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This Vegan Lasagna is as easy as it gets. You can make this with no extra cooking ahead of time, and it’s just as satisfying as the traditional version!
Ingredients You’ll Need
What is Vegan Lasagna made of?
- Lasagna noodles (use no-boil ones; see 2 brands below)
- Marinara sauce (get a large 32 oz. jar!)
- Cooked lentils (use canned to save time)
- Vegan Ricotta
- Cashew Parmesan Sauce
The only prep work is blending together the ricotta and cashew sauce, but they each take less than 5 minutes to make. Your lasagna will be baking away in the oven in no time!
How to Make It
First, you’ll need to gather all of the vegan lasagna components. You might be thinking, what can I substitute for cheese in lasagna? Vegan ricotta is remarkably authentic!
To make it, add the tofu, lemon juice, salt, and dried herbs to a food processor, and process until smooth. It should take about 30 to 60 seconds of processing.
Set that vegan ricotta aside, and get out your blender to make the Cashew Parmesan sauce. This step is optional, because I’ve made this lasagna plenty of times without it, but it does give it extra Parmesan flavor and creaminess, without much extra effort.
In a blender, add the cashews, water, miso, lemon, and salt. If you don’t have miso on hand, just skip it and add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt, instead.
Blend until smooth, and add extra water, if needed to thin out the sauce. You want it to be able to drip off of a spoon, but not too watery. (It should be like a creamy salad dressing.)
If you’re using canned lentils (highly recommended), open the cans and pour the lentils into a fine mesh seive so you can rinse and drain them. Add the lentils to a large bowl, and stir in 1 cup of marinara sauce and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
Now it’s time to assemble! Add 1 cup of marinara sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish, and layer the no-boil lasagna noodles on top.
Next you’ll add 1/2 of the lentil mixture, followed by half of the ricotta mixture. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly.
Drizzle 1/3 of the cashew cheese sauce over the ricotta, then add another layer of lasagna noodles.
Repeat with the remaining lentil mixture and ricotta, then add another 1/3 of the cashew cheese sauce on top.
Finally, add one last layer of lasagna noodles, and top them with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce you should have left in your jar. (Be sure you bought a large 32 oz. jar and not the standard 24-25 oz. jars!)
Drizzle with the remaining cheese sauce, then cover the lasagna and bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes. Remove the cover for the last 5 minutes of baking, to let the top dry out a bit.
Let the lasagna rest for at least 10 minutes, then slice and serve!
This vegan lasagna is:
- Hearty
- Flavorful
- Easy to make
- Comforting
- and will please any meat-eating family members!
Substitutions
Need to make a swap? Here’s my best guess on what might work.
- Tofu Ricotta. If you don’t want to use tofu, you could use the white bean béchamel from my Sweet Potato Lasagna recipe instead. Or try cashew cream! I bet even a thin layer of homemade hummus would be delicious.
- Lentils. You can cook lentils from scratch, if you don’t want to use the convenience of canned. I usually cook lentils in my Instant Pot, if you want tips.
- Cashew Sauce. You can replace the cashew cheese sauce with your favorite vegan pesto sauce instead! It won’t look as classic, but the flavor is out of this world. Try my Kale Pesto or Vegan Pesto recipes.
- Lasagna Noodles. Want to skip the noodles? You can use thinly sliced zucchini or sweet potato instead. Check out my Zucchini Lasagna or Sweet Potato Lasagna for tips.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Vegan Alfredo
- Lentil Bolognese
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Creamy Vegan Pasta (using hummus!)
- Kale Pesto Pasta
- Avocado Pesto
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Vegan Ricotta
- 1 (14 oz) package firm tofu (397 grams)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (22 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (10 grams)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Cashew Parmesan Sauce
- 3/4 cup whole cashews (not roasted; 112 grams)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons white miso (optional; 46 grams)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (14 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Vegan Lasagna Assembly
- 8 ounces no-boil lasagna noodles
- 32 ounces marinara sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 (14 oz) cans cooked lentils (about 3 cups)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. To prepare the vegan ricotta, combine the tofu, lemon juice, salt, oregano, and basil in a food processor. Process until smooth, and set aside.
- To prepare the Cashew Parmesan Sauce, add the cashews, water, miso, lemon juice, and salt to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth, and add 2 to 3 more tablespoons of water, as needed, to help it blend. Set aside.
- Drain and rinse the canned lentils, then add them to a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of marinara sauce, and 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
- To assemble the lasagna, spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, without much overlap, then top them with half of the lentil mixture and half of the ricotta mixture. Spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon.
- Drizzle 1/3 of the cheese sauce over the ricotta layer, then repeat the layers, starting with another layer of lasagna noodles, followed by the rest of the lentil mixture and ricotta. Drizzle another 1/3 of the cheese sauce over the top.
- Add a final layer of lasagna noodles, and top them with 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce, making sure the noodles are fully covered in sauce. Drizzle the remaining cheese sauce over the top, then cover the pan and bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes. Remove the cover for the last 5 minutes of baking, so the top will dry slightly.
- Let the lasagna rest for 10 to 15 minutes, then slice and serve warm. Leftover lasagna will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. (I think it tastes even better the next day!)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this Vegan Lasagna, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite comfort food meal?
Very good! Everyone liked it in my house. However it is rather salty. I made it for the second time today and even though I cut back on the salt it still is too much. Has anyone else had this experience? I wonder if it’s the miso.
I loved this recipe! The lasagna looks as good as it tastes. I substituted cannellini beans for the tofu in the vegan ricotta and Brazil nuts for cashews in the “Parmesan” sauce due to allergies. Also threw in some spinach and fresh basil for some color in the layers. Thank you!
Easy and once again a delicious recipe. Very flavorful. I didn’t have cashews so instead used zucchini pesto in place of the cashew parmesan sauce. Will definitely make this again and looking forward to the cashew sauce with miso.
Very nice indeed but I was disappointed to see you are not vegan and promoting animal abuse in other recipes. I suggest you closely examine what goes on in egg and dairy industries. They are both inflict great suffering.
This recipe is fantastic! I made it as written, including using the miso (which adds a nice flavor in my opinion). I used Jovial brand lasagna rice (GF) noodles. I didn’t have enough canned lentils on hand, so I made a batch of my own. The whole family loved it! My preteen and older teen are not tofu eaters like my husband and me and they didn’t have anything but compliments and told me to keep it in the meal rotation! Not as time consuming as some lasagna recipes, easy to make.