Vegan Mushroom Lasagna {No Tofu}

This amazing Vegan Mushroom Lasagna With Spinach is so delicious and flavorful. No need for tofu or legumes. With 21 grams of Protein per serving, this easy vegan lasagna recipe makes a hearty and healthy dinner recipe approved by meat-eaters and picky kids.

Also available Vegetarian Kale And Mushroom Lasagna.

After becoming vegan, I had to develop new approach to cooking. All recipes that contain milk or cream are now being replaced with their dairy-free version. 

Eggs are replaced with flax egg. And instead of meat - tofu or legumes are used.

I've made lasagna many times before and although there are a lot of ways to approach vegan lasagna, one of my favorite ways is to make it with mushrooms.

But here's the deal. 

There's one secret to making this Vegan Mushroom Lasagna an absolute best meat-eaters approved dish. 

You're ready?

Ground mushrooms and cashew spinach "cheese".

I've talked about ground mushrooms before in my delicious Mushroom Bolognese. I believe that grinding mushrooms versus just chopping them yields a better "meaty" texture of the sauce. 

And the cashew cheese...there is nothing easier to make it at home.

This easy vegan lasagna is like a fine wine - it's full of flavor and so delicious!

Ingredients

My favorite thing about this recipe is that there's no tofu or legumes. While the lasagna recipes that include those ingredients have the place to be, I absolutely love making my lasagna with just one type of protein.

Today it is mushrooms. Earthy, woodsy, "meaty" and with so many healthy benefits. 

I love buying mine at Costco. One carton of those will be enough for making lasagna.

• 24 oz Portobello mushrooms
• olive oil or veggie broth (if you follow oil-free diet)
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
• 2 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2 ¾ cups cashews
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 tbsp + 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup +¼ c water
• 9 lasagna noodles

Instructions

Wonderful thing about this recipe is that part of it can be prepared ahead of time. 

Cashew "cheese" as well as mushroom sauce can be made one day in advance. And then when you're ready to cook lasagna, just boil the noodles, assemble everything and bake. 

1. Start off with soaking your cashews in boiling water for about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, using a damp paper towel, wipe the caps of mushrooms. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each stem. Slice mushrooms in half and add them to a food processor.

Depending on a size of your food processor, you might want to work in batches. Pulse mushrooms for 7-10 times until they resemble ground "meat".

3. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan and on a medium heat. Add onion, carrot, ½ teaspoon of salt and sauté stirring occasionally for 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.

4. Transfer sautéed vegetables to a plate and add mushrooms and ½ teaspoon of salt to a pan. Cook them on a medium-high heat until all liquid evaporates and mushrooms start to brown, about 15-20 minute.

5. Add sautéed vegetables back into the pan, along with crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, Maple syrup, liquid smoke and ¼ teaspoons of pepper. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt/pepper.

6. While you cook the mushroom sauce, prepare cashew spinach "ricotta" and cashew cream sauce. Drain the cashews and measure out 2 cups of cashews. Add them to a food processor along with 1 tbsp of lemon juice, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and ½ tsp of salt.

Add ⅓ cup of water and process until the mixture is thick with smaller crumbs. You might need to stop a few times to scrape the sides of the food processor. Halfway into this process, add spinach and process it together with cashews. (Taste if it needs more salt, lemon juice). Transfer"ricotta" into a bowl, and rinse the bowl of food processor.

7. Add the remaining ¾ cups of cashews into a clean food processor along with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, the remaining 2 tsp of lemon juice and ¼ cup of water. Process until smooth and creamy.

8. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 6 to 8 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. 

9. Preheat the oven to 400 F and start assembling the lasagna. Spread 1 cup of mushroom sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer 3 lasagna sheets over the sauce. Spread half of vegan ricotta over the noodles followed by 1 cup of mushroom sauce and ⅓ cup of cashew cream.

10. Repeat with noodles, cashew ricotta, mushroom sauce, and cashew cream. Finish with another layer of noodles. Spread the remaining mushroom sauce over the top layer of noodles. At this point you should still have ⅓ cup of cashew cream left. Save it for later.

11. Cover the baking dish with a parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes and then spread the remaining cashew cream sauce over lasagna.

Recipe Variations

Mushroom Sauce. Stir in some roasted eggplant or other veggies for an additional flavor and texture.

Nuts. For vegan "Ricotta" as well as creamy sauce you can substitute cashews with macadamia or blanched almonds.

Crushed Tomatoes. Use pasta sauce like marinara in place of crushed tomatoes.

Lasagna Noodles. If necessary use Gluten-Free noodles.

Storing And Reheating

Vegan Mushroom Lasagna will keep well in a freezer. I recommend assembling it first and then freezing for up to 1 month.

When ready to serve, bake in a preheated to 400 F oven for 30 minutes covered with parchment paper and then for 15 more minutes uncovered or until the sauce is bubbly.

You can also store the leftovers of Lasagna in a refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Side Dishes to serve with Lasagna

• Salad with beets and arugula
• Cauliflower and cucumber salad
• Marinated Zucchini Salad

Recipe