Jessica
This Italian sheet pan dinner is ready in 30 minutes, creates hardly any dishes and is full of perfectly seasoned tofu and veggies. While everything is roasting make a quick pesto to top of the dish.
A note on some of the ingredients:
Light tamari sauce: I prefer the taste of light tamari opposed to regular tamari sauce but either can be used in this recipe. Some substitutions that would also work are gluten free soy sauce or balsamic vinegar. If using balsamic vinegar skip the apple cider vinegar in the tofu marinade.
Extra firm tofu: When roasting tofu extra firm is always the best as it has a much lower water content. I don’t press my tofu but I do wrap it in a paper towel and gently squeeze the block of tofu to get a little excess water out. I highly recommend tearing the tofu into 1 inch pieces as opposed to chopping it. When tofu is torn the rough edges help to create more texture which gives it more crunch when it is cooked.
Italian seasoning: You can buy premade Italian seasoning or you can make your own. I usually make my own because it is more cost effective. You can find my recipe for Italian seasoning here. It is also great to add to salad dressings or roasted potatoes.
Fresh veggies: In this recipe I use mini potatoes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and green beans however any vegetable you have on hand would work. Some good vegetables to use are red peppers and zucchini. Be aware of the roast time, smaller veggies like green beans don’t need as long to cook.
Nutritional yeast: Nutritional yeast is used in the pesto in place of regular cheese to make this dish vegan. It is an inactive yeast that has a cheesy, umami flavour. It is naturally gluten free and can usually be found in the natural section of a grocery store.
Lemon juice: A small amount of lemon juice helps to add freshness to the pesto. If you don’t have lemon juice on hand some good substitutes are white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
How the Italian sheet pan dinner is made:
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Ensure that the baking sheets are large enough that all of the tofu and veggies can be spread out evenly.
In a large bowl add the light tamari, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar and half of the Italian seasoning. Tear the tofu into 1 inch pieces and add them to the bowl. Set aside the tofu and then chop the vegetables. You can also prepare the tofu up to a day ahead of time if you wish.
While the tofu is marinating chop the potatoes, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Keep in mind that smaller pieces cook faster.
Spread the tofu onto one of the prepared baking sheets and add the veggies to the same bowl the tofu was in. Add extra virgin olive oil, the rest of the Italian seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and toss everything together.
Spread the veggies evenly onto the second baking sheet. Put the tofu and the veggies in the oven for 20 minutes.
While the meal is roasting prepare the green beans by cutting off the ends and chopping them in half. Set aside.
To make the pesto, in a large food processor add the clove of garlic and the basil. Run the food processor for no more than 30 seconds to finely chop the garlic and basil.
Add in the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and nutritional yeast. Run the food processor and while it is running slowly pour in the lemon juice, olive oil and up to 3 tablespoons of water. Stop and scrape down the sides when needed. The finished pesto will be the consistency of salad dressing. Store the pesto in an air tight container in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
After 15 to 20 minutes in the oven, toss the tofu and the veggies. Add the prepared green beans where there is room and return the baking sheets to the oven for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. When done the tofu and potatoes will be crispy.
The Italian sheet pan dinner is ready! Serve with the pesto and enjoy!
Italian sheet pan dinner
An easy dinner with tofu and veggies roasted on a sheet pan, topped with a fresh and flavourful pesto.
2
servings10
minutes30
minutes434
kcal40
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 package of extra firm tofu (350g), torn into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp light tamari
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 tsp Italian seasoning, divided
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 lb mini potatoes, sliced in 1 inch pieces (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
5 mushrooms, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3/4 cup fresh green beans, ends cut off, sliced in half
1/2 tsp salt
- Pesto
1 cup fresh basil, lightly packed
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 small clove of garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp each: salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Tear the tofu into 1 inch pieces and add to a medium bowl. Add in the tamari, 1 tbsp olive oil, apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp of the Italian seasoning. Toss until the tofu is covered and spread out evenly onto one of the prepared baking sheets.
- To the same bowl add the chopped potatoes, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Toss with 1 tbsp of olive oil, 2 tsp of Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of salt. Spread the veggies onto the second prepared sheet pan.
- After the tofu and veggies have been roasting for 20 minutes toss everything and add the green beans to the veggie sheet pan. Roast for an additional 10 minutes.
- For the Pesto
- In a food processor add the garlic clove and the fresh basil. Run the food processor for 30 seconds until the garlic and basil have been chopped.
- To the food processor add the nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and lemon juice. Run the food processor, stopping to scrape the sides if required.
- While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the olive oil and 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the pesto is the consistency of a salad dressing. Store in a covered jar in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
- Nutritional information is a rough estimate.
- Nutritional information does not include the pesto.
- The pesto can be made ahead of time and stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Nutrition Facts
- Total number of serves: 2
- Calories: 434kcal
- Carbohydrates: 36.2g
- Protein: 21.7g
- Fat: 23.4g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 6.8g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 12.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 333.5mg
- Potassium: 1515.1mg
- Fiber: 7.4g
- Sugar: 5.6g
