Vegan Stuffed Shells

This recipe is so tasty!  You will never know that it is vegan.  Typical stuffed shells can be loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat from cheeses and cream.  This recipe takes out all of the animal products resulting in a lighter, healthier dish for your family.  The added tofu is so nutritious, adding tons of healthy protein (much more than the traditional recipe made with ricotta cheese), and no one will ever know that there is tofu in this dish.  I have fooled many non-vegan, non-vegetarian people with this recipe!  It is an added bonus that my toddler loved it and ate every last bite!   Just give it a try...You will be glad you did.

Ingredients:
1 box of dried jumbo pasta shells
1 large container of pasta sauce, preferably low sodium
Tofu Ricotta:

• 2 packages (14oz each) water-packed tofu, firm or extra firm
• a few handfuls of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup soy sour cream (Tofutti brand is good) or soy mayonnaise (Vegenaise brand is good) or Aioli sauce (recipe at bottom of page)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used cane sugar, since it is less refined)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

Daiya dairy free mozzarella style shredded cheese (optional)

(All these ingredients are regularly available at my local Kroger store in the organic/health foods section, so they are not difficult to find ingredients)

Directions:

Cook shells until al dente, drain and cool.

Meanwhile prepare tofu ricotta as follows:

• drain excess water from tofu.  Mash tofu with potato masher.  Add remaining ingredients to tofu and mix well.  

Prepare a 13 x 9-inch pan by spraying with cooking spray and lining the bottom with a thin layer of pasta sauce.

When shells are cool to the touch, spoon tofu ricotta mixture to fill each shell.  Place shell seam side down into prepared cooking dish.  When dish is full, pour remaining pasta sauce over the top of the shells, making sure to coat all of the shells. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 for ~25-30 minutes.  If desired, remove after ~20 minutes and place Diaya dairy-free cheese on top of shells and return to the oven, uncovered for ~5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve with a tossed salad or steamed green veggies for a complete meal.  Enjoy!

If you do not have any Dairy-free sour cream or mayo on hand, you can make something similar as follows:
Recipe for Aioli (a creamy condiment similar to dairy free mayo or sour cream):

1 cup soymilk

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 cup oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Place milk, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in blender.  Blend on high, slowly drizzle in oil with machine running (drizzling slowly is the key.  It should take ~1 minute to add the oil).  Pour mixture into a bowl.  Gently fold in lemon juice.  Refrigerate until thickened.  This recipe makes 2 cups.

Recipe taken from: Give Them Something Better by Sarah Frain & Stephanie Howard.