Cheesy Vegan Lasagna
Vegan Lasagna made with whole, hearty and simple ingredients. Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food. Who doesn’t love a thick slice of delicious, messy, cheesy and perfectly layered lasagna?!? Nobody, that’s who.
What’s your favourite Christmas main dish?! You know what I mean, the centre piece at the middle of the table. Okay, can I just say, when you’re vegan, the side dishes at holiday time usually stay pretty much the same with the traditional fare like mashed potatoes, stuffing, broccoli and all that side jazz but the main dish definitely changes. We celebrated Christmas early this year and I enjoyed a slice of this healthy, hearty Vegan Lasagna with my Christmas meal. Last year I had Trader Joe’s stuffed veggie-turkey (which all the vegans and non vegans alike swooned over!)… this year lasagna and maybe next year Mac and Cheese?!? So much for having to stick to one main dish at the centre of the table every darn year, lol!
This Vegan Lasagna uses my easy, 20 minute, Nut Free Cheese Sauce I shared earlier this week. Holy moly this soy free and dairy free sauce is good. And it’s particularly yummy in this Vegan Lasagna. The water from the cheese evaporates when baking and turns into a delicious, melty, vegan cheesy ricotta in the oven. My family could not get over that this lasagna was completely dairy free – love when that happens.
And then let’s talk about the tomato sauce. This sauce is meaty, hearty and ideally simmered for a couple hours on the stove to get those deep and delicious tomato flavours you only get from a slowly simmered sauce.
Once the sauce has simmered it’s time to get layering. Layer the tomato sauce, pasta and vegan cheese until your Vegetable Lasagna is filled right to the top…
And bake until the lasagna is perfectly cooked on the inside, the Vegan cheese melted and ricotta-y in the middle AND the top nice and crispy… yum!
This Vegan Lasagna is definitively a weekend recipe, with the slow simmered sauce and the 45 minute lasagna baking time! If you are looking for a weekday, easy One Pot Lasagna… try my One Pot Quinoa Lasagna ready in start to finish in under 30 minutes! If you do whip this Vegan Lasagna up in your home, I love hearing your feedback… share it in the comments below or snap a shot of your lovely Vegan Lasagna and share it on Instagram with the tag #CearasKitchen! #EatHappyLiveHappy
Vegan Lasagna
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 mins
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
Description
Hearty, cheesy, meaty and comforting Vegan Lasagna. This lasagna is perfectly layered with a thick and meaty tomato sauce and a cheesy, ricotta-style cheese sauce. One of my favorite recipes to make on the weekend.
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce
- 2 small to medium white onions, finely chopped
- 4–6 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups mushrooms, chopped
- 2 red peppers, chopped
- 2 cups zucchini or eggplant, chopped (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 2 x 680 ml/23 oz cans plain tomato sauce (Here’s the tomato sauce I used)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese Sauce
- Nut Free Vegan Cheese Sauce (double the recipe)
- 3/4 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and some of the water pressed out (measured after defrosting)
Lasagna
- 12–16 lasagna sheets
Instructions
Tomato Sauce
- Sauté onions and garlic with a dash of olive oil or water over medium high heat for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent. Add chopped mushrooms, peppers and optional zucchini/eggplant. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until soft and lightly cooked.
- Stir in spices (basil, oregano and hot pepper flakes) and sauté for a minute until fragrant. Add tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar to the vegetable mixture.
- Bring sauce to a boil and leave to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes to 2 hours (stirring occasionally).
Cheese Sauce
- Prepare the cheese sauce while the sauce is cooking.
- Defrost frozen spinach in the microwave. Squeeze out any excess liquid and measure out 3/4 cup of spinach. Mix 1/2 of the cheese sauce with the spinach.
Cook the Lasagna Noodles
- If your lasagna noodles are not precooked, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook for 8 minutes until the lasagna sheets are cooked al-dente. Spread the cooked sheets out on parchment until you layer them in the lasagna. Note: you can skip this step if your lasagna noodles are already precooked.
Assemble and Bake Lasagna
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C and grease a casserole dish with olive oil or line with parchment paper. To assemble the lasagna, spread 1 heaping cup of tomato sauce on the first layer of a 9×13 casserole dish. Place 3-4 lasagna sheets on the tomato sauce. Top with 1 cup of the spinach cheese mixture, 1 cup of tomato sauce and 3-4 lasagna noodles. Repeat layers, alternating between the cheese and spinach-cheese sauce, until you have filled the pan. Spread an even layer of cheese sauce on top of the lasagna (see photo for reference). Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top (optional).
