Vegan Pesto Spaghetti Squash Bake

This heavenly vegan dish is a cross between lasagna and baked ziti… Minus the pasta, cheese and marinara. Instead, you’ll be learning how to roast spaghetti squash and the art of making vegan cheese; in this case, it’s tofu “ricotta.” Using dairy free pesto puts a fresh twist on tradition making this vegan pesto spaghetti squash bake innovative without sacrificing flavor.

Baked Vegan Pesto Spaghetti Squash

• Prep Time:1 hour
• Cook Time:30 minutes
• Total Time:1 hour 30 minutes
• Servings:9
• Medium

Ingredients

• 2 spaghetti squash
• 1/2 cup vegan pesto
• 1 block pressed firm tofu
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese
• 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds. Brush the insides with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt.

• Step 2

  Line a baking tray and place squash with the flesh facing down. Loosely cover with aluminum foil and roast for 45 minutes.

  

• Step 3

  While the squash are roasting, make the “ricotta.” Place tofu, nutritional yeast, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon pesto, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into a blender or food processor.

  

• Step 4

  Pulse until consistency resembles conventional ricotta cheese.

  

• Step 5

  When the squash comes out of the oven, begin loosening flesh with a fork in a scraping motion.

  

• Step 6

  Using a baking dish, begin layering. Start with the flesh of one of the squash halves. Dollop tofu “ricotta” and pesto, then move onto another layer of squash.

  

• Step 7

  Continue this process until all the squash is used. I always have some tofu ricotta leftover, it gets repurposed into dishes later in the week.

  

• Step 8

  Sprinkle the top with 1/4 cup vegan parmesan cheese. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes loosely covered with aluminum foil.