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!
Hi,
How long with the Basil Cashew cream sauce last? A week? Less than a week?
Thank you,
Tara N
Hi there!
Just wanted to let you know that I tried out this recipe the other night and it was absolutely FABULOUS. So so good! Easily one of the best lasagna’s I’ve ever had, and I’m don’t even eat vegan all of the time! My fiance is an chef, and I’ve been trying to cook more for him recently. He’s never been critical, but this is the first time that he put a bite in his mouth, his eyes went wide, and he said, “WOW, that’s great!”. Thank you so much! This will definitely be in my usual dinner repertoire !
~Maggie
Thanks so much for the great comment, Maggie! It’s always wonderful to hear when a recipe is a hit. Glad both you and your fiance enjoyed the lasagna. :)
Oh my word – I made this last night. This Lemon basil cashew cream is the best combo Ive ever tasted. My ‘not another vegan dish’ husband went back for seconds.
Yum Yum Yum – 6 Stars
I’m so glad it was a hit all around, Elizabeth! :)
I’m so excited to try this for my vegan daughter who is headed off to college soon. I’ve read through all of your comments but don’t see a clear answer regarding how it holds up to freezing. I’m planning on making several dishes for her and know she will love this…has anyone tried freezing?
I love everything about your site, it’s the source I consult most often in my cooking. Just tonight I made the cashew hemp parmesan that is posted with the crowd pleasing ceasar salad, I know it by heart, I’ve made it so many times.
And so it’s with a reasonable degree of humility that I suggest readers of your blog to check out my lasagne recipe. It certainly isn’t as beautifully presented as yours, but it’s a classic vegan lasagne, along with a super easy recipe to make the pasta yourself. Have a look: http://cheekyvegan.de/portfolio-items/classic-vegan-lasagne/
Thanks for your kind words, Barbara – and for sharing that recipe! It looks delish. :)
I made this lasagna last night, and added LightLife Veggie Breakfast Patties in a layer where you suggested crumbles. I finally got to eat some tonight and it is so amazing that I had two servings! Absolutely amazing, thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it, Amy!
I am so in love with the Lemon basil cashew cheese…. This thing is like.. Heaven!
I made this lasagna tonight, add some eggplant and spicy tofu (instead of patties) and it was absolutely delicious! Thank you :)
I made this lasagna today for my vegan daughter’s birthday dinner! She really liked it and so did my meat eating husband and son! Great success. I’ll be making this again in the future. I loved the lemon cashew basil cheese.
I’m glad it was a hit, Jamie! Happy belated birthday to your daughter. :)
I made this for my Mom’s birthday and my entire family absolutely loved it! My family normally isn’t the biggest fan of lasagna because it’s too cheesy and meaty for them, but they loved how this recipe had lots of veggies and the basil cashew cheese made it even better. One of my aunts even said that this was the first time she had lasagna and actually enjoyed it!
I made this the night before because I had a busy day on the day of the party and it came out perfectly. It’s especially good with garlic bread to soak up the sauce.
So glad it was a hit, Grace!
I’m wondering if this can be prepared a couple of days ahead and frozen?
When I travel, I take my food with me, as it’s hard to get good vegan food in rural areas.
Hi Renee, I’ve heard that lasagna freezes well, but I haven’t tested it out myself for this particular recipe unfortunately. If you try anything out, please let us know!
This is now a regular recipe of mine (it never fails to be delicious), and people at work request that I make it for them ALL the time. I have frozen it quite a few times, and it always reheats well for future eating. Thanks again for the delicious recipe Angela, I can’t wait to make it again tonight (for the billionth time).
Hi
Would pre cooked Lasagna noodles work as well?
Making this tonight for dinner. :)
I’ve tried it both ways, regular noodles taste a bit better in my opinion – but the precooked noodles version is still DELICIOUS! When I use pre-cooked noodles I generally use two full cans of sauce instead of 1.5. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it two nights ago, it was gone yesterday to rave reviews, am making another batch for lunches tonight. Delicious, and I” already planning to make it for Christmas day (so I can contribute but be able to enjoy something healthy myself). Thank you!!!
I’m so glad the lasagna was such a hit! I’m sure everyone will love having it on Christmas Day, too. :) Thanks for the lovely review, Jen!