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes until the top of the lasagna is golden brown. Take the lasagna out of the oven and leave to sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
1) Use gluten free lasagna noodles if you need this recipe to be gluten free.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Main
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The best recipe of lasagna I have tried. Not only do we eat vegan , we also eat a candida free diet. Your recipe was easy to substitute with our dietary restrictions and still remained creamy and delicious! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes as I really like your choices of spices. Thank You!!!
Love this recipe. I make it all the time and recommend it to everyone.
★★★★★
Hi, Ceara – Does the 375 F cooking time already take into account that the pan you used was clear glass, OR, should we lower the temperature 25 F to a baking temperature of 350 F if we use clear, glass pan (which is what I have) ? Thanks.
Hello! thanks for the recipe. I tried it and everybody complimented! I personaly don’t find the taste ressembles cheese though. It’s different, and good 🙂
Oh my gosh! This was amazing! I made the vegan cheese sauce as instructed but went a little lazy on the lasagna assembly by using pre-made sauce because I was preparing my vegan dish while simultaneously helping my 4-year-old prepare her own pan of full meat, cheese, and spinach lasagna…..all a mere hour before bedtime! But even still, this pan of heaven was everything I could have hoped for and more! And that vegan cheese sauce, man… SO good. And really does doll up just like ricotta in the lasagna! I bet this recipe is EVEN BETTER with homemade tomato sauce! Next time, man. Next time.
★★★★★
Thank you for the lovely feedback! So glad you enjoyed the lasagna and the cheese sauce!
Can I assemble this ahead and freeze it to bake later??
This recipe just helped me to achieve a seemingly impossible task. Thank you! I offered to cook Christmas dinner for my husband’s family of 15+ and then realized later that evening that we had dairy intolerance, nut allergy, and gluten allergy, vegan, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, very hesitant to new foods meat/potato kind-of eaters. This recipe was absolutely delicious and every single person enjoyed it and was able to eat it! Even the traditional meat and potato eaters couldn’t believe it was dairy free. Everyone asked for the recipe. A true Christmas miracle! Thank you again!
Sorry for my last post… Light burned out in computer and I cant see keyboard very well.
I’m fgooing to have this as Christmas dinner for my vegans! Thank you for this great sounding meal.
One thing I’m confused on: when making the vean cheese sauce to go with the Lasagna, about how many
cups will we have? Are we doubling the ingredients that are listed here? I’m not certain I got back to correct
recipe. Would I be purchasing 1 cup of Sunflower seeds? I really want to do this with the Lasagna recipe!
Thank you so much… I’m glad I discovered you!
★★★★★
Hello,
Can you tell me where you found your vegan noodles that you used in this recipe??
I just bought them at my local grocery store! You can buy them on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2k1iT8Y! 🙂
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Thank you for the wonderful inspiration and dinner 🙂 I was curious if the bitter flavor in the sunflower ricotta was just me or if this is a feature of the sauce. If it is normal, any ideas on how to cut down on that? Many thanks again 🙂
★★★
I felt the same way about the sunflower sauce. The marinara was good.
★★★
Can’t wait to try this! I avoid mushrooms and typically just omit them from recipes, but it seems in this case that could make a huge difference. Do you have any suggestions for substitutes?
Hi Dominique,
The mushrooms do give that “meaty” texture to the lasagna. You can use zucchini or red peppers in replacement if you don’t like mushrooms. Enjoy! 🙂
This was AMAZING!!! My non vegan dinner party went for seconds. Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Looks delish!! If I prepare this on Friday, will it be ok to bake on Sunday? Should it be frozen? Or is this better made fresh and baked right away? Thanks!
Never mind! I made it on Friday and it sat covered in the fridge until Sunday, when I baked it, It was AMAZING. My brother ate half the pan. 😀
★★★★★
This looks amazing! I am making this for dinner this week…I do have one question though…if I make extra, will this lasagna freeze well?
Yes it does!!! Enjoy the recipe 🙂
My fiancé has recently become vegan but I’m not. (But I basically eat like one anyway!) I am always looking for new vegan recipes to try and this one was amazing! I made it earlier today, with your vegan cheese sauce and we loved it! It was so good I think anyone, vegan or not would enjoy it. Thanks so much :-).
P.s. I tried to rate this recipe 5 star but it didn’t seem to work.
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback!! 🙂 Glad you and your fiance enjoyed the lasagna!!
Hi Ceara, I made this vegan lasagna the other night. It turned out really well. And the cheese sauce worked a treat. The lasagna itself is very filling and good tasting. I think also you could probably use lots of different veggies in the tomato sauce depending on what kind you like. Thanks alot for sharing, great recipe 🙂
★★★★
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Jules! 🙂 Thank you!
Your lasagne looks scrumptious! I must try adding aubergines to mine. If you’re looking for a super easy recipe to make the pasta yourself, check out my recipe for a classic vegan lasagne here: http://cheekyvegan.de/portfolio-items/classic-vegan-lasagne/
★★★★
As promised, delicious, easy and pleasing both to the non-vegan friends and to the vegan in making here!
