This vegan pumpkin lasagna will satisfy all your comfort food cravings! Made with layers of tender noodles, dairy-free spinach ricotta, and rich pumpkin cream sauce, it's perfect for special dinners.
I LOOOOOOVE lasagna! It's one of my favorite main dishes to make for holidays and fancy dinners. And while I'm all about a classic Italian-style vegan lasagna, it doesn't always work with the traditional spread that one might serve for a day like Thanksgiving. Marinara sauce and cranberry sauce just clash if you ask me!
So I decided to create a different kind of lasagna. This pumpkin lasagna is super rich and full of savory flavor — the perfect kind of flavor for pairing up with traditional holiday sides!
If you've ever had a white lasagna you'll have an idea of what to expect from this dish. The tastes and textures are similar, with a little extra seasonal flavor from pumpkin.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Dried lasagna noodles.
- Olive oil. Any cooking oil will do, but olive has a nice flavor and is always my choice for pasta!
- Raw cashews. We're using these as the base for our dairy-free ricotta. Make sure they're raw (not roasted) in order to give your filling just the right flavor and texture.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work. Try soy milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or almond milk.
- Garlic.
- Lemon juice.
- Salt & pepper.
- Tofu. The recipe calls for firm tofu, but extra firm will work just fine. I don't recommend using super firm tofu as the texture isn't quite right for vegan ricotta.
- Frozen spinach.
- Vegan butter. Look for brands like Earth Balance and Miyoko's near where the regular butter is sold at the store.
- Onion.
- Full-fat coconut milk. You could probably get away with substituting light coconut milk, though your sauce won't be quite as rich and creamy.
- Canned pumpkin puree. Make sure you don't accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling. We don't want our lasagna to taste like pie!
- Nutmeg.
- Fresh sage. This is optional, but it makes a lovely garnish for the lasagna and will add a touch of savory flavor!
Tip: Feel free to add a few layers of mozzarella-style vegan cheese to the lasagna. I didn't include them in mine, but they'd make a nice addition.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by bringing some salted water to a boil for your lasagna noodles. Cook them according to the package directions, but just until al dente.
- Drain your noodles into a colander, lightly rub them with olive oil and lay them flat to prevent them from sticking to each other or folding on themselves.
Tip: Most lasagna recipes can be made just fine with no-cook noodles, but I don't recommend them for this one. It doesn't have quite enough liquid to ensure they'll fully cook in the pan.
- While the pasta water boils, make the ricotta. First blend the cashews, milk, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor bowl. Get it relatively smooth, but it need not be perfect.
- Crumble the tofu into the food processor bowl and add drained, thawed spinach. Make sure you squeeze any excess water from the spinach first! Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended, but still chunky.
- To make the sauce, melt your vegan butter in a large skillet, then add diced onion.
- Sweat the onion for a few minutes, until the pieces soften and just begin to brown.
- Stir in the coconut milk, pumpkin, nutmeg and salt. Bring the sauce to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken up.
- Ladle about a third of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, then arrange 3 noodles over the sauce. Top the noodles with half of your ricotta, then top the ricotta with three more noodles, followed by another layer of sauce, followed by another layer of ricotta, a final layer of noodles and a final layer of sauce.
- Cover your baking dish and pop it into the oven! It'll need to bake for about 30 minutes covered, then about 10 more uncovered. The sauce should be a bit bubbly and darkening around the edges by the time it's done.
- Let your pumpkin lasagna sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing and enjoying. Optionally, garnish each slice with a sprinkle of fresh sage.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan pumpkin lasagna will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can! Just use vegan gluten-free lasagna noodles, such as those made by De Lallo.
You can, but you'll need to cook and puree it first. Try this pumpkin puree recipe.
Yup! You'll need the same amount (10 ounces). Chop it very finely, and preferably steam it briefly before adding it to the filling.
More Recipes Like This
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Lasagna with Spinach Ricotta
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces or half of a one pound box)
- Dash olive oil
For the Filling
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 7 ounces firm tofu, drained and broken into 4 to 5 chunks
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess water
- Black pepper, to taste
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 (15 ounce or 425 g) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For Serving
- Finely chopped fresh sage, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions, until al dente.
- Drain the noodles into a colander. Rub each one with a bit of olive oil and arrange them flat on a baking sheet or another flat surface.
- Make the ricotta while the noodles cook. Place the cashews, milk, garlic, lemon juice and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend until relatively smooth.
- Add the tofu and spinach, then pulse the machine until the ingredients are well combined but the mixture is still chunky.
- Season the mixture with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
- To make the sauce, first melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion.
- Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until the pieces soften and being to brown a bit.
- Stir in the coconut milk, pumpkin, salt and nutmeg. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Ladle about a third of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Top the sauce with a layer of three noodles, followed by half of the ricotta, followed by another three noodles, followed by another third of the sauce, followed by the remaining ricotta, followed by the remaining three noodles, then the last third of the sauce.
- Bake the lasagna, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking it for another 10 minutes, until the sauce begins to bubble and darken at the edges.
- Take the lasagna out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Cut the lasagna into squares and serve. Optionally, garnish each piece with a sprinkle of fresh sage.
Notes
- Optionally, you can include some shredded vegan mozzarella-style cheese in this recipe. Use about 2 to 3 cups, sprinkling a bit over each layer of noodles.
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Delicious vegan recipe and directions were clear, easy to follow. I used panko crumbs for the bread crumbs. My Italian vegan friend was impressed with the appearance, and loved the taste. We both gave it 5 stars. Thank you.
Can I make this the day before and reheat it? Does it reheat well?
You can! It reheats best in the microwave, with a damp paper towel over it. Reheating it in the oven will work, but it might dry it out. Sprinkle a little water on top and keep it covered if you use the oven. Enjoy!
ABOLUTELY FABUOLOUS
I made this about a month ago and tore through it...I've been thinking about it ever since (I have another one in the oven as we speak)! It's perfect as is and I plan on making it for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for an amazing recipe.
I’m really eager to make this. Wondering if you could use fresh spinach instead? How would that change the cooking process do you think?
Big fan of all your recipes btw!
Thanks,
You can! Use the same amount (10 ounces), chop it up very finely, and briefly steam it before using. You just want the leaves to wilt a bit. Enjoy!!
This is delicious! Such a fun and inventive twist on lasagna. Thanks so much!