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serving a piece of the marry me tofu
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5 from 18 votes

Marry Me Tofu Bake

Marry me tofu bake is like a high protein plant-based lasagna style bake. Tofu, creamy smoky sauce, spinach sun-dried tomato tofu ricotta, and no pasta! It is a layered tofu bake like my tofu parmigiana. Easy to make all in one baking dish!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: casserole, dinner, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: fusion
Keyword: marry me tofu
Servings: 4
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the Tofu

  • 15 ounces firm or extra-firm tofu pressed for at least 15 minutes and sliced into 12 or more slices

For the Smoky Marry Me Cream Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons raw cashews soaked for 10 minutes, or use hemp seeds for nutfree
  • 2 ounces firm tofu
  • 10 ounces pasta sauce or marinara sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

For the Spinach ricotta Filling

  • 8 ounces frozen spinach thawed, lightly squeezed, and then weighed
  • 2 ounces firm tofu
  • 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomato
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Topping

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs use gluten-free if needed
  • vegan parmesan, or mozzarella optional
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil for drizzling

Optional Veggies Additions

  • 4 ounces sliced mushrooms or thinly sliced vegetables such as peppers or zucchini
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Press and slice the tofu if you haven't already. The tofu for the sauce and spinach filling don’t need to be pressed. Just slice and set aside. Slice up your vegetables or mushrooms, if using, and set them aside.
  • To make the creamy sauce, add all sauce ingredients to a blender with 1/2 cup of water. Blend for 1 minute, let sit for 2–3 minutes, then blend again for 30 seconds until, repeating until creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add 2 to 3 more tablespoons of water at a time and blend again. Set aside.
  • To make the filling, add the spinach to a bowl and crumble the tofu into it. Add the remaining filling ingredients and mix well, pressing slightly to combine. Set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). In an 8x10” or similar-sized baking dish, spread some of the creamy pasta sauce at the bottom using a spatula. Layer in some vegetables, if using. Add a layer of tofu slices, spacing them about 1/2”, so the the filling can get between the tofu slices. Top with the spinach ricotta mixture, then add another layer of creamy sauce, followed by more mushrooms or vegetables, another tofu layer, and more spinach ricotta mixture topped with dollops of any remaining sauce. Depending on the size of your baking dish, you make get 1, 2, or 3 layers of the tofu, so do one more layer of sauce, tofu, and spinach ricotta mixture, if you have more. Add a few spoons of the smoky sauce on top.
  • Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top along with some black pepper, red pepper flakes, if you like, and the optional vegan parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, place a piece of parchment paper over the dish, so the top doesn’t get overly golden or dry out.
  • Remove the pan from the oven, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, slice and serve this hot and delicious marry me tofu as is or garnished with fresh basil, and serve with toasted sourdough, over pasta, or however you like.

Video

Notes

If you have sauce left after adding the dollops on top, rinse out the blender with 1-2 tbsp water, pour it around the sides of the baking dish.
To make this gluten-free, omit the breadcrumbs or use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
For a nut-free version, use hemp seeds or a mix of hemp and pumpkin seeds for the sauce, and make sure that your vegan cheese is nut-free. 
For soy-free, use cooked lasagna sheets or chickpea tofu instead of tofu and make sure the vegan cheese is soy-free. When omitting the tofu in the filling, replace it with more vegan cheese or chickpea flour tofu. When you omit the tofu in the sauce, add 1 more tablespoon of cashews for extra creaminess.
Add Pasta or lasagna: you can add cooked pasta or lasagna along with tofu or instead of tofu. Depending on the volume, double the sauce, add a bit more water to the sauce to make a thinner sauce with pasta, layer and bake. 
Store: Assemble and refrigerate for upto 3 days and bake when needed. You can also refrigerate the baked dish for upto 3 days. Reheat in the oven for 10 mins or microwave.
Freeze baking dish after assembly without breadcrumbs. Cover tightly with foil or parchment or other wrap. Bake from the freezer for 40 minutes or longer. Deeper dish will take longer to bake from frozen. 

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 689mg | Potassium: 726mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7316IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 299mg | Iron: 5mg