The cheesy sunflower seed sauce was also a success by itself.
Thank you!
★★★★★
This looks yummy! But aren’t there eggs in pasta?
Most pasta is egg free! Unless it specifies that it’s an egg pasta it’s wheat and water. Woot!
hello! this looks amazing, do you know if it can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge? i.e I want to make it tonight for tomorrow nights dinner! xx
You definitely can! Assemble the lasagna, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You may need to bake it for a little bit longer since it will be cold. Enjoy 🙂
To die for! Everyone thought there was cheese in it!
★★★★★
That is the BEST feedback!! Yay! Happy everyone enjoyed the lasagna 🙂
My go to recipe to demonstrate to my skeptics that my vegan lifestyle is most certainly not one of deprivation! Thank you Ceara!
★★★★★
I made this lasagna last night. I had to modify the cheese sauce a bit as I could not find raw sunflower seeds. I used cashews instead. The lasagna turned out to be absolutely amazing! I think this will turn into a great weekend go-to for me as well. It’s a bit time consuming, but it was completely worth it. Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
WOW!!!! My first attempt at a traditional lasagna and it turned out spectacular!!! The cheese sauce even satisfied my vegetarian friend. Absolutely amazing recipe, definitely getting added to my regular repertoire! Thank you so much! 5 stars!
★★★★★
Happy you and your friend enjoyed the lasagna Reanne! 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful feedback and rating!
I just have to tell you I made this for my family tonight (operation include more vegan meals into our repertoire) and it was SO delicious! Everyone scarfed it down. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow 🙂
★★★★★
So happy you and your family enjoyed the lasagna Jessica – thank you for the feedback 🙂
quick clarification question on the tomato sauce – 11 cups is 88 ounces – that seems like a lot. Two 9.5 oz cans is about 2.5 cups. How much should be used? This looks awesome; can’t wait to try it!
Hi Parker!
For clarification here’s the tomato sauce I used! It is 680 ml or 22 oz a can! I hope this helps – so I used two 680 ml cans!
There is a lot of tomato sauce but due to the slow and long cooking time, a lot of the liquid dissolves, leaving a hearty and thick sauce for the lasagna!
Enjoy 🙂
This looks and sounds great! I’m a little confused about the layering though. Do you layer with the tomato sauce and spinach cheese sauce, then use the un-spinached cheese sauce just on top? Or is the un-spinached cheese sauce also alternated with the spinach cheese sauce? I’m thinking that you layer tomato sauce, pasta, then spinach cheese sauce, with the un-spinached sauce just as the top layer. I’m planning to make this tomorrow. Hope it turns out. BTW I already made the sauce, and it is the bomb! Decided the 11 cups of sauce might be a typo (or the 9.5oz was a typo, because those would be really small), so used two large jars of plain tomato sauce. Hopefully I’ll have enough sauce!
Hi Trish!
For the layering, “spread 1 heaping cup of tomato sauce on the first layer of a 9×13 casserole dish. Place 3-4 lasagna sheets on the tomato sauce. Top with 1 cup of the spinach cheese mixture, 1 cup of tomato sauce and 3-4 lasagna noodles. Repeat layers, alternating between the cheese and spinach-cheese sauce, until you have filled the pan.”
Basically I layer tomato sauce, noodles, spinach cheese sauce// tomato sauce, noodles, cheese sauce// tomato sauce, noodles, spinach cheese sauce// tomato sauce, noodles, cheese sauce (i.e. switching between the cheese sauces) until you fill the plan and do one last layer of plain cheese sauce on top!
For the tomato sauce, here’s the tomato sauce I used! It is 680 ml or 22 oz a can! I hope this helps – so I used two 680 ml cans!
There is a lot of tomato sauce but due to the slow and long cooking time, a lot of the liquid dissolves, leaving a hearty and thick sauce for the lasagna!
Enjoy 🙂
Lasagna as a Christmas main is so funky but I love it! THat’s one of the fun things about vegan holidays, starting new food traditions! And that spinach-laced cheese sauce sounds amazing…oh heck every layer sounds amazing <3
Apanreptly this is what the esteemed Willis was talkin’ ’bout.
Oh, my gosh! This looks amazing. I am craving lasagna in a major way now.
Ceara, this looks so incredible! Absolutely mouthwatering! I want to join you at your holiday festivities!! Wow!!!
Did you really mean 11 cups of tomato sauce? Doing the math on the amount in the cans, I’m thinking it’s a typo, but wanted to check for sure. This looks absolutely delicious, either way. Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
This looks delicious! Can it be frozen?