Vegan Southern Soul Bowl

This plant-based, comfort food bowl - or plate - is loaded with all your southern food faves. Vegan cheesy shells, collards, cornbread and baked bbq tofu.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: people

Author: Kathy Patalsky

Equipment

large soup pot
blender
skillet
baking sheet
mixing bowl
cornbread pan

Ingredients

Cornbread:

cornbread recipe here prep ahead of time for ease

Collards:

1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
4 cups collard greens chopped - about one bunch
2 cloves garlic chopped
1-2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

BBQ Tofu:

10 oz tofu firm - cubed
1 cup vegan barbecue sauce DIY or bottled (recipe in notes)

Cheesy Sauce:

¾ cup sweet potato baked - mashed - skin removed -- 1 small potato
4-5 tablespoon vegan butter
1-2 cloves garlic
⅓ cup nutritional yeast
½ cup pasta water + add more to blend if needed
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon turmeric for color - optional
¼ cup vegan cheddar cheese shreds optional

Other:

3 cups pasta shells

Instructions

Cornbread

For ease, I advise making the cornbread ahead of time if possible. This way you can just grab and slice. You can use an easy vegan mix, or follow the recipe linked in notes.

BBQ Tofu

Preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the tofu cubes with the bbq sauce. then transfer the cubes and sauce to the baking sheet. Spread in a thin layer, so the cubes do not overlap or cover eachother.
Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat and let tofu rest for a few minutes before serving.

Cheesy Shells

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta shells. Cook until tender - make sauce while boiling.
Microwave your sweet potato for 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Remove skin. Mash and measure out about ¾ cups. You can serve any leftover as another side dish.
Add all the cheesy sauce ingredients to a blender and blend from low to high until smooth.
Drain pasta and pour most of the cheesy sauce over top the pasta. Stir to combine and fluff. Set aside in a warm pot with a lid on.

Collards

You can start your collards while your pasta is boiling - since they only take a few minutes. Add your olive oil and garlic to a skillet over high heat. When oil is hot, add in the collards. Toss a bit with the oil and garlic. Then turn off heat and cover the collards with a lid - even a heavy lid will work. Let them sit for five minutes, then add the cider vinegar and salt and pepper - toss to combine - they should be nicely wilted at this point.

Assemble Plate

Add the tofu, collards, cheesy pasta and cornbread to each plate and serve!

Notes

my cornbread recipe
my BBQ sauce recipe
cooking speed note: all these dishes can be made at the same time. Start with the pasta or tofu since they will take more time to cook/boil, then move onto the sauce and collards as the tofu and pasta cook.
Prepping the cornbread ahead of time - or as the very first step will help in cooking speed and ease.

Nutrition Estimate