Savory Vegan Lasagna

Do you love lasagna but think that a vegan lasagna couldn’t possibly hold a candle to traditional meat or even vegetarian lasagna?  You can have a satisfying and delicious lasagna and never miss the meat or cheese that seem to define lasagna for omnivores! My friend, Natalie, gave me this recipe which she adapted from celebrity Chef AJ, a wonderful and inventive creator of great, healthy food!  Every time I make it, my daughter eats the leftovers for every meal until it’s gone. Then she begs for more.  My friend Annice, a gourmet cook, remarked that she actually liked it better than vegetarian lasagna with cheese, when I served it at a small luncheon.  This dish has a bit of a pesto-y zing to it and you’ll realize that cheese or meat are just not necessary to get that flavor!

Savory Vegan Lasagna

• 2 boxes no-boil lasagna noodles
• 6 cups marinara sauce
• 2 cans great northern beans or cannelloni beans (drained and rinsed)
• 2 oz. fresh basil leaves (no stems)
• 1 cup hemp seeds (or raw cashews)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup miso paste
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 lbs. frozen spinach (thawed drained and squeezed)
• 2 lbs. mushrooms (sliced)
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 lg. onion, finely diced

Lasagna ingredients

1) In a food processor, add the beans, basil, hemp seeds, 3 cloves of garlic, miso paste, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and pepper flakes. Puree until smooth.

Beans, basil, hemp seeds, garlic miso paste, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, red pepper flakes

2)  Add the spinach and puree again. Set aside.

Puree ingredients until smooth

3)  In a large saute pan, saute the onions in 2 tbs of water until translucent, about 8 minutes, adding more water when needed.

Saute onions, mushrooms, tamari & garlic

4)  In the saute pan, add 1 clove of garlic, the mushrooms, and the tamari (soy) sauce and saute until golden brown.  Cook until mushrooms look glazed and no liquid is left in the pan.

5)  Pour 3 cups of marinara sauce into 9 x 13 lasagna pan.

6)  Place 1 layer of no-boil lasagna noodles on top of sauce.

7)  Cover the noodles with about 1/3 of the spinach mixture. Then put a layer using about 1/2 mushroom mixture.

Layering the lasagna

8)  Repeat: 1 layer of noodles, 1/3 spinach mixture, 1/2 mushroom mixture.

9)  Place 1 more layer of noodles.  Layer the remaining spinach mixture on top.

10)  Smother evenly with 3 cups of marinara sauce, making sure that all the noodles are completely covered in sauce.

11)  Sprinkle with Faux Parmesan

12)  Bake uncovered in pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

13)  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Faux Parmesan

1 cup raw almonds or cashews

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbs. salt free Italian seasoning

In a food processor, combine all ingredients until a powered texture is formed.  Can be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

Possible Substitutions and Notes:

1) For gluten-free lasagna: replace the noodles with gluten free lasagna or rice noodles, or bake thin slices of eggplant for 20 minutes first and use in place of noodles.

2) Instead of beans, extra firm tofu can be used.

3) Instead of frozen spinach, frozen kale can be used.

4)  Sliced black olives can be sprinkled on top before baking.

5) Instead of hemp seeds or cashews, pine nuts can be used.

6) Refrigerated leftovers slice more cleanly than when the lasagna is hot.

Mangia and Enjoy!

Cooking with “NOOCH”…aka Nutritional Yeast

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xox Ellen