For some reason, I’m not a huge fan of Italian food. Not sure why. In my opinion, there’s just something a bit boring about pasta that prevents me from craving it very often. Growing up I always groaned when my mom made spaghetti (nevermind that it was one of my sister’s favorites).
Nowadays, not much has changed with my taste buds. Kyle, on the other hand, adores pasta, especially lasagna. So once a month or so, I make a huge batch of it and freeze individual portions for him. I’ve shown them on the blog a few times, but since they are mega cheese-laden affairs, I have merely glossed over them. Well not this time.
I decided to make a dairy-free version of lasagna so I could give Italian food another shot.
Depending on how much you want to do from scratch, lasagna can be pretty easy to make. I’m not one to make my own sauce or roll out my own fresh pasta, and since I have less Italian heritage than those Jersey shore posers, I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it.
Ingredients
- 2 boxes of lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)
- 2 jars tomato sauce
- vegan mozzarella cheese
- tofutti plain cream cheese (in place of non-vegan ricotta)
First boil the water and add in pasta.
Cook it until the noodles are al dente because you are going to cook them again once the lasagna is assembled.
Start layering…first up tomato sauce.
Then pasta.
Then tofutti cheese.
Then mozzarella cheese.
For the record, my favorite brand of vegan cheese is Veganrella, but I haven’t been able to find it in months, so I decided to give (the above) brand by Galaxy Nutritional Foods a try. Big mistake.
Initially, I tried it in a grilled cheese on a sandwich flat…which turned into…
Cheese-less toasted bread. 
I picked out all the cheese because (a) it didn’t come remotely close to melting, (b) it tasted totally bitter, and (c) it didn’t resemble the consistency of cheese in any way, shape, or form.
So (given that glowing review) you’re probably wondering why the f%$! I decided to use it in the lasagna. Well, I didn’t intend to, but the hippie in me really doesn’t like throwing away such pricey things, so after nearly gagging when I ate it by itself, I decided the only way to eat it would be masking it in tomato sauce, cheese, and lots of Italian seasonings.
And so the layering continued…
Once you’ve hit the top of the pan (or all the ingredients have run out), sprinkle the top layer of sauce/cheese with Italian seasonings as desired (oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic, whathaveyou).
Then pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for ~30 minutes.
**Variations to this recipe are simple, and all you have to do is alternate them in with the other layers (ie: tofu, steamed and chopped spinach or kale, etc.)
Not too shabby, huh?
To make it last, just tupperware it up and freeze in individual portions. You’ll be so pleased to have a supply of home cooked meals that you don’t have to think about.
Oh, and if you were wondering, the previously rejected vegan mozzarella cheese ended up working perfectly in the lasagna. Sometimes ingredients aren’t meant to be the starring role, and this was definitely a background cheese.
Hope you enjoy!
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Lasagna looks great!!
I need to try out the Veganrella cheese…I find the Galaxy pre-sliced cheese pretty good for meltiness!
Um, holy moly. That looks amazing!!!! And now you’ve got oodles and oodles of leftovers
Great recipe for vegan lasagna. It looks fabulous! I love your idea to cut portions and put them in the freezer for later use. Like you said it’s always nice to come home to a homemade dinner you don’t have to cook.
OMG that looks really good…and now I am craving Italian. I am a huge Italian fan but have been cutting it out lately…this is such a great idea! Yum!
not a fan of italian food? girl you bite your tongue! Just kidding — I still love your solely for your love of hummus and pitas. Faboosh recipe mamii! xo
more for YOU my dear!!! ill take all the Mediterranean, Indian, and Thai though
I’m eating a gigantic salad out of tupperware and thinking of you. MISS YOU!
awwwwwwwww, well done boo. btw, saw your gchat message. im furreals feeling like a bloated mess…i dont think i have the balls to do a cleanse though. but then, some of those blueprint things did look intriguing…hmmm
Gahh I’m not a fan of Italian either, but that recipe looks delicious
Enjoy the rest of the day!
bec xo
So when you are ready to eat the lasagna what do you do? Let the frozen portion thaw overnight? Love the tofutti idea! I’ve also seen mashed tofu with nutritional yeast in ricotta.
noochy tofu sounds like it would be really good too, maybe ill try that next time. the perk of tofutti is how easy it is. the entire lasag took less than an hour from start to finish
oh, and yes, i leave the tupperware on the counter overnight…the next morning i put it in the fridge and by the time i get home from work (or am ready for dinner) it only needs a bit of microwave action.
gahhhh. my vegan homies HAVE to try this! i am forwarding them the link!
wowza that’s impressive. was it goooood? love these new recipes that you’re throwin up lately girl!
very very very good. whole wheat pasta is so thick and hearty!
