Silky Spaghetti Carbonara with Tempeh Bacon

Why have boring old alfredo when you could have carbonara??

Silky Spaghetti Carbonara with Tempeh Bacon

Oil-free, vegan, creamy spaghetti carbonara with tempeh bacon

Makes: 4 Servings

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 pack lightlife fakin’ bacon
• 1 ½ cup peas
• 1 ½ cup cashews, soaked
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 box whole wheat linguine or spaghetti
• 1 ½ cup reserved pasta water
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black salt (kala namak)
• parsley, for garnish
• red pepper flakes, for garnish
• vegan parmesan, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit.
2. In a non-stick pan over medium heat, dry fry the tempeh bacon (about 4 minutes on each side).
3. Move the tempeh to a baking sheet and place in the oven.
4. Cook the pasta according to package directions (make sure to reserve some of the pasta water when draining). Once drained, return the pasta to the pot.
5. In a blender, make the carbonara sauce by combining the cashews, pasta water, nutritional yeast, black salt, juice of 1 lemon, cloves of garlic, and salt. Blend until smooth. Add more pasta water to thin (if necessary).
6. In the pot, add the sauce and peas. Gently stir/toss to combine. Cover and set aside.
7. Remove the “bacon” from the oven. Dice in bacon-bit sized pieces.
8. Serve pasta topped with “bacon bits”, parsley, red pepper flakes, and/or vegan parmesan.

Spaghetti Carbonara is an Italian dish from Rome that uses eggs, oil, and cheese to make a creamy, decadent sauce.  Pancetta, pepper, and salt are added. Outside of Italy, peas and parsley are sometimes added to the dish, and bacon is subbed for pancetta.

I’ve tried several vegan carbonara recipes.  Most recipes I’ve seen use mushrooms or coconut as bacon subs (which just didn’t cut it for me) and the sauce tended to be too thick.  

As you may have noticed from some of my other recipes, I’ve become a fan of Lightlife’s tempeh bacon.  It’s oil free and packed with bacon-y flavor. So I decided to use it as my bacon sub in this recipe. I dry fry it, then bake it on a low temperature to dry it out (which is why I don’t list a bake time).  Once the pasta and sauce is done, the “bacon” should be sufficiently dry. By dicing it up, you get little explosions of smoky, salty flavor.

The black salt, or kala namak, it an essential part of this dish if you want that eggy flavor.  Kala namak has a sulfurous smell and flavor (just like eggs). The amount I used doesn’t overwhelm the senses; it’s just enough to give a hint.  

If you pack this dish for leftovers, you may notice that the sauce becomes dries out.  This is typical of cashew cream dishes. It will become more creamy once reheated and an added splash of water will go along way in restoring the original texture.  

This recipe is not exactly low in calories.  Every ingredient is fairly calorie-dense (when compared to other plant-based foods).  If you’re concerned about your weight, I would recommend making a big salad and eating a large serving of it before moving on to the pasta.  You’ll have less room in your stomach to indulge in a bunch of creamy pasta (and, bonus, leftovers for tomorrow!).

Surprisingly, this recipe is one of the simplest that I’ve created and it’s by far one of my favorites.  I rarely toot my own horn, but the second I tasted this I was long “HOLY SH*T THIS IS AMAZING.” I hope you have the same reaction ;).

Happy cooking,

Courtney