Are you feeling as well rested as I am today? I could seriously bounce off the walls right now and there isn’t a lick of caffeine in my body. Man, the extra hour is the best…aside from that whole getting dark earlier thing. That really put a wrinkle in my lasagna dinner photography plans last night!
Want to know a secret?
I’ve never made lasagna before! Not even before I became a vegan. Back then, the best thing I cooked was popcorn in my popcorn maker and frozen dinners.
Anyways, I always loved eating lasagna, but assumed it was super difficult to make. Well, it turns out that it’s not as bad as I imagined…like everything in life. (Thank you anxiety.) This lasagna was quite easy even for an experienced popcorn maker like myself. And if you’re a multi-tasker in the kitchen like I am things move along even quicker.
How do you make a vegan lasagna taste as good as its non-vegan counterpart?
Above all, it must have a creamy and cheese-like flavour. Most vegan lasagna recipes use a tofu-based “ricotta” cheese, but I wanted to try something different for my recipe. As a cheese replacer, I made a Lemon Basil Cashew Cheeze which I adapted from my Stuffed Portabella Pizza recipe. I absolutely loved it in this lasagna and it gave it a really luxurious creamy and cheesy flavour.
The first thing you do is make this cheeze spread in your food processor. I did this ahead of time and just kept it in a sealed container in the fridge until I was ready to make my lasagna.
I also saved time by using bottled pasta sauce (1.5 bottles), but you can make homemade marinara sauce if you prefer!
The next thing I did was sauté the vegetables. I chopped 1 sweet onion, 1 large red pepper, 2 small zucchini, 1 cup of cremini mushrooms, and minced 3 garlic cloves.
(I love the sunset light beaming into my kitchen at this time!)
While the vegetables are sautéing, you can boil your noodles. The best lasagna making tip that I can give you is to slightly undercook your lasagna noodles. I cooked mine for about 8 minutes and then quickly rinsed them with cold water. No one wants mushy noodles in a lasagna! I used Kamut noodles and they were very tasty.
Once that is done, it’s time to start layering your lasagna. I took step-by-step pictures to help guide you along the process. So yea…if you’re not taking a bazillion photos it should move along even quicker!
Tips:
- I used about 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Use half of your basil cheeze for the 1st layer and the rest for the second layer. Ditto for the vegetables!
- You can add as much or as little cheese on top as you prefer. I think I used about 1 cup?
At this point you can wrap it up and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it, or you can bake it right away like I did.
After layering, bake in the oven, covered with tin foil, for 40-45 minutes at 400F and then remove the tinfoil and broil it over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, watching closely.
That wasn’t so bad, right?
We also have a ton of leftovers to enjoy for lunches all week long!
Would I change anything next time?
The only thing I would add next time is to crumble a couple of my favourite Amy’s California burgers (pre-cooked?) onto a layer of the lasagna. I think that would give it a great “ground-beef” like texture. Otherwise, I wouldn’t change a thing!
We both gobbled up two big pieces and Eric packed some for his lunch today. I’d say it was a success!
Vegan Lasagna with Basil Cashew Cheeze
Yield
6
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
I like my lasagna with lots of sauce and lots of vegetables, but you can tailor your version to your own preference. The best part about lasagna is that it can be adapted so many ways.
Ingredients
For the Cheeze:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 30 mins or overnight
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth or water (or more as needed)
- 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves (lightly packed)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (gives the cheese flavour)
- 3/4-1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste) + freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (optional)
For the Lasagna:
- 454 g Box of lasagna noodles*
- 1.5 bottles of pasta sauce or use homemade marinara sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 sweet onion, chopped (2.5 cups)
- 2 small zucchini, chopped
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large red pepper, chopped
- 1 large handful spinach
- 2 pre-cooked veggie burgers, crumbled (optional)
- Lemon Basil Cheeze Sauce (from above)
- Daiya cheese (as much as desired)
Directions
- Drain and rinse soaked cashews. With the food processor turned on, drop in your garlic cloves and process until chopped. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet, sautee onion and garlic over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add in the rest of the veggies and sautee for another 10-15 minutes. *Season well with Herbamare or kosher salt and black pepper.* This is key or you will have bland tasting vegetables in your lasagna.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Boil lasagna noodles for 8 minutes, drain, and rinse immediately with cold water.