That. “Cheese”. Is. Horrible.
But i am glad you could at least find some enjoyment out of it in the lasagna. The reason i spit it out the first time i tried was the texture, and it has corn syrup solids in the ingredients which i noticed later… oh well. Likin’ the spaghetti squash el mexicana recipe though, had it last night! GREAT!
I’m not a pasta lover, either. I feel like there are so few of us! Thanks for a vegan lasagna recipe, though…I’m always on the hunt for new ones!
i know…its weird how some people list it as their favorite food. it would honestly be last on my list. whatever, more Indian, Mediterranean, and Thai for me!!
Good idea to use the cheese in a dish that would ‘hide’ its flavor!! I am ALWAYS on the look out for good vegan cheeses…actually I’ve kinda given up on that quest and I now just stick with nutritional yeast. Thank you for the review…I will stay away from this product! hehe! I hope you’re having a great sunday! xoxo!
“favorite brand of vegan cheese is Veganrella, but I haven’t been able to find it in months, so I decided to give (the above) brand by Galaxy Nutritional Foods a try. Big mistake. “–
I hate it when stuff like that happens. I have tried to cut corners with not using real maple syrup lately and not only do i waste $10 dollars worth of ingredients b/c i glommed them up with hfcs, I don’t get the sweet treat i wanted!
The Follow your Heart Brand btw melts. Taste, not a starring role, but it melts
good to know…im not sure ive seen follow your heart, but ill keep my eye out
btw, those GF pancakes look pretty amazing. skylar is smart to jump on the leftovers before they got swooped up.
That lasagna looks delicious! I love the idea of using tofutti cream cheese instead of ricotta. I usually make my own tofu ricotta, but this is a great time saver instead. Have you ever tried Vegan Gourmet cheese? It’s made by the same people who make Vegenaise. So far, their monterry jack flavor is the best melty type of vegan cheese I have tried. I also hate when I spend money on a new product and it turns out to be horrible!
thats what a few other people have been saying. i just googled it to see if the wrapper looked familiar and now i remember why i didnt get it. it costs $7 – $10 depending on the market. thats a bit out of my price range given my not-so-successful history. hmmm
I see Veganrella “cheese” all the time… I bought it once, but, um, am embarrassed to say I never used it. I don’t know what I was thinking — I don’t even like cheese!!!
<3 <3
Your vegan lasagna looks delicious. The one time I tried to make vegan lasagna, the noodles were hard, the cheese was tasteless, and my kitchen was a mess. I like the Tofutti trick! Much easier than making tofu ricotta!
MMMMmmmm I can’t wait to try this!
You are so sweet to make your husband lasagna and freeze it for him! Such a nice wife!
Thanks!! He seems to like it too… Haha
ohhhhhh SO GOOD! i am totally not a pasta lover. like i like it, but i would rather make about a bajillion other thangs. however, this recipe is perfect when that craving hits! thanks lady
I love recipes
Not a huge fan of lasagna myself either…it is just too much for me.
AND, dare I say it is a CRIME to not have put nutritional yeast on that lasagna?!?!? Come on! Nutritional yeast goes on everything in my apt
Courtney
you know, i was thinking about it…but i was trying to keep it as “normal” as possible for kyle.
AWESOME. I am loving the look of this and loving that it does not have to be an overladen beast. Looks divine. I’ll admit I do LOVE me some pasta though. Really. A lot.
Way to not be wasteful E! Rach and I were concocting the possibility of incorporating a vegan meal into our “thurs” night dinners so we’re gonna scour through your eats. They won’t be a main dish like this bomb diggity looking lasagna, cuz the Croatian will sooo be able to tell and make comments about it, but something small like your spinach dip is a possibility. =D yay! so excited!
dude, you could totes sneak in some vegan yummies. just make her a big quinoa dish with black beans, corn, and mango, cilantro, avo ‘n shizzz…how could ANYone say no to that?!?
I totes feel ya on the Italian food thing – everyone loses their minds over it but I’m all about the Greek! OPA! That lasagna is looking mighty fine though!
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