What makes this the best vegan lasagna? How about layers of roasted veggies, zesty marinara sauce and creamy dairy-free basil ricotta! You won't miss the dairy in this hearty veganized version of an Italian classic.
I'm no stranger to vegan lasagna. I've even got a handful of lasagna recipes on this site, with various flavor variations and twists. Just check out my creamy vegan mushroom lasagna, vegan zucchini lasagna, vegan pumpkin lasagna, vegan lasagna roll-ups, and mushroom lentil lasagna. But sometimes you want a more traditional vegan lasagna, and that's what I'm sharing a recipe for today. And boy is it good, thanks to the killer marinara sauce, roasted veggies, and vegan basil ricotta!
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This is the recipe I make when I'm craving classic Italian flavor! It's super hearty, and absolutely delicious. This lasagna features a homemade vegan ricotta that you'd never guess was dairy-free, and instead of meat, LOTS of vibrant roasted veggies.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Dried lasagna noodles. Almost all dried pasta is vegan (yay!), but check the ingredients to be safe, and read my article on vegan pasta if you have any doubts or questions.
- Olive oil.
- Cremini mushrooms. Regular white button mushrooms can be substituted if needed.
- Red bell pepper. Orange or yellow bell peppers will also work. I don't recommend using a green bell pepper, which isn't as sweet.
- Zucchini. Yellow summer squash could be substituted for this, if you'd like.
- Salt & pepper.
- Raw cashews. These are for your vegan ricotta cheese, and it's really important that they're raw. Roasted cashews will make your cheese taste like cashew butter. You're going to be soaking your cashews in some water to soften them up, so they blend up smooth and creamy.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work. Try almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, or soy milk. Feeling overwhelmed by all the options? Read my guide to dairy-free milks.
- Garlic.
- Extra-firm tofu. Firm tofu will also work. If you're new to cooking with tofu, you can learn about it and all the varieties it comes in in my guide to tofu.
- Fresh basil.
- Lemon juice.
- Marinara sauce. I like to use my homemade marinara, but the jarred stuff works too.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll down if you'd prefer to skip right to the recipe!
Start cooking your pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then cook the noodles according to the package directions, and drain them when they're done.
Tip: Lasagna noodles tend to stick together if you leave them in the colander or pot after cooking. You can peel them apart, or, right after draining, arrange them flat on sheets of parchment paper. It's a little extra effort, but can save you some headache when it's time to assemble the lasagna.
Roast the Vegetables
Slice your mushrooms and arrange them in an even layer on a baking sheet. Rub them with some olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and pop them into the oven.
Chop the bell peppers and zucchini, and arrange them on another baking sheet, or two. Rub them with some oil, hit them with salt and pepper, and stick them in the oven with the mushrooms.
The mushrooms are done when they've shrunken and browned a bit.
The vegetables are done when they're tender and browned in spots.
Make the Ricotta
Place your soaked raw cashews into a food processor bowl, along with your non-dairy milk and garlic. Blend them up to create a smooth paste.
Add tofu, basil, lemon juice, and salt to the food processor, then pulse the machine until the mixture has a texture like ricotta cheese.
Assemble the Lasagna
Start by spreading some sauce into the bottom of your pan, followed by a layer of noodles, vegan ricotta, and veggies.
Repeat the layering arrangement, the finish the lasagna with another layer of sauce, a layer of noodles, and a final layer of sauce.
Cover the pan and bake the lasagna until the sauce is bubbly, then uncover it and bake it for ten minutes longer.
Let it sit for at least ten minutes out of the oven before you slice and serve it up!
I serve my lasagna with a sprinkle of homemade vegan Parmesan cheese.
Variations
- Spinach ricotta. Add a nine ounce package of frozen spinach to the ricotta mixture. Be sure to thaw it out and squeeze out as much moisture as you can before adding it!
