Of all the recipes I have ever shared, this one might be the favourite…for good reason! It’s the perfect lasagne (I think a lot of you agree? …I’ve loved seeing your pics on Instagram!). Thanks to a few tricks, it’s pretty easy to make, too. If you prep the roasted veggies and the dairy-free ricotta in advance, all you have to do is assemble it on the day you want to enjoy it for dinner.

I adapted this recipe from one of my all-time favourite cookbooks, “Vegan for Everybody” by America’s Test Kitchen. They use eggplant in theirs, roast the veggies for a much shorter time, use less ricotta, make their own tomato sauce and don’t add basil to the ricotta. Hope you like my version (but highly recommend you get their cookbook — I’ve loved every recipe). Tag me if you try this one — I’d love to hear what you think (@erinireland).

Ingredients

For the roast veggies

• 1 full bake tray of mushrooms (about 1 pound, chopped)
• 1 full bake tray of zucchini (about 1 pound, quartered, then chopped)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• ~8 cloves (minced)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

For the vegan ricotta

• 1 medium cauliflower (coarsely chopped)
• 2.5 c. cashews (try sunflower seeds or tofu if you are allergic — no need to boil the tofu)
• 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Handful (28g) fresh basil (optional but recommended)
• Small handful spinach (optional)

Everything else

• 4.5 c of your favourite marinara sauce (grab 3 x 473mL jars to be safe — I prefer Mezzetta and I get it from Buy Low)
• 1-2 packages of egg-free no-bake lasagna noodles (# of packs depends on how large your baking dish is — mine is 9 x 13 and I need two packs)
• Vegan mozzarella (optional — for the top)
• More basil for the garnish on top (optional)

DIRECTIONS

To make the roast veggies:

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Chop your veggies and place on the two bake trays (zucchini on one, mushrooms on the other). Drizzle generously with evoo, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the garlic (four cloves for each tray). Roast until they are fragrant, sizzling and golden, about 30 minutes.

To make the vegan ricotta:

1. Coarsely chop your small cauliflower and add to a pot of boiling water along with the cashews. Cook until cauliflower is fork tender, about ten minutes. Drain the contents of the pot and transfer to a blender. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper (and basil / spinach if you’re using) and puree until silky smooth. Set aside for later.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a large casserole dish (anywhere around 13” x 9”) and begin to build your lasagna: spread 1 ½ c. marinara sauce in the base of your dish, followed by lasagne noodles (you may have to break some into smaller pieces to fill in the holes).
Next, add the vegan ricotta to a pastry piping bag or a small (re-used) ziploc bag with the corner cut off. To create an even cheese layer, squeeze lines of cheese onto the noodles, then spread them out using a spoon. Aim to use just under half of the ricotta (you need two layers of the ricotta and some leftover for the dollops on top, unless you’re going with mozza on top instead).
Next layer: spoon on half of the vegetables. Now repeat those layering steps: 1 ½ c. marinara sauce, noodles, cheese, vegetables. Finish with a top layer of noodles, marinara sauce and mozzarella if you prefer.

2. Cover your dish with an upside down baking sheet (instead of conventional aluminum foil) and cook for 50 minutes. If you didn’t add mozza to the top, once it’s cooked and slightly cooled, garnish the top of your lasagne with dollops of vegan ricotta (using the piping bag), a sprinkling of chopped basil (if you like) and a drizzle of good olive oil. Enjoy!