Best vegan lasagna
This dairy free lasagna is absolutely delicious. Packed with protein and nutrition. Made with a dairy free tofu and cashew ricotta and a lentil marina sauce. Easy meal to feed a crowd or meal prep and eat all week.
This recipe is
- High protein
- Packed with nutrition
- Easy to prepare
- Great for a crowd
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Vegan and vegetarian
- Satisfying
- Great for meal prep
Ingredient notes
- Brown lentils – I love using lentils as a way to replace ground beef in recipes. It has a similar size and they’re packed with protein and nutrition. (1) They’re also easy to make and don’t require any soaking before hand.
- Mushrooms – Feel free to leave these out if you don’t like them. Mushrooms add an amazing texture and flavor to this lasagna.
- Tofu cashew ricotta – This dairy free ricotta is so delicious and easy to make. You just blend some soaked, raw cashews, firm tofu, lemon juice, garlic powder, olive oil and salt in a food processor.
- Pasta sauce – I use about two jars because I love when lasagna is moist. If you don’t boil your pasta before hand, using two jars of pasta sauce is essential as well. Check the ingredients that it’s dairy free. I don’t bother making my own because I want to keep this recipe as quick and easy as possible.
- Lasagna noodles – Yes, most pre-made, store bought lasagna noodles are vegan. Use whatever brand you’d like: boil or no boil. I used about one box of noodles in this recipe.
- Dairy free cheese – I used Chao slices. Use whatever brand is your favorite. Mozzarella is best.
- Dairy free, unsweetened yogurt (optional) – If you want to add a little more moisture to the lasagna, I love adding in about a cup of dairy free yogurt. Makes the lasagna even more creamy.
Storing tips
To store in the fridge – This will last about a week after it’s been baked. Keep it in an air tight container.
To store frozen – I recommend you don’t bake it if you want to store it in the freezer. Make sure you cover it well with multiple tight layers of aluminum foil, so it doesn’t get freezer burnt.
Substitutions
If you don’t want to use tofu, you can just use all cashews. Increase the amount of cashews to 2 cups.
If you don’t want to use cashews, use only tofu and add a little more olive oil.
To make this gluten free, use gluten free lasagna noodles.
How to cook frozen lasagna
Baking frozen lasagna takes about 90 minutes. You can cook it unthawed, straight from the freezer.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Make sure the lasagna is covered well with aluminum foil.
Bake the lasagna covered for 60-75 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbling. This will be about another 30 mintues.
How long to bake lasagna
Non-frozen lasagna bakes at 350 degrees, covered with aluminum foil, for 45 minutes. Then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes.
How to layer lasagna
- Put a layer of the marinara and lentil sauce at the bottom of the casserole dish. Just enough to cover it.
- Add a layer of noodles. It’s great if they overlap a little
- Add a layer of the dairy free ricotta.
- Add a layer of sauce on top
- Add a layer of shredded dairy free cheese
- Add a layer of noodles
- Continue until the casserole dish is full
- Top with pasta sauce and dairy free cheese
Can you freeze lasagna?
Yes! Lasagna is a great freezer meal. Just follow all the steps and instead of baking, cover it with a freezer friendly lid, or tightly wrapped, multiple layers of aluminum foil.
Do I have to boil lasagna noodles before?
It’s not completely necessary to boil lasagna noodles before, even if they’re no boil. Sometimes I do and when I’m feeling lazy, I don’t. If you choose to not boil the noodles, make sure to use two jars of pasta sauce. Sometimes I add in ½ cup of water too.
More recipes you’ll love
- Homemade vegan pasta
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- Vegan mushroom stroganoff
- Dairy free Alfredo sauce
- Vegan ricotta cheese
- Vegan dumplings
- How to cook red lentils
Dairy free lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry lentils (brown or green)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- (2) 25 ounce jars of pasta or marinara sauce
- 1 box lasagna noodles
- 1-2 bags shredded dairy free mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup unsweetened and plain dairy free yogurt (optional)
Dairy free ricotta
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 14 ounces (one package) medium firm tofu
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 lemon – juiced
Instructions
Cook the lentils
- Rinse the lentils. Then put them in a pot on the stove with four cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cover and simmer on medium low for 30 minutes. Check the lentils, if they're still undercooked, cook for another 5-10 minutes. Strain away any excess water.1 cup dry lentils, 4 cups vegetable broth
- After the lentils are cooked, add them to two jars of marinara sauce in a large bowl. No need to warm this up, since the sauce will warm up in the oven.(2) 25 ounce jars of pasta or marinara sauce
Make the ricotta
- Boil some water. Then pour over the cashews. Let them soak for 10 minutes. While the cashews are soaking, boil some water for the lasagna noodles.1 cup raw cashews
- In a food processor, add the soaked and strained cashews with the olive oil into a food processor or blender. Blend until roughly chopped1 cup raw cashews, 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Add in the tofu, salt, lemon juice, garlic powder and nutritional yeast. Blend until smoothish. You may need to stop a few times and wipe down the sides with a rubber spatula.14 ounces (one package) medium firm tofu, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup nutritional yeast, 1 lemon – juiced
Boil the noodles
- Once the water for the noodles is boiling, add the lasagna noodles and cook for the amount of time the package requires. You can also skip this part and just put them in the lasagna raw. They will cook in the oven1 box lasagna noodles
- Once the noodles are cooked, strain away the water, then put them back in the pot and cover with cold water. This will prevent them from over cooking and sticking together.
Assemble
- Cover the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish with a little of the lentil marinara sauce. Add a layer of noodles. Spread half of the vegan ricotta on top. Add about a cup or two of sauce on top of that. Add another layer of noodles add layer of vegan shredded cheese. Add another cup or two of sauce. Add in the optional dairy free unsweetened yogurt here. Add another layer of noodles, then the rest of the ricotta, then some more sauce. Finish with one more layer of noodles, sauce and top with shredded vegan cheese1-2 bags shredded dairy free mozzarella cheese, ½ cup unsweetened and plain dairy free yogurt
Bake
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a strip of aluminum foil with non-stick spray. Cover the casserole dish with the aluminum foil. Bake for 60 minutes. Let the lasagna sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it and serving.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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