Amazing recipe. It was my first vegan lasagna attempt and I had non-vegans raving about how delicious this lasagna was. I used oven ready brown rice noodles to make it gluten free and also added some roasted eggplant (sweat for 1 hour before).
I made this for our meat eater father in-law but I added some soy chorizo from Trader’s Joe and he didn’t believe the lasagna was vegan. It was a total hit and the cheeze sauce was to die for, thank you for sharing such a delicious cruelty free recipe!
That’s so great to hear, Hilda! I love that it won him over. :)
This recipe looks awesome! I’ve been looking for a non tofu cheese.
OMG!!! Made this last night … the basil cheez sauce is to die for!! Everyone loved it, including our non-vegan friends! I highly recommend this recipe! Looking forward to leftovers later this week : )
This lasagna is delicious; very flavourful, rich and “cheesy”. I made it tonight for the second time. We can’t wait for the leftovers tomorrow!
Sounds like the recipes a hit! :) Enjoy those leftovers!
I am about to make this recipe, but I cannot see an ingredient that explains the grated ‘cheese’ topping? What is it?
Hi Kathleen, Apologies for not getting to this sooner! How did the lasagna turn out? As to your question, I think the grated cheese topping you were asking about is the sprinkle of cheese that goes on at the very last? In the ingredients list, that’s where the Daiya cheese (as much as desired) comes in.
This is my vegan son-in-law’s favorite lasagna! I just make it with extra basil cashew cheese, because it’s so good!
This is the best vegan recipe I’ve ever tried!!!
I LOVE this… the basil cashew cheese is tha bomb!
This recipe looks delicious. Can I substitute zucchini noodles for the boxed pasta noodles.?
Hi Michele, What a great idea! I haven’t tried this myself, but I feel like it could work nicely. My only thought is that the lasagna might turn out on the watery side, since the noodles will release water while cooking. If you can pre-cook the zucchini noodles to dry them out, OR salt them and place them in a colander for 30-60 minutes, that could help release water before assembling and baking. I’d love to hear how it goes if you experiment!
Hi Angela
This went down really well with my family who are all omni!
I’d never made anything to share and eat with them for fear that they might not like it. SO for my birthday I plucked up the courage and made this and they honestly all loved it! SUCCESS I’ve been met with a lot of resistance in the past but I’m realizing now that they just didn’t know. They just didn’t know that you could get good vegan cheese that melts, or that cashews and nutritional yeast make a kick ass sauce. I’m realizing that I need to be more open and share more with them, show them it’s a joy and not a restriction! I ran into a little problem with the pasta/noodle sheets sticking together. Do you have a tip for this?
Thanks!
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that this was enjoyed by everyone! And what a sweet thing for you to do for your fam on your own birthday, to boot! As for the noodles sticking together, this has happened to me in the past. I think it depends on the brand and type of pasta used to be honest. Which kind of noodle did you use? Gluten-free ones can stick together more than others I’ve found.
This is the most amazing lasagna I’ve ever tasted! The basil cashew cheese really makes it phenomenal. I made it with veggie ground round in place of the burgers and really liked the fullness it gave. I’m sure the burgers would do the same thing. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad it was a hit, Kimberley!!
Hi! I love this dish, it’s so good. Thank you! I want to make it for a big dinner party next week. Should I bake, then freeze? Or, should I freeze after assembly, then bake before dinnertime? Many thanks~
“Hi Ashley, I haven’t tried either method myself, but I think I would probably freeze it after cooking (and cooling) it. My worry if freezing it before baking is that when thawed it could become watery (but again, I’m just guessing). Please let me know which method you try and how it goes!
Does this freeze ok?
Seriously the best vegan GF recipe EVER!!! My husband recently went vegan then he says ever since I started cooking vegan it’s the best I’ve ever cooked . Thanks to Oh She Glows. You Rock girl!!
Aw, thank you! <3 So glad this recipe's such a big hit!!
This recipe has changed my life…along with the kale Ceasar salad recipe!! Definitely 5 stars! The basil cashew cream is majestic to say the least!! I tried another lasagna recipe that used tofu/hummus mixture as the ricotta sub, it was edible but this one hands down has given me life! Happy girl:)
Nice recipe. Love it.
This was AMAZING! My roommates absolutely loved it! Can’t wait to make it for my omni fam!
