recipe!
Alissa Saenz says
I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks so much Marlene!
Deanna says
I'm making this tonight! You say it makes a lot, do you know if the extra sauce would freeze well?
Alissa Saenz says
I'm not so sure it would, because freezing tofu tends to alter the texture. You'd be fine to keep it in the fridge for a couple of days though.
Maria says
Delicious. My mushrooms soaked for a few hours Nd were still delicious.
Alissa Saenz says
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Ellie says
Looks delicious! Any suggestions for making this nut free? Please & thank you!
Alissa Saenz says
Thanks! Hemp seeds might work as a substitute for the cashews. You don't need to soak them, but I'd blend them up separately to start just to make sure they get fully blended.
Lou says
will try! can yor marinade sauce be used to smoke flavor coconut chips to use as simili bacon in salads for instance? ps i've used sunflower seeds instead of cashews before for nut allergies
Alissa Saenz says
Yup! I use a similar marinade for coconut, eggplant, tempeh...all kinds of stuff!
Allison Bird says
Just made this for dinner...delicious!
Alissa Saenz says
Glad you like it!! Thanks Allison!
Kay Baker says
i have to say that I have tried many of your recipes and have not been disappointed once. This was supper last night and we LOVED it. You have now made it onto my “favourites” so now I can find you easily. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, we really appreciate it.
Alissa Saenz says
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks so much Kay!!
Jean M. says
My picky family devoured this! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Delicious!
Alissa Saenz says
Yay!! I'm glad it was a hit! Thanks Jean!
Helena says
This looks delicious. It has all my favorite ingredients. It's making me hungry just looking at those photos!
Alissa Saenz says
Thanks Helena! I hope you get to give it a try and enjoy it!
Karen says
Any recommendations on what to do if I don't eat tofu???
Alissa Saenz says
Maybe try some unflavored vegan yogurt. I haven't tried that myself, but I could see it working!
Cheryl Brown says
Hello,
this looks awesome. I will be making this Wednesday. what bis your preference,
Soy or almond milk?
Alissa Saenz says
I prefer soy, and WestSoy unsweetened is my favorite brand for savory recipes like this one.
Krista says
Is there something I could substitute for the tofu? I cannot have soy.
Alissa Saenz says
You could try using some extra cashews and non-dairy milk - maybe 1.5 times what the recipe calls for. If it seems too thick you can add even more milk to thin it out.
Joanne says
Thank you, this is a fabulous recipe. My hubby doesn’t like tofu but he does love this dish. I usually have oat milk in the house as my non dairy milk and that works perfectly too, rather than soy or almond.