Greetings all! Now that I have some photos to go along with it, I would like to tell you about the very best lasagna in the world. We served this for our holiday celebration this past weekend.
Ingredients
- 1 lb tofu, firm
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
- 6 cups tomato sauce
- 15 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions (if you are using a standard 9×13 pan, you might only need 12 noodles – there are 3 layers of noodles, if that helps you plan)
- 1 pkg Field Roast Chao cheese
- Meatless crumbles (I use 2 pkgs of Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles, found in the freezer section)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cook the beefy crumbles in a large skillet according to package directions while the noodles are cooking. Stir the pasta sauce in with the beefy crumbles and cook until heated through.
- In a blender or food processor, blend the tofu, milk, oregano, basil, salt, lemon juice, garlic, and onion together until it achieves the consistency of cottage cheese. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water.
- Stir in the chopped spinach and set aside.
- Cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles.
- Sprinkle 1/2 of the tofu mixture onto the layers. Cover this with noodles and a layer of sauce.
- Add the remaining filling and arrange half of the cheese slices on top of the filling.
- Add a layer of sauce and one more layer of noodles (the last layer).
- Arrange the other half of the cheese slices on top of the noodles and cover with the last of the sauce.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes. (Note – the first time we made this we baked for 30 minutes; if you keep it in a little longer, the noodles crisp up nicely on the edges.)
- Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.
This is adapted from a recipe in the cookbook, How It All Vegan by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer. I love their book. It is one of the very first cookbooks I bought when I transitioned to plant based. This is just another one of the great recipes I’ve tried from it.
As lasagnas go, this one is relatively healthy. The tofu and meatless crumbles add a lot of protein without all the unhealthy saturated fats and cholesterol of traditional cheese and ground beef.
This is such a nice comfort food! Some things that a new vegan may feel like they have given up forever, are not really off the table after all, even lasagna. Meat eaters and vegans alike devour this lasagna. Even though I’ve made it many times now, I still can’t believe how good it is.
Do you have a favorite lasagna recipe, maybe an old family favorite that has been passed down? Care to share? (Psst…it’s ok if it’s not plant-based, this is a no judgment zone. We are all on our own paths in this life.)
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