So happy to hear this Ingrid, thanks for letting me know!
This is so damn good. We’ve made it two years in a row for a Christmas gathering with our family that is all non-vegan. They all make their lasagnas and we bring this to share with them (and for us to eat as vegans). The pan is cleared out each year and we get raving complements from everyone. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Justin, that’s so GREAT to hear!! Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be making this over the holidays too…can’t wait!
I’m allergic to nuts and seeds. Can I substitute tofu instead of cashews? If so, how much tofu should I use?
Hey Justine, I haven’t tried it before, but if I was going to I would start with 1/2 cup chopped tofu in the cheese sauce. Taste it, and add from there (if necessary). Please let me know if you try anything out! Would love to hear how it goes.
I made this tonight for my brother’s birthday and we were all blown away at how good this was! I always put vegan lasagna in the ‘too hard and probably not that good basket’ but I’d grown really bored of my go to recipes and needed something fresh. This was so simple to make and absolutely delicious! Will be making it again without a doubt, thank you for the recipe.
Whohoo, so glad it went over so well :) Thanks for letting me know!
This lasagne is the best ! My husband and I are not vegan but I cook from both of the Oh She Glows books weekly. My husband, who is a meat and potatoes guy, loves this lasagne so much, he said he would eat this weekly if I made it. And he said he prefers this recipe over any “tradional” lasagne recipe. I have to agree. It’s the bomb !! Thanks Ang !
Well this review just made my FRIDAY I tell you!! heh. Thanks Leeann! I’m so flattered. And honestly, it’s so crazy for me to think about someone cooking from my books every week..that is just so cool. Thank you for all your support. :)
Made this yesterday. Thought the cashew sauce was very strong but once all together was beautiful! I have made the same lasagne for years, finally i tried a new one and hit the jackpot first time! Thanks! ( Making your shepphards pie now, another one of my favs)
?
Hey Angela, whohoo…so glad this was such a hit! I’m making it this weekend and I’m going to stuff the cashew cheese into portobello mushrooms and roast it…can’t wait! That’s great you love the shepherd’s pie too! Thanks so much for your feedback.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s delish. I changed a couple things the second time to make it less expensive and because I like the mellower flavor. I replaced the fresh basil with fresh spinach and tossed in a few spoonfuls of dry Italian seasoning to the cashew sauce. I also left the fake cheese off the top completely and just added more sauce to the top. This will be a stable in our house!
Hey Maryanne, Oh I love your tweaks..thanks so much for sharing!
Oh, and 13×9 inch pan and three layers of noodles in sets of 3 worked great for me! The last layer of noodles with only sauce on top.
This is our favorite holiday dinner ?
Back in my past meat-eating life, I would normally assemble the lasagna without pre-cooking the noodles. It always worked perfectly and it saved so much time! Has anyone tried that with this recipe?
Hey Sarah, I’ve been meaning to try this recipe with the pre-cooked noodles! I know people who swear by them. If anyone has tried it with this recipe, we’d love to hear how it went. :)
I just tried this recipe for the first time. The flavours are amazing. If you use the oven-ready lasagne, I would say you need to thin out the 1.5 cups of bottled tomato sauce with an additional 1 cup of vegetable stock. There’s just not enough sauce overall to cook the noodles 100%. It was delicious nevertheless!
Hey Melissa, oh that’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing :)
I’ve made this several times now – including once gluten free with brown rice lasagna noodles (and you couldn’t tell!) – and it’s incredibly delicious. My husband LOVES it and I do too! He has a dairy allergy and he said he finally “gets” why everyone loves lasagna now! Thanks for this great recipe!
Aww what a sweet comment from your husband! That made me smile. Thanks so much for trying this out Maria!
This was absolutely delicious! I made this last week and it was so good that I will be making it again this week. I did half the amount of nutritional yeast only because I am not the biggest fan of it. Unfortunately it has too strong of a taste for me, but with that said the basil cheese sauce was delicious with half the nutritional yeast and it still had a great cheese flavor. I loved this recipe.
Hey Kasie, Thank you so much for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it with the reduced nutritional yeast :)
Hi, is there any way I can send a private email to angela? I am desperate for some food advice with all the allergies in my family. Im worried that Im not feeding everyone properly at this point.
our allergies include:
Dairy
Wheat
Yeast
Nuts (except for cashews pistashios and peanuts)
A lot of Raw Veggies and some raw berries
and we do not eat meat..
