When people first start on their plant based/vegan journey they often fear giving up their favorite foods: pizza, ice cream, burgers. Comfort food often has non-vegan ingredients like cheese (which makes sense because cheese is delicious!) and meat, but you really don't have to give that up just because you switch to a plant-based diet. We think you can easily have your cheese and meat all while sticking to being vegan!
Lasagna is one of the ultimate comfort foods. It's gooey and warm, flavorful and filling. This recipe is not only vegan, but gluten free for those who want or need it! In the past, the only way to make a gluten free lasagna was to use a firm vegetable like zucchini as a noodle substitute or to make your noodles by hand. While we can always appreciate homemade noodles, that turns this lasagna dish from a weeknight staple to a day-long cooking project.
|
Prep Time |
Blend Time |
Total Time |
|
20 Minute |
60 Minutes |
1 Hour 20 Minutes |
Servings: 9
Does it keep? Up to 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer
Ingredients:
Vegan Ricotta
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 block (14-16oz) firm or extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste* (see notes for substitute)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lasagna:
- No-Boil Noodles** (GF if you want/need!)
- 1 28 oz jar marinara sauce (homemade or your favorite store bought)
- 1 cup vegan meat crumbles (optional)
Toppings:
- 1 oz bag Brass Roots Jalapeño Cheddar Puffs
- Fresh Basil
- Vegan Parmesan
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375F
Vegan Ricotta:
- Press the tofu to drain. Heat the oil in a pan and lightly sautée the onions and garlic until they begin to brown.
- Break the tofu into large chunks and place it in the blender along with the onion/garlic. Add all other ingredients and blitz in a food processor or blender until creamy. You may need to scrape the sides of the FP/Blender down to ensure a smooth blend.
Lasagna:
- If using vegan meat crumbles, cook in a pan per package instructions. Add marinara sauce and stir until warmed through.
- In a lightly greased 9x13 (or similar size) pan, pour about 1/4 cup of marinara sauce. Layer with dry, no-boil noodles. Add another layer of sauce and a layer of your vegan ricotta.
- Repeat the layer: dry noodle, marinara meat sauce, vegan ricotta
- Top the final layer with crushed up Brass Roots crunch puffs and vegan parmesan for a crispy, cheesy top layer!
- Cover with foil and place in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 20-25 minutes until golden on top.
- Rest the lasagna for 15-20 minutes (it's hard, we know!) to ensure it holds together and to save your taste buds from being burnt to a crisp!
Notes:
*Substitute 1/2 cup of hummus if you don't have miso
**Lasagna purists will say you must boil your noodles before assembling your lasagna, but we are lasagna innovators and say no-boil is definitely the way to go! Not only does it save you time, dry noodles will absorb more of the liquid from the marinara sauce ensuring that your lasagna holds shape and isn't too soupy. Having a dryer noodle is especially important if you're making the recipe gluten free because, as those who have cooked gf before know, things tend to fall apart easily when there is a lack of gluten and pre-boiling your noodles will increase the chances of a sloppy lasagna.
This is a great meal to make the day before or morning of an event/dinner. The flavors really mix together the longer it sits. Just be sure to cover the lasagna with cling wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge!