Are Protein Sauce Hacks Actually Doing Anything for Us?
Influencers are telling you to blend silken tofu into every sauce, but that doesn’t mean you should.
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Every time I think the protein craze has reached its peak, it hits a new high. Last year, there were the supercharged protein bars and then the protein dirty sodas. This summer, there were protein seltzers. And now, there are food influencers telling you that blending silken tofu into whatever sauce you’re making is a totally normal and obvious thing to do.
In a viral Instagram reel, creator @vegan_punks shows us that silken tofu can be blended into sauces and used in all kinds of classic dishes, from Dan Dan noodles to mac and cheese to Caesar salad dressing. And honestly? It all looks pretty good. Because silken tofu is soft and moist, it takes on a super smooth texture when blended which probably works just fine in most sauces. And since it’s quite bland, I believe these influencers when they say that it doesn’t alter the taste of the sauce too much.
But just because you can blend silken tofu (or another protein-rich food) into sauce, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. Here are some things to consider.
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Silken tofu adds protein to sauces. But not that much!
When you see tofu on an ingredient list, you probably think of protein. And yes, tofu is a good source of plant-based protein that’s been a part of many Asian cuisines for millenia.
But truthfully, blending a serving of tofu into your alfredo isn’t going change the nutrition breakdown all that much. “While incorporating tofu into a pasta sauce does add protein, the overall impact is minimal,” says Megan Shawver, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and my colleague at Ruby Oak Nutrition.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Central Database, silken tofu has 4.4 grams of protein per serving (one fifth of the package). Sure, it’s something, but you could add six grams of protein to a dish by garnishing with an ounce of mozzarella cheese or adding an egg on top, both of which might fit better with the dish you’re cooking. But even then, you’ll fall short of the 15-to-20-gram protein minimum that most experts recommend for a meal, so you should still prioritize adding additional protein sources to the meal.
Blending cottage cheese can add more protein, but it’ll also affect the flavor.
Before this silken tofu “hack,” people were adding cottage cheese to sauces, baked goods and other recipes. From a protein standpoint, this has a bigger impact: 12 grams of protein for every half cup of cottage cheese. The catch? Cottage cheese adds a tangy, slightly cheesy flavor that doesn’t work with every dish, whereas silken tofu is relatively flavorless and better at flying under the radar.
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There are some benefits to adding ingredients like tofu and cottage cheese to dishes.
In addition to protein, “you'll get extra vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc from tofu, and calcium, vitamin B12, and selenium from cottage cheese,” says Stephanie Van’t Zelfden, RD, a dietitian and the owner of Nutrition Hungry. She also points out that even a small protein boost can be helpful in reducing the impact that a carb-rich meal has on your blood sugar, and can be great for people with high protein needs, like athletes. For plant-based eaters, eating a variety of vegetarian or vegan protein sources helps with meeting protein and overall nutrient needs, and sauce hacks like this one are a creative way to do this.
Most people don’t need to add extra protein to their sauces, though.
“Even though there is so much noise about protein these days, the truth is most people are able to eat enough protein from their regular meals and snacks and don’t need to stress about maximizing protein in every bite,” Van’t Zelfden says.
Plus, stressing about packing as much protein as possible into every meal can negatively impact your relationship with food and your overall quality of life. Shawver recommends a simple reframe: Instead of saying to yourself, ‘I should blend extra protein into my sauces,’ say, ‘I could blend extra protein into my sauces.’ You might want to try it as a way to boost your intake or add a different flavor or texture to your meals, but it’s not something you need to do to be healthy.
55 Tofu Recipes Everyone Will Devour 57 Photos
Whether you’re cooking for vegetarians or want to add more plant-based protein to your recipe rotation, these dishes, ranging from traditional to inventive, are sure to please.
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