Vegan Rasta Pasta

This Jamaican-style Vegan Rasta Pasta recipe is packed with bold, jerk flavors! Penne pasta is tossed with a creamy coconut milk sauce before being finished with tender mixed bell peppers and spicy chunks of firm, crispy tofu. Created by Lorraine Washington at the Paradise Yard restaurant in Jamaica in 1985, the red, green and yellow bell peppers mimic the color of the Rastafarian flag!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• This Vegan Rasta Pasta recipe has all the delicious Caribbean-inspired flavors of Jamaican Jerk seasoning and bell peppers, but served in an Italian-style pasta dish! It’s the perfect dinnertime fusion recipe we just know the kids will love (if they don’t mind a little spice!)
• That being said, the heat-level of this Rasta Pasta dish can easily be adjusted by choosing a milder or a spicier brand of Jerk seasoning.

Chef’s Tips

• If you don’t have a bag of penne pasta to hand, any short pasta shape will work in this recipe including fusilli pasta and rigatoni.
• If your grocery store does not carry Jerk seasoning, you can easily make your own! You can also use it to make our Jerk Chicken Tacos and Jerk Chicken Alfredo if the recipe being plant-based or not does not matter to you. But, both of these recipes can also be adapted and will be still be delicious made with tofu!

More Weeknight Pasta Recipes You’ll Love

• Easy Tomato Tofu Pasta
• Firebirds’ Chicken Pasta Copycat
• Baked Spaghetti Alfredo Recipe
• Jerk Chicken Alfredo Pasta
• Meatless Pasta Napoletana Recipe
• Copycat Rattlesnake Pasta Recipe

Vegan Rasta Pasta

This deliciously creamy Vegan Rasta Pasta recipe is full of bold, Jamaican-style flavors with coconut milk, mixed bell pepper and Jerk-seasoned crispy tofu.

• 1 pound dried penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or vegetable oil – half for tofu, half for pasta)
• 1 block extra firm tofu (approx 14-16 ounces, pressed then cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 3 tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning (half for tofu, half for sauce)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chopped green onions
• 1 green bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 red bell pepper (sliced)
• 1 orange or yellow bell pepper (sliced)
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 ½ cups full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup vegetarian stock
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 5 tablespoons cold water

1. Cook the pasta to just al dente. Drain and set aside, keep the pot for making the sauce.

2. Toss tofu in jerk seasoning until coated. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add tofu. Cook until browned on sides, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Return pan to heat and add 1 tablespoon more oil. Sauté bell peppers and green onions until softened, about 5 minutes.

4. Add garlic and cook 30-60s stirring constantly until fragrant. Add jerk seasoning and toss to coat.

5. To the pasta-cooking pot, add the stock. Mix with the cornstarch slurry made by mixing the cornstarch with the cold water to thicken. Return the pasta to the pot.

6. Once it has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce thickens slightly and the pasta has cooked a bit more, about 5-8 minutes.

7. Toss in veggies and tofu then divide between serving bowls.

If you don’t have a bag of penne pasta to hand, any short pasta shape will work in this recipe including fusilli pasta and rigatoni.

Leftovers can easily be microwaved, but the tofu might lose some of it’s crispness, and you’ll want to add a splash of water where some of the sauce will have absorbed into the pasta. 

Main Course

American

family dinner, family favorite, pasta night, vegan dinner, vegan meal