- Add 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish. Add a layer of noodles, half the basil cheeze sauce, half the vegetables, more pasta sauce, another layer of noodles, veggie burger crumbles (optional), the rest of the cheeze sauce, the rest of the vegetables, more pasta sauce, and finally a sprinkle of cheese.
- Cover with tinfoil and prick with fork a few times. Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes and then remove tinfoil and broil for 5 minutes on medium. Watch closely so you don’t burn the edges. Remove and serve. Will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days.
Tip:
- * I cooked an entire box of noodles (16 oz) and had 6 noodles leftover. This will depend on how large your casserole dish is. My dish is a bit small, although I’m not sure of the actual size.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Drool.
Now, my mind is swirling with a seasonal lasagna recipe like pumpkin or squash lasagna. I think that would be really good!
This looks so good! Perfect for the dark cold nights :)
And I love your cheeze idea!
Kamut has gluten. I am trying this tomorrow using Brown Rice noodles. They are the only noodles available that are gluten free.
K
Hi there. Re Gluten free lasagna noodles: Catelli has come out with gluten free…they work great. However a tip if I may…is proir to use…layer them on a cookie sheet…pour boiling water over top…let them soak for 15 to 20 min.(or until desired consistency..moving them around so they dont stick to pan. Rub off any excess film (gooey texture). Ready to go.
Thanks for sharing, Bernie!
Cashew cheese has been rocking my world lately – especially with homemade ravioli! I’ve been drooling every time the word “cashew” is mentioned – you better believe I’ll be making this next week.
Cashew cream sauce, sour cream, cashew cheese, love it all myself! Mwaah! Love cashews as a sub for dairy. Oh yeah!
Love cashews as a sub for dairy too! Oh, yeah! Sorry, I just hit the star button by accident! Have not tried, but will soon, then I’ll rate, but not with one star! Come on, we’re talkin cashew cheese, and lasagna, can’t get any better then that!
Oooh this sounds so good Ange! The basil cashew cheeze sauce sounds like something I’d definitely use as a spread and dip for everything – a bit like hummus! I haven’t made lasagna in so long but my mum used to make it all the time – she’s definitely not a cook by any stretch of the imagination (and she will openly admit to that!) so I knew it couldn’t be too hard. You’ve got me hungry for lunch and it’s only 10:45! :)
Thank you so much for the recipie! It’s like you read my mind. I’ve been looking for a good pasta dish to make for my carbo load before my marathon on Sunday. :) Thank you for saving me time from having to google a recipie!
Angela- I was “re” introduced to your blog last night from a friend that brought a recipe of yours to my potluck yesterday. I forgot how much I loved it when I first started reading it a while ago!
This recipe looks SO good! I was actually planning on making lasagna tonight, and you mentioning pumpkin and squash has by head in a frenzy! :)
Thanks Lauren!
Looks delicious to me!
Is there a nut that would be good to use instead of cashews? I’ve made a few cashew sauces and my husband feels like maybe he has a bit of an allergy because they don’t sit right with him.
what if you tried almonds? Mama Pea (Peas and Thank You) has a great recipe – Mmmm sauce – she makes with almonds and chickpeas. Tasty and highly addictive!
That’s a great idea! Thanks.
Macadamia nuts will give you the closest match to cashews :)
Peas and Thanks You has closed it’s Blog down, darn it, I wanted to look at the Almond recipe e.g. Lasagne. I think “Oh She Glows recipe looks great though, but will make it without the night shade e.g. Capsicum or Bell Peppers as most call them…
Thanks…
Macadamia nuts would work
This looks fantastic! Hopefully I can try it out soon. One of my family’s tradition is to have my mom’s lasagna at holiday gatherings (Thanksgiving and Christmas, usually) and I haven’t been able to eat it for a long time because of being lactose intolerant. I’ve been looking for an alternative and this may be it!
Oh my that just looks heavenly and perfect comfort food for these cooler temps!
I can’t believe you’ve never made lasagna until now! Looks like you made up for lost time though! :) Great idea adding the veggie burger crumbles.
When I use jarred marinara sauce I typically heat it in a pan and add some flavor to it like garlic, red pepper flakes, sauteed onions, etc. It is a fast way to improves the taste!