Help please!
Hi Alison, Absolutely you can reach us at press[at]ohsheglows[dot]com :)
When your husband keeps saying between bites -” This is so good!” – you know you’ve made a winner. In fact, he wants it on the weekly rotation. This wasn’t hard to make at all, but I told him he’d have to make it if he wanted it weekly. : ). I followed the recipe exactly, except I topped it with some aquafaba everyday cheese that I made, instead of Daiya. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
Hey Laura, haha I so agree…so glad you both love it!
Hi Angela- I’ve made this lasagna several times now and we love it! I plan on taking it to a family reunion next weekend, which will be a 3 1/2 hour drive. I will be making it the day before we leave, since we are leaving early morning. Should I just assemble it, stick it in the fridge overnight, then take it in a cooler, and cook it when I get there? Or should I fully cook it at home the day before, and reheat when we get there?
I got every answer you can think of over the internet, so thought I should go to the source for the best response!
Thanks!
Hey Jamie, Oh good question!! I haven’t made this in advance before so I’m not positive. If I was going to try it out, I would assemble it, then wrap it up (make sure the veggies aren’t still hot or it’ll steam itself when wrapped up) + chill it, and cook it when I got there. I’d love to hear how it goes if you do.
Hello,
I made a Vegan Lasagna which included a ricotta made with almonds which I found quite good. I came across your recipe and have tried many of your recipes in the past which I have liked. I will try your lasagna recipe next, however, I am not a big one on the Daiya Cheese. I found another one which is available at Superstore here in Canada called Soy Mozza and it comes just like the regular Mozza in a block so you need to grate it. It has a good flavour so this is the only thing that I’d change on this recipe.
I made this for dinner tonight and WOW. I’ve never had a lasagna with so much flavor (including the pre-vegan days). It was so delicious. The cashew basil cheese adds so much creamy, rich flavor. And unlike non-vegan lasagna, I don’t feel heavy or bloated after eating two big pieces for dinner. This is the type of dish I want to make for my family, to show them how delicious vegan cooking can be. I didn’t add the veggie burgers and I really loved it just as is.
Hey Bethany, thank you so much for your kind words! That truly means the world to me. I’m so happy you loved the recipe enough to share it with your family too. I’d love to hear what you make next!
Warmly,
Ange
What other vegetarian or vegan type of noodles you can use for Lasagna besides Kamut noodles? Just want to have options. I’m not vegetarian (yet) or vegan BUT I am looking to make healthier swaps little by little in my fave meals. Thanks!
Hi there, Most lasagna noodles tend to be vegan I’ve found, so there are usually a few options at most grocery stores. I recommend checking the ingredients list on the box just to be sure there’s no egg. :)
This recipe is too good!!! It was my first time trying out vegan lasagna and I will definitely stick to this recipe for the future. I cooked the vegetables and directly added the pasta sauce in the pan to mix everything together, and didn’t add vegan cheese on top and it was excellent. Thank you :)
Hi Juliette, I’m so happy to hear how much you love it! Thanks for your feedback :)
What a fantastic lasagna! Thank you so much!
I used Rizopia gluten free brown rice pasta with 2 ingredients: Whole grain brown rice and rice bran. It was a success. Opted for the Oven Ready cooking choice that does not require boiling the pasta before assembling. Will try with 3 layers rather than 2 layers of pasta next time I make this dish.
Has anyone tried with success freezing this assembled lasagna to serve at a future date either before or after baking? Or anyone freezed the Lemon Basil Cream Cheese ahead to be used later without compromising the taste?
Hey there, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m sorry I can’t recall if I have ever tried freezing this lasagna, but maybe someone else can chime in. :)
This recipe is incredible! Tastes so much like traditional lasagna I couldn’t believe it. I fed it to a dinner party including everyone from vegans to picky carnivores and everybody loved it. It is packed with so much flavour and has the same comforting feel you want out of a dish like lasagna. The cashew cheese is absolutely delicious, I would make that on it’s own even as a dip. Will definitely be making this again!!
Hi Anna, I’m so glad it was such a hit with everyone…thanks for your review! :)