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On Friday when I posted my favorite way to make tofu, I told you guys that I would be sharing my FAVORITE way to use that tofu. Well, here it is! This is a plant based powerhouse meal. Spaghetti squash, bell peppers, arugula and tofu, all covered in a mouthwatering spicy peanut sauce (don’t worry, the spiciness is optional and customizeable).
This is actually based on a recipe from Macheesmo, and it is something that we have been making for a few years. For a while we were cutting way back on our meat consumption, so I started to sub tofu for the chicken. And then I started to try to replace bread and pasta with veggies in some of my recipes, so I decided to use spaghetti squash instead of noodles. I made a few tweaks to the sauce and this became my version of the dish!
This meal is also pretty quick to come together, so it is a great weeknight meal when you want something healthy and filling but you don’t want to spend forever cooking. If you remember, I mentioned in my Spaghetti Squash Ants in Trees post that I usually microwave the spaghetti squash so it doesn’t take very long to cook. Did anyone catch my quick little tutorial on Snapchat? I have been posting more behind the scenes stuff and extra quick tutorials there, so be sure to check it out! You never know what I will be posting on a given day. It may be a tutorial, some behind the scenes shots or just pictures of my cats (they are super cute. Just saying). Add me by searching foxandbriar in Snapchat.
You can see step by step instructions on how to prepare the spaghetti squash HERE and how to make the tofu HERE.
It is best to have everything ready to go when you start cooking because the actual cook time of the dish is pretty short. Usually my husband and I do this together, so one of us takes care of the tofu and sauce while the other does the spaghetti squash. If it is a one person operation that is just fine, you just want to make sure everything is ready to go before you start cooking the peppers.
One other important thing is that once you pour the peanut sauce into the pan you want to work fairly quickly. If you let it sit on high heat for too long it will start to congeal, which is not great. I usually turn the heat down as soon as I pour in the sauce, then quickly mix in the spaghetti squash noodles and remove from heat.
Spicy Peanut Tofu and Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash 4-6 cups prepared squash
- 14 ounces extra firm tofu
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 4 cups arugula
For The Sauce:
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce more or less to taste
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh grated ginger root
- 3-4 garlic cloves finely minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons warm water
Instructions
- Cut spaghetti squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place in microwave safe dish and cook for ½-20 minutes until done or cook spaghetti squash your favorite way (See link above for more detail on my favorite way). When spaghetti squash is done, shred into "noodles", place in a colander lined with paper towels and set aside.
- While spaghetti squash is cooking, whisk together all ingredients for the sauce except for the water. After everything is mixed together, add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk together until smooth. Set sauce aside.
- Prepare the tofu by pressing to remove the water. Slice the tofu lengthwise through the center (like a book), then slice into about 24 small rectangles. (See link above for more detailed instructions and photos on how I like to slice tofu)
- Lay the slices of tofu on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel. Press with your hands to remove more water.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the tofu and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Flip and continue to cook on all four sides until they are crispy and golden brown. Remove the tofu and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in the same pan. When hot, add the red bell peppers and quickly stir fry for a few minutes until they are starting to get a little seared and are softening. Add the tofu back into the pan and cook for a minute, just to get it hot again. Turn heat to low, pour in the peanut sauce, and quickly stir everything together, so that all the tofu and peppers are covered in sauce. Don't let it sit too long or the sauce will start to congeal.
- Add the spaghetti squash "noodles" and toss to incorporate and fully cover in sauce. Remove from heat as soon as everything is mixed together. Serve right away over a bed of arugula.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adapted from Macheesmo
What do you do to get more plants into your diet?
Great recipe. Be careful not to overcook the squash as I did. Don’t use all of the sauce as you may want less (and the size of your squash may determine how much sauce you use). I used kale and cooked it down just past wilted after adding the tofu back in, and skipped arugula as I had none.
So glad you liked it!
WOW! this was delicious even my meat loving partner loved it too!
I’m so glad to hear that!
LOVE THIS RECIPE used my veggetti and substituted spaghetti squash for carrots, zucchini, onion, nappa cabbage, and yellow squash. It is truly wonderful.
I will be making this again and again. Thank you 🖒😄😊💃💞
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I’m not even a vegetarian and this is DELICIOUS! IM DEFINITELY going to make this again!
Yay! So happy to hear that! I’m not a vegetarian either, but it is one of my favorite meatless dishes! Thanks M’Ria!
This looks good. I have only tried making peanut sauce once and it was too thick. I will try this one. I saw that you said it starts to congeal so maybe I cooked it too long.
Oh yes, that does happen sometimes. Since you add a little water to this, you can thin it to your preference. This has quite a bit of liquid in it already, so I would say make it with the measurements listed, then if it still seems too think add just a little more water. I find that two tablespoons off water is perfect, but sometimes you need to add more or less depending on how all the other ingredients have come together.
Eeeee! I am obsessed with spaghetti squash EVERYTHING this time of year! So I am tooootally digging this dish! Love the spice, tofu, veggies and peanut sauce! This is a winner for sure! Cheers and thanks for sharing the YUM! 😉
Thank you Cheyanne! I share the spaghetti squash obsession as well, it is the best!
OMGoodness!! This is amazing~~and I love how you & your Hubby enjoy preparing meals
together!!
Super Yummy & very cool !~❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️?
Thank you! We do have fun cooking together 🙂 <3
Nutty, spicy, sweet goodness. I love this.
Thank you, I’m glad you like it 🙂