I have always loved a hearty homemade lasagna. It’s one of those things that you can make ahead of time and refrigerate until it’s time to cook, and I can easily feed a large group of people.

Back when I was first entertaining the idea of becoming a vegan, I had a list of about 10 things that we deal breakers for me. 10 things that I didn’t think I would be able to enjoy anymore if I switched to a plant-based diet. So I set out on a quest on a 30 day vegan challenge, and decided to try to replicate all 10 of those things as vegan friendly. 

Truth be told the majority of those things involved eggs and cheese, since giving up the meat was never a huge sacrifice for me. But it seems like almost everything on that list had some sort of dairy connection. So one of the very first things I tackled was my beloved lasagna. 

Switching to a healthier way of eating had been the first step in my journey, as the year before, I had begun a weight-loss journey. I had already begun modifying my go to recipes with healthier choices. Our burgers had become turkey burgers, and our regular cheese and become low-fat cheese. I started sourcing organic foods and choosing whole-grain pastas instead of my usual fare. So after being a Pescatarian (eating only seafood) for about a year or so, I had switched to a semi-vegetarian diet when I became an avid “Weight Watcher”. Like I said before, giving up eating meat, was not hard for me, but going from vegetarian to vegan was to be a much bigger adjustment.

I did so love my Eggs Benedict. But that’s a whole other story for a later day.

Back to the lasagna. It was a challenge, but I rarely back down from one of those. And after a whole lot of failed experimentation, I finally hit the sweet spot with all of the things I loved about my old lasagna, all wrapped up into one delicious vegan home cooked meal.

Creamy and bubbly with crispy edges and a hearty depth of flavor. With mushrooms and vegetarian crumbles and herbed tofu “ricotta”, this recipe checked all of my boxes, and was one of the main reasons why I eventually went ahead with my plant-based aspirations.

Here is what you will need:

CREAMY TOFU LASAGNA [Serves 8]

Ingredients:

9 x 11 oven safe glass baking dish

Extra-virgin olive oil– spray- enough to coat the bottom of the pan

Minced garlic– 1 Tablespoon

Shallots– One bulb minced

Vegetarian/meatless crumbles– One cup

Crimini mushrooms– One 10 oz package

Italian seasoning– 2 Tablespoons

Marinara sauce– two jars

*(if you do not want to use premade sauce you can simply use two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes and simmer with 2 TBsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp garlic powder, Salt and pepper, and 1/4 cup dried minced onions. After making the sauce, you will divide it in half and use one half to make the “meat” sauce .These extra ingredients are not added into the recipe, so will need to be addition to the listed amounts)

Oven ready lasagna noodles– One box

Grated (vegan) topping– 6 Tablespoons

Grated vegan nut or soy cheese– 4 cups

Extra firm silken tofu– 12oz (I use Mori-Nu brand so I don’t have to drain it)

Salt and pepper– A pinch of each

Step 1: Make the “meat” sauce. You will have two different sauces, one will be just straight marinara with only tomato, and the other will be a “meat” sauce with the mushrooms and vegetarian crumbles.

Coat your pan with the extra-virgin olive oil and sauté the garlic, and minced shallots until slightly brown.

Then, to that pan, you will add in the meatless crumbles and the chopped mushrooms. Cook until combined over medium heat for about five minutes.

Add one jar of the Marinara sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, it’s time to tackle Step 2.

Step 2: Make the tofu ricotta

Using a fork, break up the block of silken tofu into a bowl until it has the consistency of ricotta cheese. Add in the grated topping and Italian seasoning as well as the salt and pepper.

Step 3: Construct the lasagna (photo shows the order with the bottom of lasagna being at the bottom of the photo)

Starting at the bottom of the glass baking dish-

-marinara sauce (tomato only)-Cover the bottom of the pan

-noodles in single layer

-marinara sauce (thin layer)

-tofu ricotta (half of the mixture)

-noodles in single layer

-mushroom meat sauce (thick layer to completely cover noodles)

-noodles in single layer

-marinara sauce (thin layer)

-tofu ricotta (remaining half of the mixture)

-noodles in single layer

-marinara sauce (remainder of sauce to completely cover noodles)

-shredded cheese sprinkled over entire top of lasagna all the way to the edges

Step 4: Cover lasagna with foil tented in the middle to avoid sticking and bake in a 400° oven for 40 minutes. Please follow the baking instructions for the noodles that you choose to use as they may vary.

Remove foil for the last 10 minutes to allow lasagna to brown on top.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Cut lasagna into eight pieces, and enjoy!

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