This Ultimate Vegan Lasagna is filled with a delicious ragu which includes veggies, and vegan meat crumbles. This is a plant based twist on a comfort classic, that Nate ate a lot growing up. This hearty lasagna is great for a comforting night in, maybe even with a glass of red wine.
This will make for a great family style meal, and the kids will definitely approve of this recipe. If you are making lasagna for one that is even better! You can make meal prep out of this by portioning it out, and eating it over the next couple of days. Besides, this lasagna is best as time goes on. Each day the flavors get more acquainted, and eventually marry in a delicious way. Without further delay, let’s get going!
Ultimate Vegan Bechamel Sauce
The creaminess of this vegan bechamel sauce is unreal! Bechmel is a creamy white sauce with a slight onion and nutmeg taste. It is a very classic sauce that brings a rich creaminess to any dish. The original bechamel sauce is made with lots of dairy, but we substituted the butter and milk for their vegan counterparts. This sauce is perfect when spread between the layers of pasta, vegan meat, and veggies.
You could also use this sauce as a pasta sauce too. Maybe even for a vegan croque monsieur! It would make for a perfectly satisfying creamy sauce without all the hassle of making the lasagna. But lasagna is fun to make! So if you’re trying to have fun, give this recipe a go. It won’t disappoint.
This béchamel sauce was inspired by the talented Gaz Oakley.
Creative Classic Comfort Food
We love challenging ourselves to make classic home cooked meals, minus the meat and dairy obviously. It’s totally possible to get a full balanced vegan diet, without missing out on comforting favorites.
What is Lasagna
Lasagna is layered mainly with four components. The three main components are the red sauce, ragu and the béchamel, separated by the pasta sheets.
Our béchamel sauce is based on an onion piquet. Now we know what you are thinking… What the hell is an onion piquet?
An onion piquet is a fancy French term for a white milk sauce. Classically, this sauce is flavored using an onion piquet and nutmeg. We made a vegan version of this here.
Lasagna Is Better the Next Day
Our favorite way to eat this lasagna is to allow it to cool then store it in the fridge overnight. This way we really let all the flavors become acquainted. We like to serve it the next day. To reheat, cover the top in aluminum foil and place in the oven for 1 hour or until hot at 350 degrees F.
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Peace,
Luna & Nate
Ultimate Vegan Lasagna
Course: MainCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium12
servings30
minutes45
minutes15
minutes1
hour30
minutesDelicious Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients
- Ragu Filling
2/3 Medium White Onion, Diced
4 Clove Garlic, Minced
1 Large Eggplant, Small Dice
3 Cups Meat Alternative (we like Gardein or Beyond Meat Brand)
2 Cups Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Balsamic
2 Tbsp Parsley, Dried Flakes
2 Tbsp Basil, Dried Flakes
1 tt Black Pepper
1 tsp Chili Flakes (Optional)
- Bechamel Sauce
4 Slices Chao Cheese Vegan Cheese
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 tsp Oregano
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
2 Leave Bay Leaves
1/2 Medium Onion, Whole
1/3 Cup AP Flour
1/3 Cup Vegan Butter
3 Cups Soy Milk
1 tt Salt
1 tt Black Pepper
12-15 Lasagna sheets
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the béchamel
- In a large pot, add the plant milk, nutmeg, onion with bay leaves.
- Set to pot simmer for 20 minutes.
- Once the béchamel has completed simmering, prepare the roux. Begin by heating the butter in a large pan.
- Once the butter has melted, while whisking slowly add the flour.
- Continue whisking a few minutes until the mixture becomes a light brown roux.
- Remove the onion and bay leaves from the milk. Add the roux while whisking.
- Add the vegan cheese, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
- Whisk until thick and creamy.
- Allow the béchamel to simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Taste and adjust your seasoning for more salt and pepper.
- Prepare the Ragu
- Preheat a large pan. Once the pan is warm, add a drizzle of olive oil.
- Add the diced onion and garlic. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the zucchini and eggplant. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add in the vegan meat crumbles, tomato sauce and balsamic. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes. **You can also pre-sear the meat crumbles for added texture and flavor
- Then mix in, basil, parsley and chili flakes and set the pan to low heat.
- Prepare the Pasta Sheets
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Note: This step is optional. You can skip this if you are using pre-cooked/oven-ready lasagna sheets - Add a good dash of salt.
- Par-cook the sheets in boiling water for a few minutes until just pliable.
- As soon as they are soft, strain. Set aside.
- Assemble
- Begin by placing a bit of rage, then one layer of lasagna sheets to the bottom of a baking dish.
- Add a layer with the ragu filling.
- Add some bechamel sauce, spreading it around to cover the ragu.
- Add another layer of lasagna sheets and continue layering the three components until the dish is full.
- Cook lasagna for 45 minutes in the oven.
- Once the Lasagna has finished cooking allow it to cool for another 15 minutes before serving
Notes
- To reheat the lasagna, cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degree F for an hour.
- You can also substitute the meat alternative with lentils.
- If you add the sheets uncooked, you will have to let the dish sit in the refrigerator for a day. Then cook.
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Nutrition Facts
12 servings per container
Serving Size1 servings
- Amount Per ServingCalories174
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 9.1g 14%
- Sodium 255mg 11%
- Potassium 332mg 10%
- Total Carbohydrate 16.4g 6%
- Dietary Fiber 3.5g 15%
- Sugars 5.8g
- Protein 7.1g 15%
- Calcium 5%
- Iron 10%
- Vitamin D 105%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