- Vegan "meat" lasagna. Prefer a more traditional lasagna? Add a cup and a half of cooked vegan crumbles, such as Beyond Beef Crumbles of Gardein Ground B'ef to the sauce. Or simply swap out the marinara sauce with my vegan "meat" sauce. If you make one of these variations, you may need to omit the veggies or use a large pan.
- Switch up the sauce. Feel free to replace the marinara sauce with another vegan pasta sauce, such as my vegan vodka sauce or vegan Alfredo sauce.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan lasagna can be stored in the fridge, either in it's original baking dish and wrapped tightly in plastic, or in one or more airtight containers. It will keep for about three days. You can also freeze your leftovers in airtight containers for up to three months.
Frequently Asked Questions
It can! Just use your favorite gluten-free lasagna noodles.
I haven't tried the recipe with no-boil noodles, but I can't see why not!
Yes! The ricotta can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
You sure can! I recommend adding about a cup to the ricotta mixture, then topping the lasagna with another half cup to full cup. For the topping layer, try mixing it in just a bit with the sauce. This will help it melt. Store-bought vegan cheese is notoriously difficult to melt!
More Vegan Pasta Bakes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
The Best Vegan Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried lasagna noodles (9 to 12 noodles)
- Dash olive oil
For the Roasted Veggies
- 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 2 medium red bell peppers, diced
- 2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Vegan Ricotta
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10.5 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, (¾ of a 14 ounce package), drained and broken into 3 or 4 chunks
- ½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
For Assembling the Lasagna
- 6 cups marinara sauce
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook them according to the package directions.
- Drain the noodles into a colander, return them to the pot, and toss them with a few dashes of olive oil to prevent sticking.
To Roast the Veggies
- While the noodles boil, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Arrange the mushrooms in an even layer on a baking sheet, and arrange the bell peppers and zucchini in an even layer on one large or two medium-sized baking sheets.
- Drizzle the mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and drizzle the zucchini and peppers with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Gently use your hands to rub the oil into the veggies, distributing it evenly, then sprinkle the veggies with salt and pepper.
- Roast the vegetables until they're tender and browned in spots, for about 25 minutes. Remove them from the oven when they're done, but leave the oven on.
To Make the Vegan Ricotta
- While the veggies roast, place the cashews, milk, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade.
- Blend the ingredients to a smooth paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the tofu, basil, lemon juice and salt to the food processor bowl.
- Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped and the mixture has a chunky, ricotta cheese-like consistency.
- Taste-test and adjust the amount of salt and/or lemon juice if desired.
To Assemble the Lasagna
- Check to make sure the oven is still heated to 400°F.
- Ladle about 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
- Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce, to cover the bottom.
- Spread half of the ricotta over the noodles.
- Distribute half of the veggies over the ricotta.
- Repeat the layers of sauce, noodles, ricotta, and veggies one time.
- Top the veggies with another layer of sauce, followed by another layer of noodles, and then a final layer of sauce.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and bake it for about 40 minutes, until the sauce is very bubbly.
- Uncover the lasagna and bake it for 10 minutes more.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Slice and serve.
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Hi
I love your recipes. I have one question how much calories per meals are there. I am trying to gain weight about 7 lbs at least and I'm not. Why am I not gaining some weight. I had lost weight 3 yrs ago. Looking forward to hear from you
Glad you're enjoying the recipes! Most of them have a nutrition label with caloric info just under the recipe. This one has 433 calories per serving (with 8 servings per batch). There are a few older recipes that I haven't added the label to yet, but feel free to comment or email me if you come across one - it only takes me a couple minutes to add it!
Made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious! It is definitely my new go-to lasagna. I followed the recipe exactly other than spicing up the ricotta a little bit by adding quite a bit more basil, salt, pepper and a bunch of nooch. It makes a large quantity and I served it with a simple green salad and vegan garlic bread so there is a lot leftover. So we'll either be eating lots of lasagna over the next couple days or we'll see how it freezes. Thanks so much for this excellent recipe!
This is the second time recently that I've seen a recipe that uses extra-firm tofu in a way that seems wrong to me. I would think that silken tofu would be a better choice. Can someone explain why the Tofu should even be firm, much less extra-firm?
