Yummy Vegan Lasagna

This plant-based lasagna, filled with plant-based tofu ricotta, greens, lentils, and tomato sauce is oh so delicious! Nobody will be missing the meat in the veganized version of Italian lasagna.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Dinner, Italian, Lentils

Servings: 10

Calories: 438kcal

Ingredients

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup dry lentils
¾ cup raw and unsalted cashews
1 16 oz block firm tofu pressed or patted dry
¼ cup nutritional yeast
juice of one lemon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 handfuls spinach divided
2 25 oz jars low-sodium marinara sauce
½ box lasagna noodles
1 cup plant-based mozzarella cheese (opt)

Instructions

To start off, add the vegetable broth to a medium-sized saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil. Once the broth has reached a rolling boil, add in the dried lentils and turn down the heat to medium, letting the broth reduce to a simmer. Cook the lentils for about 20 minutes or a little while shorter than the recommended cooking time on the package, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure none of the lentils are getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. If the lentils start to look a bit dry and start sticking to the pan, add in a couple tablespoons of water or vegetable broth as needed. Once the lentils have finished cooking, drain the remaining liquid and set these aside.
Now is a good time to start preheating your oven to 350 °F. In a large bowl, add in the two jars of marinara sauce and the lentils and mix to combine. Set this aside while you work on the tofu ricotta.
In a food processor, add in the cashews and pulse until they resemble bread crumbs. Cube the tofu into smaller pieces and the tofu in slowly to the food processor, pulsing to combine, along with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, oregano, dried basil, garlic, and apple cider vinegar. Blend this until a uniform paste is formed. At this point, add in 1 handful of spinach into the food processor (NOT ALL OF THE SPINACH) and pulse a couple times until it has been broken down into smaller pieces and distributed throughout the tofu ricotta.
Now it's time to assemble the lasagna! In the casserole dish, scoop out about ⅕ of the marinara and lentil mixture (about 1 cup) onto the bottom of the pan and spread it out along the bottom using a spoon or spatula. Place a layer of the UNCOOKED lasagna noodles on top (4-5 noodles), making sure to press the noodles into the marinara to get it fully coated on the bottom. Using a spoon, add about ⅓ of the tofu ricotta on top. This might be difficult to spread out, but using a metal spoon makes it much easier. Then, spread on top 1 handful of spinach and repeat these steps two more times, starting with adding another layer of the marinara and lentils. On top of the final layer of spinach, add one last layer of the lasagna noodles and the remainder of the marinara mixture. Coat the top lasagna noodles completely with the marinara sauce to make sure that it cooks properly in the oven. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. If you are adding the optional plant-based mozzarella, top the lasagna dish with the mozzarella for the last ten minutes of the baking time to let it melt.
Once the lasagna is done, pull it out of the oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy warm with a side of a salad and maybe some fresh, crusty bread!

Notes