Lemon-herb tofu with Mediterranean rice
Herb-roasted tofu with rice, courgette and parsley.
About 45 min · 470 kcal · 31 g protein per serving
Vegan
Creamy roasted pepper tofu pasta
Pasta in a smooth roasted pepper and silken tofu sauce.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 12 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm the sauce blends smooth without a high-powered blender
- Photograph the finished plate
- Time
- About 25 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 355 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 18 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, soya. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- pasta. Most dry pasta is just wheat and water, but some contains egg; check the packet.
- roasted red peppers from a jar. Jarred peppers are packed in brine and can contain sulphites; check the label.
Cooking steps
Cook the pasta in boiling water, following the packet. Before draining it, keep back a mugful of the cooking water.
Meanwhile, blend the silken tofu, roasted peppers and oil until completely smooth.
Warm the sauce in a wide pan over low heat, without letting it boil. Silken tofu splits if it is pushed too hard.
Fold the drained pasta through the sauce, loosening it with the cooking water until it coats, and finish with the basil.
The useful detail
Gentle warming protects the sauce's smooth texture. Brought to the boil it goes grainy and thin, and blending it again will not bring it back.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the pan: 60 g of pasta (dry weight) with sauce. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Peppers you roast yourself
About 270 g raw, roasted until soft and peeled. Sweeter, without brine, and the sodium becomes calculable.
Per serving: about the same energy, about the same protein, about the same fat.
Firm tofu instead of silken
Thicker and grainier; add more cooking water and blend longer.
Per serving: about 105 kcal more, about 13 g more protein, about 6 g more fat.
Gluten-free pasta
Works; nutrition is not recalculated.
Allergens: Removes gluten.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A creamy vegan pasta with no cream in it. Sodium is not calculated, because the jarred peppers' brine is not in their record. The library draft used nutritional yeast, which FoodData Central does not record, so it is left out rather than guessed at.
| Energy | 355 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 18 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 53 g |
| of which sugars | 7 g |
| Fibre | 4 g |
| Sodium | not calculated |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pasta | 120 g | FDC 169736Pasta, dry, enrichedFoodData Central records dry pasta as one entry rather than by shape, so linguine, lasagne, cannelloni and shells all use it. | 445 kcal | 15.6 g |
| silken tofu | 250 g | FDC 172449Tofu, soft, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari)Calculated with FoodData Central's soft tofu record, the closest it holds to silken tofu. | 153 kcal | 17.9 g |
| roasted red peppers from a jar | 200 g | FDC 2710799Red pepper, cooked, as ingredientCalculated as plain cooked red pepper, FoodData Central's closest record. Jarred peppers are packed in salted brine that the record does not include, so sodium is left uncalculated for any recipe that uses them rather than shown too low. | 66 kcal | 1.9 g |
| olive oil | 4.5 g | FDC 171413Oil, olive, salad or cooking | 40 kcal | 0.0 g |
| fresh basil | 5 g | FDC 172232Basil, fresh | 1 kcal | 0.2 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 705 kcal | 35.7 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. sodium could not be calculated, because one ingredient’s record does not cover it; the row above says which. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Eat within 3 to 4 days. The sauce thickens in the fridge; loosen it with water over low heat.
- In the freezer
- Freezing keeps food safe indefinitely; the texture is best if it is eaten sooner rather than later.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
Tempeh and mushroom bourguignon
Tempeh and mushrooms in a thyme-scented vegetable gravy.
About 50 min · 450 kcal · 33 g protein per serving
Vegan