Name: Vegan Spaghetti Carbonara
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 300 g spaghetti; 120 ml pasta cooking water ((reserved when draining the pasta)); 1 tbsp olive oil; 150 g smoked tofu (diced); ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 tsp mixed herbs; 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped or minced); 1 tbsp soy sauce; 300 g silken tofu (blended completely smooth); 4 tbsp nutritional yeast; 1 tbsp lemon juice (or cider vinegar); ¼ tsp turmeric (optional)

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You’ll love this easy vegan carbonara that’s ready in just 15 minutes. Flavourful smoked tofu pieces and smooth silken tofu are the secret to its delicious creamy sauce.

A fork lifts spaghetti from a plate of creamy carbonara

Spaghetti carbonara in its traditional form is probably the most un-vegan pasta dish ever!

It’s usually made with meat, some type of cheese or cream (or both) and eggs.

So, is it very tricky to veganise carbonara? Not at all!

There is one simple solution: Tofu!

Ingredient tips

Here’s what you’ll find in our easy vegan carbonara:

Spaghetti is traditional, but you can also use other pastas such as fettuccine or linguine. Whole wheat or gluten free spaghetti works too.
Smoked tofu is our favourite way to make the yummy vegan bacon bits which are fried in olive oil. If you already have some vegan bacon, you can use that instead of the smoked tofu.
Dried herbs bring a nice flavourful touch.
Garlic might not be a traditional ingredient in an authentic Italian carbonara, but we find it a very tasty addition to boost the flavour.
Soy sauce seasons the smoky tofu and brings umami.
Silken tofu is the base to the silky & creamy sauce.
Nutritional yeast brings some cheesiness to the sauce.
Lemon juice adds a bit of tanginess.
And an optional pinch of turmeric gives the yellow hue that you expect from a carbonara.

Ingredients for the vegan carbonara - a block of silken tofu, diced smoked tofu, a bunch of spaghetti, garlic cloves, herbs, half a lemon, soy sauce and nutritional yeast.

At first glance, tofu might not seem like the most obvious choice for such a rich, creamy and meaty dish.

But not all tofu is alike. We use two different types of tofu in our vegan spaghetti carbonara to come as close as possible to the real thing, and neither of them is your standard plain tofu block.

Firm smoked tofu is an absolutely amazing substitute for bacon and ham. Cube it or cut it into thin slices, fry it in some olive oil or vegan ‘butter’, and it works magic!

When smoked tofu is fried golden-brown, it gets super chewy and crisp, just like bacon! If you haven’t discovered smoked tofu as veggie bacon, now is the time!

Smoked tofu pieces on top of the silken tofu sauce

And silken tofu does a brilliant job in the sauce. I regret underrating this versatile type of tofu for years after trying it the first time. It was in a restaurant, and it was literally just a bland, wobbly block of silken tofu sitting on top of some vegetables.

However, this is not what you should judge silken tofu by!

In fact, it has become my absolute favourite thing to use in place of any type of cream cheese, sour cream and the like. We love it in our Easy Vegan Tiramisu!

Silken tofu can be bought in carton packs, and then it has a great shelf life without refrigeration. It’s one of the vegan pantry staples we always have on hand.

You can simply stir the fragile blocks for a more grainy, curdled texture, but we often blend it up for super smooth and silken, creamy sauces.

A large frying pan full of spaghetti in a creamy sauce and tofu bits.

Step by step

This vegan tofu carbonara recipe is really simple and comes together in a few easy steps. You'll find the recipe card below, but here is a visual overview of how to make it:

Step 1 - Put on a big pan of lightly salted water to boil the spaghetti in. Then by the time they are al dente, the sauce will be ready to mix it in to!

Cubes of smoked tofu frying in olive oil.

Step 2 - For the sauce, start by frying the smoked tofu cubes in some olive oil.

Dried herbs and garlic are added to the tofu.

Step 3 - When the tofu cubes get golden, add some dried herbs and finely chopped garlic,

Adding soy sauce to the tofu, garlic and herbs.

Step 4 - After a minute we add a splash of soy sauce.

Adding nutritional yeast and blended silken tofu to make the creamy sauce.

Step 5 - Next we add the blended silken tofu, along with a bit of tangy lemon juice, some nutritional yeast and a pinch of turmeric for colour.

Add the spaghetti to the carbonara sauce.

Step 6 - At this point, the spaghetti should be just about done as well. Drain it and make sure to reserve some of the starchy pasta cooking water. Stir some of it into the sauce, then add in the spaghetti and mix it all together. You can adjust the creaminess of the sauce by adding a bit more of the starchy water until you reach the desired consistency.

Variations and substitutions

Here’s some ideas for how you can make this vegan carbonara your own:

Instead of smoked tofu, you can make our yummy vegan bacon from plain tofu, or use a shop bought plant-based bacon.

Add some veggies! For some tasty greens you can add broccoli or peas - you can even add them into the pasta whilst it cooks or steam them on top. Fried onions or mushrooms are yummy too.

Some fresh herbs or dried tomatoes is also a nice bonus.

For a bit of warm heat add a spoonful of dijon mustard to the sauce.

Use some kala namak (also known as black salt) for some ‘eggy’ taste. Sprinkle a little over the sauce at the end for the strongest flavour.