The best vegan comfort food recipe
These meaty vegan stuffed shells have everything we crave. They have a tangy homemade meat sauce that is packed with flavor. The meatiness comes from a meatless ground "beef" mince that is almost imperceptible as vegan. Rich, decadent cheesiness is the result of combining crumbled tofu with creamy blended cashews. A light dusting of vegan cheese completes this insanely comforting meal. I challenge you to make this for your family's biggest meat lover. They will most certainly devour this vegan comfort food with abandon because it is delicious.
What is vegan "meat"?
There are so many vegan meat substitutes on the market these days. Many are so realistic that they even look like, taste like and cook like meat! I am usually a meat substitute skeptic because I do not really miss meat much at all. Plus I do not love the processed nature of these foods. However, in developing this recipe, I used a ground meat substitute and I must confess. It was absolutely glorious! In this recipe I used Impossible meat. This is not a sponsored ad, I just wanted to make a meat sauce that was as meaty as possible while still being vegan. Here are the facts about Impossible meat . Most meat substitutes are soy based, have a decent amount of oils, starches and things that are not necessarily whole Foods. If that bothers you, simply skip the "meat" in this meaty vegan stuffed shells recipe.
How do you make it look and taste cheesy?
These meaty vegan stuffed shells are unbelievably cheesy and decadent. The filling is made by combining crumbled tofu with nutritional yeast, hemp hearts and blended cashews. The blended cashews give this such a creamy and delicious mouth feel. It really feels and tastes just like ricotta cheese! The nutritional yeast gives it an umami flavor that tastes quite a bit like parmesan cheese. LastlyI finished it off with a light dusting of vegan cheese. It is really important when working with vegan cheeses to keep it light. They give a great nuance of cheese with their melty texture but if you go too heavy as if it is really dairy the texture gets unpleasantly sticky and tacky. I used GOODPLANet FOODS smoked gouda to give this a cheesy texture and decadent feel. I really like the flavor of their vegan cheeses but you can use any you like.
Ingredients for meaty vegan stuffed shells
These ingredients are mostly basic pantry ingredients. Feel free to substitute spinach for the kale if you prefer. And omit the fake meat if you do not eat processed foods. Instead, a good substitute would be a can of cooked lentils or even some tempeh that has been blitzed in a blender until it has the texture of ground beef.
- yellow onion
- garlic
- baby bell peppers
- olive oil
- vegan ground beef
- firm tofu
- nutritional yeast
- hemp hearts
- crushed tomatoes canned
- italian seasoning
- tsp salt
- turbinado sugar optional
- raw cashews
- water
- kale
- vegan cheese
- large shell pasta
- black pepper
Instructions
This meaty vegan stuffed shells recipe is a bit more involved than my usual pasta recipes. I assure you that it is still fairly simple but it involves quite a bit of preparation. That is why I consider this the perfect weekend or Holiday recipe. If you start it after lunch you will have a glorious baked pasta dinner.
- First, Make the sauce. In a large saucepan over medium heat add the oil. Once hot, add the garlic, onions and peppers and cook for 5 minutes until fragrant and browning. Add the vegan "ground beef", season with a pinch of salt and break it apart into small pieces in the pan and cook until it turns brown and solid just like beef does. It will take about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and sugar if using. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Cook the pasta according to the box, drain well and rinse with cold water so that it is easy to handle. Reserve until the assembly step.
- Make the "ricotta" in a large bowl by combining tofu, nutritional yeast, hemp hearts, and kale. Blend the cashews and water in a blender until creamy and pourable and add to the bowl with the tofu and other ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 375
- Assemble the shells. In an oven safe lasagna pan place several ladle fulls of sauce on the bottom of the pan to nest the filled shells on. Using a scoop or tablespoon fill each cooked shell with about 1 oz of the tofu ricotta filling. Continue until all the shells are filled. Top with remaining sauce and vegan shredded cheese. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Optional bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered if you like crispy pasta edges.
- Serve piping hot and garnish with fresh black pepper.
- Enjoy for up to 5 days when stored properly in the refrigerator. Or freeze and enjoy for up to 3 months.
More incredible vegan pasta recipes
Meaty Vegan Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 6 baby bell peppers multicolor, seeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 16 oz vegan ground beef any brand you like.. I used Impossible
- 16 oz firm tofu crumbled
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- 22 oz crushed tomatoes canned
- 1 tbsp italian seasoning
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp turbinado sugar optional
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 3 hours or overnight
- ¾ cup water
- 2 cup kale stemmed and shredded small
- 1 cup vegan cheese I used smoked gouda
- 16 oz large shell pasta
- 1 ea black pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, Make the sauce. In a large saucepan over medium heat add the oil. Once hot, add the garlic, onions and peppers and cook for 5 minutes until fragrant and browning. Add the vegan "ground beef", season with a pinch of salt and break it apart into small pieces in the pan and cook until it turns brown and solid just like beef does. It will take about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and sugar if using. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Cook the pasta according to the box, drain well and rinse with cold water so that it is easy to handle. Reserve until the assembly step.
- Make the "ricotta" in a large bowl by combining tofu, nutritional yeast, hemp hearts, and kale. Blend the cashews and water in a blender until creamy and pourable and add to the bowl with the tofu and other ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 375
- Assemble the shells. In an oven safe lasagna pan place several ladle fulls of sauce on the bottom of the pan to nest the filled shells on. Using a scoop or tablespoon fill each cooked shell with about 1 oz of the tofu ricotta filling. Continue until all the shells are filled. Top with remaining sauce and vegan shredded cheese. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Optional bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered if you like crispy pasta edges.
- Serve piping hot and garnish with fresh black pepper.
- Enjoy for up to 5 days when stored properly in the refrigerator. Or freeze and enjoy for up to 3 months.