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.
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I'm no stranger to vegan lasagna. I've even got a handful of recipes on this site, with various flavor variations and twists (check out my creamy mushroom lasagna, mushroom lentil lasagna, and lasagna primavera), but this one is by far my favorite — thanks to the killer marinara sauce, roasted veggies and vegan basil ricotta.
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What You'll Need
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Dried lasagna noodles. Almost all dried pasta is vegan (yay!), but check the ingredients to be safe.
Olive oil.
Cremini mushrooms. Regular white button mushrooms can be substituted if needed.
Red bell pepper.
Zucchini. Yellow summer squash works as well!
Salt & pepper.
Raw cashews. These are for your ricotta cheese, and it's really important that they're raw. Roasted cashews will make your cheese taste like cashew butter.
Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work.
Garlic.
Extra-firm tofu.
Fresh basil.
Lemon juice.
Marinara sauce. I like to use my homemade marinara, but the jarred stuff works too.
How to Make Vegan Lasagna
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!
Roast the Veggies
Chop your veggies, drizzle them with some olive oil, arrange them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then roast them until they're tender and starting to show some brown spots.
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Make the Vegan Ricotta
Place your cashews in a food processor bowl along with some non-dairy milk, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
Blend everything to a relatively smooth paste.
Add your tofu and some fresh basil.
Pulse the food processor until the tofu is broken up into small chunks and the mixture has a consistency similar to ricotta cheese.
Can this recipe be made gluten-free? I haven't tried one myself, but I'm sure it could! Just use your favorite vegan and gluten-free lasagna noodles.
Vegan lasagna makes for excellent leftovers (and some would even say it's better the second day). Kept in a sealed container, it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Can this lasagna be made gluten-free?Yup! Just use your favorite vegan and gluten-free lasagna noodles.
Can I use no-boil noodles?I haven't tested this recipe with no-boil noodles, but I think it should work.
Feel free to switch things up by using different veggies, keeping in mind that softer veggies may roast up quicker, while harder veggies will take longer to cook.
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.
Course Entree
Cuisine Italian
Keyword vegan italian recipes, vegan pasta recipes
Prep Time 25minutes
Cook Time 1hour5minutes
Total Time 1hour30minutes
Servings 8generous servings
Calories 400kcal
Author Alissa Saenz
Equipment
Food processor
Ingredients
12ouncesdried lasagna noodles(9 to 12 noodles)
Dasholive oil
For the Roasted Veggies
8ouncescremini mushrooms,cleaned and sliced
2cupsdiced red bell pepper(about 1 medium pepper)
2cupsdiced zucchini(about 1 medium zucchini)
4teaspoonsolive oil
Salt and pepper
For the Vegan Ricotta
1 ½cupsraw cashews,soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
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 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange the mushrooms, bell pepper and zucchini on the baking sheet.
Drizzle the mushrooms with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and drizzle the zucchini and pepper each with 1 teaspoon. Gently use your hands to rub the oil into the veggies, distributing it evenly, then sprinkle the veggies with salt and pepper.
Roast the veggies until tender and browned in spots, for about 25 minutes. Leave the oven on when you remove the veggies.
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 you like.
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 and bake it for 30 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.