I have a killer pumpkin sage lasagna I used to make for a restaurant I worked in.. (actually, I made lots of different lasagnas for the restaurant as clean out the leftovers.. so good!).. this looks great!
yum I love lasagna and the basil cheeze sauce sounds amazing !
This looks great!
One minor correction – daylight savings is over, it starts in the spring but in the fall we return to Eastern Standard Time.
That makes sense!
This is a really interesting idea! I have been working on a dairy-free lasagna for my lactose intolerant boyfriend which involves a very tasty white bean sauce. Totally creamy and delicious, but not the prettiest dish yet … I am so intrigued by using cashews in place of dairy, but I still haven’t tried it.
Wow!! That looks SOOO great and I love the different flavors I never would’ve thought to put together! Well done for not just a first time but any time!
Looks and sounds delicious Angela! Lasagna was one of the first things I learned to cook as a young adult living on my own, and I too was impressed with how much easier it was to make than I thought it would be. I also like using faux cheeses to make vegan lasagna really creamy and delicious. And pesto is a nice touch in lasagna too.
yum! I <3 lasagna! I'm also excited that your recipe doesn't have eggplant… my husband HATES eggplant and I find most veggie lasagna recipes list it.
PS I looove that PC sauce :)
It’s great isn’t it? One of our favs…
Lasagna and baked ziti are two things that I grew up loving! They’re so fattening though so I always tried to stay away from them, well as an adult. Now that we’re trying to eat more vegan based meals at home I made a tofu based vegetarian lasagna and it was delicious. Soy makes me a little bloated so this is a great alternative! Your cookbook is going to be amazing!
Drool worthy indeed! That cheese looks so comforting and soothing. I have saved this recipe to try at a later date. Thanks again Angela for the wonderful recipe.
I want to make that cheeze sauce right now even if it’s not going on lasagna. I think I could spread that on anything and be happy!
This lasagna looks fabulous! Growing up, my mom would make a really yummy vegetarian lasagna with tofu, but I’m very interested to try your cashew-based cheeze sauce.
Also, I love the pops of purple in your photos! Beautiful contrast with the lasagna. :)
It looks great! Any suggestions on substitutions? I cannot do lemon or tomatoes!
What about a pesto instead of tomato sauce?
Instead of lemon? Maybe a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar (but really not sure how that would taste…I would add it gradually!)
Actually In Italy we dont use any tomatoes in Lasagna. You wouldn’t even recognize Lasagna the way it was intended. :D
Looking good, Angela!! :)
I might add some TVP to the mix, but otherwise it looks AMAZING!
For a butternut squash version, this recipe is AMAZING: Vegetable Lasagna with Butternut Béchamel The squash takes place of the ricotta and the addition of mushrooms and chard (I used kale) makes it so hearty while staying vegetarian. It’s making me drool thinking about it! ;)
I’m sure with your wizardry you can easily make this vegan!
Nice :) Thanks for the link!
I finally perfected a veggie lasagna that my whole family likes but this looks awesome too!
I can’t breathe. I’m looking at this all and can.not.breathe.
Or maybe I’m hyperventilating?
I can’t tell. I just know I have to have Lemon Basil Cashew Cheese yesterday. Twice. Forever.
:) enjoy!
Great job on your first lasagna attempt! The lemon basil cashew cheese looks like a perfect stand-in for the traditional cheese and MUCH better than the standard tofu-based cheese. Bleh.
So I saw this on pinterest and I was like “whoa, amazing! This looks so good!” Then I clicked on the link and was brought here. These photos are different than what you normally do… something is different… is that a new white table? I LOVE it! And the light from everywhere, do awesome.
I’ve been craving lasagna something fierce over the last couple of days. Good on you for trying it for the first time :)
I thought the same thing! It must be the white table!
Wow you guys have a keen eye! I actually made a table top and I will be showing a tutorial on the blog soon (it’s actually only in the initial stages right now), so I hope it works out. I’m going to antique it…
This looks amazing! I have been craving lasagne and now I want to go make this!
I made lasagna last night, too! But mine was not nearly as pretty or creative as yours…and not as cheesy. Which is why I should give the basil cashew cheeze a go! Daylight savings is the best. Although, I’m still secretly in my head going by the hour difference…as in “well, it WOULD still be noon if we didn’t change the clock back, so eating chocolate is ok.” :D
haha I do that too.
