This is my totally unauthentic, but extremely delicious VEGAN carbonara recipe with smoky tempeh bits! It’s real comfort food!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t claim that this is authentic carbonara – it’s quite the opposite actually, BUT it is extremely delicious! And you should try it!
Recently I fell in love with the use of homemade cashew cream all over again. It’s the perfect base for creamy dishes like this carbonara recipe.
And the cool thing is that you can store the cashew cream in the fridge for up to 4 days, and use it for all kinds of recipes (sauces, dips, dressings, add it to soups,..).
You can always thin out the cashew cream if you need to. I’m using pasta water to make the cream thinner, so don’t forget to save it when you drain the pasta!
My ‘meaty topping’ alternative is tempeh. I love tempeh because it soaks up the flavor of the soy sauce and liquid smoke really well. But if you don’t like or can’t get tempeh, you can also use tofu, soy granule, or sliced mushrooms instead.
How to make Vegan Carbonara
The Ingredients
As always, you can find the whole recipe at the end of the post. But here’s an overview of the ingredients you will need:
- pasta (e.g. spaghetti)
- fresh parsley
- for the sauce:
- cashews
- garlic clove
- lemon juice
- salt
- for the tempeh bits:
- tempeh
- soy sauce
- oil
- liquid smoke
The basic steps
More Pasta recipes you will love
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I hope you enjoy this vegan carbonara as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Vegan Carbonara
Ingredients
- 4 oz spaghetti pasta
- fresh parsley
Carbonara Sauce
- 1 cup cashews raw, unsalted
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Tempeh Bits
- 2 teaspoons canola oil (or your fav plant-based oil)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 cup tempeh cut into small cubes
Instructions
- For the carbonara sauce: Cover the cashews with water and let them soak overnight in the fridge. The next day, rinse and drain. Add all the ingredients for the carbonara sauce in a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Boil the pasta. In a pot. With water. (You know this. You can do this. I believe in you.)
- For the tempeh bits: In a large enough pan, heat the oil on medium to high heat. Add the tempeh bits, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Stir. Let the tempeh bits cook for about 3-4 minutes until crispy, stir them around until all the sides are crispy. Then set aside.
- Once the pasta is soft, drain it (save the pasta water!) and put it back in the pot or pan. Add the carbonara sauce, thin it out with the pasta water (I usually add about 1 1/2 cups of pasta water) but it really just depends on the preferred consistency. Add salt to taste.
- Give it a good stir and heat it up until warm. Then divide the pasta carbonara into bowls and add the tempeh bits and fresh parsley on top. Enjoy!