Absolutely love this recipe. It has become our yearly Christmas dinner, just as good with GF lasagna noodles. Also I 100% recommend the homemade Marinara sauce, you can totally taste the difference!
Seems complex but is very easy and delicious!
Hi Alissa, what a great recipe. I didn't have marrow, so I substituted with oven baked eggplant slices. Turned out wonderful. Definitely a "for keeps" recipe. Thanks!
You’re right. This is the best lasagna ever. I also loved your ricotta cheese recipe. i rarely add any comment but this recipe deserves many praises. Thanks for the recipe.
I would like to make this for Easter. Do you think I could assemble the lasagna the night before and cook it the next day? It looks so good! Thank you!
I haven't tried this myself, but I've seen other lasagna recipes that say you can do this - I don't see why it wouldn't work for this one!
Hi, Alissa. I have just begun to use your site and am interested in making this lasagne and freezing half. My question is: do you think it is better to freeze before it has been baked or after? I generally feel that when it is after, the dish ends up being cooked twice and is not as fresh. Maybe there is something I am missing. Any thoughts? Thank you.
Hi Oriana! I've only frozen the leftovers after baking, but I think it would work just fine to freeze it before baking, and you're probably right that it would taste fresher. I'd just thaw it completely and then bake it according to the recipe instructions. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try it!
So delicious. I didn’t have lasagna noodles so I used penne instead and it’ still turned out great.
Very good! The ricotta and sauce were delicious. Only thing that we felt was missing was a bit more protein or "meatiness" in flavour. Might throw in some more vegan ground next time to make the marinara more of a bolognese.
This is so good. I doubled the veggies and wilted spinach in when they came out of the oven. I served it to my non vegan extended family and more than one asked for the recipe. Really Really good. I topped it with vegan Parmesan
Thank you! It is the best.
Awesome!! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Michelle!
Can I make this the day before and refrigerate?
Yup! It should reheat well in the oven - try 400 degrees. I'm not sure how long it will take so you'll need to keep an eye on it. Enjoy!
Ahhhhmazing!! I made this last night for big family dinner (most of whom are not vegan) and they all LOVED it! Winner!! I'm actually making another today to freeze for when my sister comes in. I'm doubling the veggies on this next one, but that's just a personal choice... fabulous recipe - THANK YOU!!
Woo hoo! I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks so much Claudine!
Hi! Can I use silken tofu instead of extra firm?
I think so! The texture might be a bit different though. I find that extra firm tofu is better for getting a chunky consistency like ricotta, but I think it'll still be delicious with silken.
Venturing into eating less meat, I discovered your site and was quite surprised at how tasty this dish was!
I did not miss the real ricotta one bit! I used whole wheat lasagna and it came out really well! Roasting the veggies in the over prior also made the dish very flavorful.
I plan on freezing half of it...do you recommend freezing in servings and reheating in oven?
Thank you!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I usually do as you said and freeze the leftovers as individual portions - it makes reheating easier and less time consuming. You can reheat them by microwaving, but I think the oven should work just fine. I'd place them in a baking dish, cover them and bake them at 350°F until they're heated through. Thanks Inna!
I followed your advice and it tasted even better the second time! Thank you Alissa!
Yay! Very welcome!
AND, I used no boil noodles!!
I agree, the basil ricotta was so good, but I really could have used maybe twice the amount of vegetables. But still, I loved it.
We made this yesterday, and I’m so happy there’s still some left for lunch! It is absolutely delicious. I think anyone would love this, even if they’re not vegan. Well, if I decided to share... This is going in my file of 5-star favorite dinners, thank you so much!
I'm so glad you like it! This is one that I actually even enjoy more as leftovers. :) I hope you do too!
This was very good. I couldn't believe how delicious the ricotta was I licked the bowl dry! Can't wait to make this for Christmas for everyone to try.
Yay! I always do that with the ricotta too! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Anastasia!
Great job
Thank you!