Looking for Thanksgiving meal ideas? You’ve come to the right place! This lasagna, is downright amazing—your guests will be demanding the recipe.  A similar dish that would also be great for Stuffed Bird Carcass on the Table Day, would be these Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Cashew Cheese. So this dish is definitely less complicated than you might think. I recommend preparing the squash and tofu ricotta ahead of time and keeping them in the fridge until ready to use. Because I didn’t saute the mushrooms, the only things I had to do come suppah-time, was boil the noodles and make the white sauce—both no-brainers . . . I promise. Speaking of noodles, I prefer to use the old fashioned kind simply because the no-boil ones are too short and I have found that they don’t always get cooked completely. Should your noodle preference differ from mine, that’s quite all right . . . you get to make those executive decisions in your own kitchen 🙂 I just like that I can cut the cooked noodles to fit my pan. Either way, this won’t disappoint!

INGREDIENTS:
1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
4-5 garlic cloves
Olive oil
1/8 C almond milk
4-5 C mixture of shiitake and button mushrooms
Salt and pepper
15 + a few extra lasagna noodles
Tofu ricotta
14-oz tub extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 C nutritional yeast
2 Tbs lemon juice
Optional: 1/4 C vegan mozzarella, shredded
White sauce
1/4 C Earth Balance margarine
6 Tbs flour
1 C vegetable broth
1/2 C almond milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425. To prepare the squash, I recommend peeling the squash and dicing it up. I have found that if you’re going to just puree it anyway, this is the fastest way to roast a butternut squash. As long as you have a decent potato peeler, this step will be a breeze.

Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. I decided I might as well roast some garlic too, so I took about 6 cloves, cut the tops off (leaving them in the skins), placed them on some foil, drizzled some olive oil on them, then loosely wrapped them up.

Spread the diced squash on a large baking sheet (along with the garlic) and roast for 30 minutes.

Next, transfer the squash and the garlic cloves (which should slip right out of the skins) into a food processor. Add about an 1/8 C of almond milk and puree. It’s up to you how smooth you want to puree the squash, but I recommend not having too many big chunks remaining. To prepare the ricotta, throw all of the ingredients in a food processor, except the cheese, and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and if using the cheese, stir it in.

Slice up the mushrooms. I had just about 4 cups of sliced shiitakes and since we’re obsessed with mushrooms, I decided that wasn’t enough, so I added some white button mushrooms . . . perfect.

Preheat oven to 375. To begin, I suggest starting the sauce about 5 minutes before you start the water for the noodles. In a medium saucepan, melt the Earth Balance, then whisk in the flour until fully incorporated and you have a thick paste. Add a little broth, then whisk until smooth. Do this until you’ve added all the broth. Whisk it constantly over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Slowly, and bit by bit, add the almond milk, whisking continuously until it thickens. Reduce heat and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it burn. Hopefully by now, the noodles are about ready. Don’t over-boil them—they’ll cook more once in the oven. Otherwise, they’ll rip while assembling the lasagna. Rinse thoroughly with cold water to keep them from sticking to each other. Ladle some sauce on the bottom of the pan—not a lot; just enough to coat the bottom. I used a 9×13″ baking dish, so I placed 5 noodles vertically in the dish and cut a couple of inches off one end. Spread half of the squash mixture on the lasagna noodles. Then spread a couple of tablespoons of the tofu ricotta on each noodle. (I didn’t use all of the ricotta–I had about a full cup leftover). Next. layer on half of the mushrooms.

Repeat process with another 5 noodles, the rest of the squash mixture, more ricotta, and the remaining mushrooms. Top with the last 5 noodles and pour sauce on top. (I added a little more almond milk to the sauce because it had gotten a bit thick). Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Lasagna

 

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This lasagna, is downright amazing---your guests will be demanding the recipe. A similar dish that would also be great for Stuffed Bird Carcass on the Table Day, would be these Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells with Cashew Cheese. So this dish is definitely less complicated than you might think. I recommend preparing the squash and tofu ricotta ahead of time and keeping them in the fridge until ready to use. Because I didn't saute the mushrooms, the only things I had to do come suppah-time, was boil the noodles and make the white sauce---both no-brainers . . . I promise. Speaking of noodles, I prefer to use the old fashioned kind simply because the no-boil ones are too short and I have found that they don't always get cooked completely. Should your noodle preference differ from mine, that's quite all right . . . you get to make those executive decisions in your own kitchen 🙂 I just like that I can cut the cooked noodles to fit my pan. Either way, this won't disappoint!

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• ⅛ C almond milk
• 4-5 C mixture of shiitake and button mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• 15 + a few extra lasagna noodles
• Tofu ricotta
• 14-oz tub extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ⅓ C nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• Optional: ¼ C vegan mozzarella, shredded
• White sauce
• ¼ C Earth Balance margarine
• 6 Tbs flour
• 1 C vegetable broth
• ½ C almond milk
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. To prepare the squash, I recommend peeling the squash and dicing it up. I have found that if you're going to just puree it anyway, this is the fastest way to roast a butternut squash. As long as you have a decent potato peeler, this step will be a breeze.
3. Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. I decided I might as well roast some garlic too, so I took about 6 cloves, cut the tops off (leaving them in the skins), placed them on some foil, drizzled some olive oil on them, then loosely wrapped them up.
4. Spread the diced squash on a large baking sheet (along with the garlic) and roast for 30 minutes.
5. Next, transfer the squash and the garlic cloves (which should slip right out of the skins) into a food processor. Add about an ⅛ C of almond milk and puree. It's up to you how smooth you want to puree the squash, but I recommend not having too many big chunks remaining.
6. To prepare the ricotta, throw all of the ingredients in a food processor, except the cheese, and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and if using the cheese, stir it in.
7. Slice up the mushrooms. I had just about 4 cups of sliced shiitakes and since we're obsessed with mushrooms, I decided that wasn't enough, so I added some white button mushrooms . . . perfect.
8. Preheat oven to 375.
9. To begin, I suggest starting the sauce about 5 minutes before you start the water for the noodles. In a medium saucepan, melt the Earth Balance, then whisk in the flour until fully incorporated and you have a thick paste. Add a little broth, then whisk until smooth. Do this until you've added all the broth. Whisk it constantly over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Slowly, and bit by bit, add the almond milk, whisking continuously until it thickens. Reduce heat and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Keep an eye on it and don't let it burn.
10. Hopefully by now, the noodles are about ready. Don't over-boil them---they'll cook more once in the oven. Otherwise, they'll rip while assembling the lasagna. Rinse thoroughly with cold water to keep them from sticking to each other.
11. Ladle some sauce on the bottom of the pan---not a lot; just enough to coat the bottom. I used a 9x13" baking dish, so I placed 5 noodles vertically in the dish and cut a couple of inches off one end. Spread half of the squash mixture on the lasagna noodles. Then spread a couple of tablespoons of the tofu ricotta on each noodle. (I didn't use all of the ricotta--I had about a full cup leftover). Next. layer on half of the mushrooms.
12. Repeat process with another 5 noodles, the rest of the squash mixture, more ricotta, and the remaining mushrooms. Top with the last 5 noodles and pour sauce on top. (I added a little more almond milk to the sauce because it had gotten a bit thick).
13. Cover with foil and bake for 35-40 minutes.
14. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!

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