This picture was taken mid-process. I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but that’s okay . . . it wasn’t as pretty as this shot. It’s all about taste anyway, right? (Yes, I know, presentation counts, too.) Anyway, this is adapted from Mastering the Art of Vegan Cooking cookbook. I made some changes and tailored it to my own tastes and what ingredients I had on hand. It’s a fantastic variation of typical lasagna. I also went rogue by not boiling the noodles ahead of time! Ack! I totally took a gamble, especially since I was feeding guests who are not vegan. I took the advice of Kathy Hester who advises (in her new cookbook, The Easy Vegan Cookbook) not to cook the noodles ahead of time. It actually worked beautifully. It could have helped that I made this a few hours ahead of time, thus, giving the sauces times to soften the noodles. Either way, this is a will-make-again dish. (By the way, look for my review tomorrow of Hester’s new book.)
INGREDIENTS:
Bolognese sauce
2 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 Field Roast Sausages, Italian Seasoning flavored, crumbled
1 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 24-oz jar marinara sauce
2 Tbs sherry
Vegan Bechamel Sauce
2 Tbs vegan margarine
1/4 C nutritional yeast
3 Tbs whole wheat flour
1 Tbs white wine
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vegan Parmesan cheese
1-1/2 C almond milk
2 tsp lemon juice
Lasagna
9 lasagna noodles (I used Bionaturae brand) Keep the leftovers for a fabulous Lasagna Soup!
2 large tomatoes, sliced
3-4 C chopped spinach
DIRECTIONS:
Start with the Bolognese sauce. In a cast iron sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot; cook until tender. Add the Field Roast, fennel, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, celery salt, paprika, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, marinara sauce, and red wine. Reduce heat and simmer while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Now start the Bechamel sauce. In a medium sauce pan, melt the vegan margarine over medium heat. Whisk in the nutritional yeast and flour, then whisk in the white wine, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, vegan Parmesan, almond milk, and lemon juice. Whisk until thick and creamy. This may take a few minutes, and you might need to reduce the heat a little. Transfer to a large measuring cup.
Preheat the oven to 350 and start assembling the lasagna. Ladle some sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan. Keep it thin, not too much. Next, place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top, followed by some Bolognese sauce, some spinach, 2 slices of tomato (per noodle), then pour a little Bechamel sauce on top.
Go easy on the Bechamel sauce because you will need to top the dish at the end, covering the noodles completely. Repeat this step two more times, ending with the last 3 lasagna noodles. Top with the remaining Bechamel sauce.
Cover and bake 30-40 minutes. If you make this ahead of time and it’s been in the fridge for a while, add about 10 minutes to the cooking time. Let cool 5-10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
- Bolognese sauce
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 Field Roast Sausages, Italian Seasoning flavored, crumbled
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 pinches red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp celery salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 1 24-oz jar marinara sauce
- 2 Tbs sherry
- Vegan Bechamel Sauce
- 2 Tbs vegan margarine
- ¼ C nutritional yeast
- 3 Tbs whole wheat flour
- 1 Tbs white wine
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vegan Parmesan cheese
- 1-1/2 C almond milk
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Lasagna
- 9 lasagna noodles (I used Bionaturae brand) Keep the leftovers for a fabulous Lasagna Soup!
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced
- 3-4 C chopped spinach
- Start with the Bolognese sauce. In a cast iron sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot; cook until tender. Add the Field Roast, fennel, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, celery salt, paprika, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, marinara sauce, and red wine. Reduce heat and simmer while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Now start the Bechamel sauce. In a medium sauce pan, melt the vegan margarine over medium heat. Whisk in the nutritional yeast and flour, then whisk in the white wine, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, nutmeg, vegan Parmesan, almond milk, and lemon juice. Whisk until thick and creamy. This may take a few minutes, and you might need to reduce the heat a little. Transfer to a large measuring cup.
- Preheat the oven to 350 and start assembling the lasagna. Ladle some sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Keep it thin, not too much. Next, place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top, followed by some Bolognese sauce, some spinach, 2 slices of tomato (per noodle), then pour a little Bechamel sauce on top.
- Go easy on the Bechamel sauce because you will need to top the dish at the end, covering the noodles completely. Repeat this step two more times, ending with the last 3 lasagna noodles. Top with the remaining Bechamel sauce.
- Cover and bake 30-40 minutes. If you make this ahead of time and it's been in the fridge for a while, add about 10 minutes to the cooking time. Let cool 5-10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!
