Description
This Vegan White Lasagna is layered with a hearty mushroom filling, vegan ricotta cheese, lasagna sheets and plant-based twist on the classic Bechamel sauce. It’s so delicious and dreamy, you won’t believe it’s 100% oil-free, dairy-free, and can easily be made gluten-free!
Ingredients
Mushroom Mixture
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 16 oz. Crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper, as desired
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight* (see notes)
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)
- 7 tablespoons tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Optional: 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- Optional: 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Additional Ingredients
- 1 recipe of our vegan ricotta cheese (about 16 oz.)
- 10 oz. chopped frozen spinach
- 1 to 2 boxes no boil lasagna sheets, gluten-free or regular (we used 18 sheets but it will depend on the size of your pan; just be sure there are no eggs)
- Vegan parmesan cheese, for garnish
- Fresh parsley or basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and position your rack in the middle of the oven. Have a large 9×13-inch baking dish ready.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil and once it is boiling, remove the pot from heat and add in the cashews. Soak for 20 minutes or until softened and drain.
- Thaw the frozen spinach by placing it into a mesh strainer and running it under very warm water. Mix it around with your hands and break apart any icy chunks as needed. Once it has thawed, turn off water and use your hands to gently squeeze the water out. Alternatively, you can place the spinach in a large bowl and microwave it on high for 3 minutes. Remove it and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before using.
- Prepare the ricotta cheese if you have not already done so and then transfer it to a large bowl along with the thawed spinach. Mix until uniform and set aside. (see notes)
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add in 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Once heated, add in the onions and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add in the celery and carrots and cook down for another 4 minutes, or until softened. Be sure to add more water, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, at any point as needed to prevent burning since we are not using oil here. Lastly, add in the mushrooms and cook until they become soft, browned, and all of their juices have cooked off. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Prepare the vegan mozzarella cheese by simply blending together all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
- To assemble, grab your baking dish and add a few tablespoons of sauce to the bottom. Spread it out as best you can, it does not have to completely cover it. Add in a layer of lasagna noodles (we used 6), followed by 1/3 of the mushroom mixture, 1/3 of the remaining cheese sauce, and then about 1/3 of the vegan ricotta mixture. Continue until you fill the pan or run out of ingredients, we used 3 layers of each. For the last layer, we added the cheese sauce last/on the very top to seal everything in.
- Place the baking dish on the middle rack in the oven for 40 minutes. Ours browned and dried out a bit on top so to prevent this, we suggest you cover for the pan with aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes of baking, then removing the foil for the final 20 minutes. This should prevent browning and keep it more moist on top. Optional but worth a try if that is what you prefer!
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to cool before serving. Note that the longer you let it cool, the easier it will be to cut into slices and serve.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and vegan parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Other ingredients that would be great in the ricotta filling are fresh parsley and/or basil, onion powder, black pepper and even red pepper flakes! We left these out and for the sake of simplicity but I just wanted to note it in case you wanted to take this recipe one step further.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
