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.
To make the mushroom bacon, first stir the soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke and smoked paprika together in a small bowl.
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)
Cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes, flipping them only once or twice, until they've shrunken a bit and browned.
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.
Remove the mushrooms from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.