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
Tempeh and broccoli with peanut sauce
Browned tempeh and broccoli in a peanut and ginger sauce over pasta.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 21 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 diced tempeh browns in 5 to 6 minutes
- Confirm the peanut sauce emulsifies with pasta water
- Photograph the finished bowl
- Time
- About 30 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 580 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 39 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains gluten, peanuts, soya. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- pasta. Most dry pasta is just wheat and water, but some contains egg; check the packet.
- peanut butter. Most peanut butter contains added salt, and some contains palm oil or sugar; this figure is for the unsalted kind.
- soy sauce. Most soy sauce contains wheat. Tamari is the usual wheat-free alternative; check the label.
Cooking steps
Cook the pasta. Before you drain it, take out a mugful of the cooking water and keep it, because the sauce depends on it.
Cut the tempeh into 1.5 cm dice and brown it in the oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once or twice.
Add the grated ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add the broccoli florets and a splash of water, cover and cook for 4 minutes until bright and just tender.
In a bowl, whisk the peanut butter with the soy sauce, the lime juice and several spoonfuls of the hot cooking water, until it is smooth and pours from the whisk.
Add the drained pasta and the sauce to the pan, toss everything together over low heat for a minute, and loosen with more of the reserved water if it tightens.
The useful detail
Loosen the peanut butter in a bowl with hot cooking water before it goes anywhere near the pan. Added straight to a hot pan it seizes into lumps and coats nothing.
Make it work for you
One serving is Half the pasta with half the tempeh and broccoli. 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.
Firm tofu instead of tempeh
Softer and milder, with less protein. Press it first.
Per serving: about 60 kcal less, about 4 g less protein, about 3 g less fat.
Tahini instead of peanut butter
Thinner and more bitter, and it loosens more easily.
Per serving: about the same energy, about 1 g less protein, about the same fat.
Allergens: Swaps peanuts for sesame.
Rice noodles instead of pasta
Softer and gluten-free. Keep some of their cooking water the same way. Nutrition is not recalculated.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A plant dinner where tempeh and peanut butter between them reach the high thirties for protein, which very few meatless pasta dishes do.
| Energy | 580 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 39 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| of which saturates | 5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 55 g |
| of which sugars | not calculated |
| Fibre | 6 g |
| Sodium | 510 mg |
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 | 80 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. | 297 kcal | 10.4 g |
| tempeh | 250 g | FDC 174272Tempeh | 480 kcal | 50.7 g |
| rapeseed or other neutral oil | 9 g | FDC 172336Oil, canola | 81 kcal | 0.0 g |
| fresh ginger | 20 g | FDC 169231Ginger root, raw | 16 kcal | 0.4 g |
| broccoli | 250 g | FDC 170379Broccoli, raw | 85 kcal | 7.0 g |
| peanut butter | 30 g | FDC 172470Peanut butter, smooth style, without salt | 179 kcal | 6.7 g |
| soy sauce | 25 g | FDC 172473Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu), low sodium | 14 kcal | 2.3 g |
| lime juice | 30 g | FDC 168156Lime juice, raw | 8 kcal | 0.1 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 1160 kcal | 77.6 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. of which sugars 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 tightens completely when cold; loosen it with water as you reheat.
- 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
Creamy roasted pepper tofu pasta
Pasta in a smooth roasted pepper and silken tofu sauce.
About 25 min · 355 kcal · 18 g protein per serving
Vegan