I also made my lasagna with rice noodles instead, but I regretted not grabbing the kamut instead and now I’m further regretting not grabbing them!
I love lasagne and your version looks delicious!
I seriously cannot wait to try this! I love it :)
I love lasagna. It was the first meal that made me feel like a proper grown up cooking dinner after I moved away from home. I think it was because it involved using pans AND the oven!
yummm… this looks fantastic. i’m not vegan, but trying to reduce my meat and dairy intake. can’t wait to try this!!
Mmm that looks fantastic! When I can eat gluten again I am definitely going to try it (please pray that I can eat gluten again haha).
Swooning.
Funny, I made lasagna for the first time this past week also!!
I even served it to company!
i love the look of that cashew cheeze. i need to make myself a lasagna to bring to my parents’ house this weekend and i think i’ll be using that instead of tofu ;) thanks for the inspiration!
This looks just sooooo good! I have never had vegan lasagna and from the looks of it, I must as soon as I can. STILL have not tried Daiya yet either, geesh. ;)
I love vegan cashew and poppy seed cream with my foods recently. Perfect sauce for lasagna’s, pastas or even in non-vegetarian dishes :)
mmm nice job with this, it looks so vibrant and healthy- something I usually wouldn’t call lasagna ;) The step by step photos are gorgeous and give a great visual guide too.
Thanks Katie!
Im sure its lovely and it looks delicious but Ang why are you still rinsing your pasta in water when your done cooking it????? This is the worst worst worst thing you can do to it. Stop rinsing it, it just makes no sense you just make it gross. Please stop or I will send every Italian mother I know over to your house to see what you do! :D
Sabs.
Ahhh! I remember you saying this, but can you refresh my mind why it’s so bad?
Omg, THANK YOU!! I don’t know if you saw my Google search for “oh she glows vegan lasagna” this weekend, but I love coming to your site for recipes! After I couldn’t find one here, I made a pumpkin lasagna that was kinda…meh. My man wants me to make THIS one (and I have no objections), so it’s one the grocery list now :D Thank you thank you thank you, Angela!!
haha that’s awesome you searched that! I guess I read your mind :)
im gonna make this on saturday night! can’t wait!
It’s funny that you just posted this…I was looking for a vegan lasagna recipe to make this weekend and went looking for one on your site but surprised there wasn’t one. This one looks great!
My computer crashes for 8 days and look at everything I miss! Congratulations times 3 on all the amazing wins–Chatelaine, blog, BOOK! You deserve every one of them. Can’t wait! :)
Thank you Ricki :) Sorry to hear about your computer…I hope all is well again! That happened to me earlier this year and it was awful!
This looks delicious! Maybe I’ll make it for my family when I go home for a bit! Haha if I made it just for myself I think I’d get pretty tired of lasagna before I could finish it off!
Your lasagna looks great and for someone who’s never made it before, you nailed it!
The whole dinner photography thing in general….I get an epic fail at. My photos are dark or yellow, blurry b/c I am rushing, have a hungry family….the darkness just is going to compound that. If you have tips for what you do (other than pre-cooking and photographing things in the afternoon) I’d love to hear about it. I have lights that I’m not inclined to set up usually but I guess I should :)
hehe I have a couple lights (for my lightbox) but I fail to use them….and the two lights I have aren’t mounted so I’d have to mount them too. Way too lazy for that! I just tried to brighten these up in lightroom as much as I could. Oh and I threw out my lightbox! lol.
Looks delish. Add a layer of thinly sliced grilled eggplant. Then it would be perfect :)
I love the idea of the cashew and basil cheese…yum!
Thanks for the new idea for lasagna! The tofu for ricotta comes out fantastic BUT tofu and my tummy don’t necessarily get along so I’m always looking for a substitute. And since lasagna is one of my favorite foods, I’m so trying this! Just curious on the lemon though, does it come out as a prominent flavor or does it just blend in and compliment the whole dish? Thank you again for posting this!!!!
I didn’t notice the lemon pop off the dish at all. You can notice it in the cheeze itself, but not in the overall lasagna….at least in my opinion!