The Best Vegan Lasagna
What makes this vegan lasagna the best? 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.
Servings: 8
Calories: 433kcal
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1146mg | Potassium: 1252mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1905IU | Vitamin C: 63mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 5mg