Recipe 16: Vegan Lasagna

This lasagna is definitely something I will be making for my kids one day. It's easy, can be prepped, and put in the oven in just 30 minutes!  

 

Vegan Lasagna

 (adapted from Jessica on Allrecipes.com)

Prep Time:
30 Min

 Cook Time:
30-40 mins

Ready In:
1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 package (12 ounces) of meatless ground beef 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 5-6 bella mushrooms
• 4-5 cloves of minced garlic
• 1-2 cans (approximately 28 ounces) of marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's Toscana Marinara Sauce)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 2 pounds firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• dried Italian herbs 

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles for 9 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add in mushrooms and continue to cook for approximately 3-4 minutes. Season mushrooms and onion with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Remove from heat. Place mushrooms and onions in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes (Note: If you do not have a food processor, you can add the mushrooms and onions into the sauce or tofu mixture unblended).
4. Place the tofu blocks in a large bowl.  Add blended mushrooms and onions. Add the garlic, basil and parsley. Add the salt and pepper, and mash all the ingredients together by squeezing pieces of tofu through your fingers. Mix well.
5. Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the tofu. Next ladle 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the tofu, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/3 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top the tofu with 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, and place a final layer of noodles over the tomato sauce. Finally, top the noodles with the final 1/3 of the tofu, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over everything.
6. Sprinkle some nutritional yeast and dried Italian herbs over the top for some extra flavor!
7. Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy.

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