Vegan Lasagna: Like Your Mom’s, But Cruelty Free!

I typically don’t make up recipes.   I have gotten to be a pretty good little chef, if I do say so myself, but I almost always use someone else’s recipe and follow it mighty closely too.  But do you know what I’ve been missing lately?  Lasagna.  I wanted a good old-fashioned lasagna like my mom used to make…except I didn’t want to eat all the cheese & beef she puts in hers. The only problem is that every time I tried to find a vegan lasagna recipe, it had neither a meat substitute, nor a cheese substitute.  That’s not lasagna to me, people!  So, I made something up, and I have to say it turned out even better than I expected.   I thought I’d share it, just in case anyone else out there might enjoy it!

VEGAN LASAGNA

This recipe makes an 8×8 pan of lasagna or ~ 9 servings

Ingredients
Lasagna noodles – about half a box
Half of a small yellow onion
1 small green pepper
2 Tbsp Safflower oil for sauteing
1 26 oz jar of marinara sauce (store bought, your choice)
2 Field Roast Italian flavored links
1 block of mozzarella cheese substitute, shredded (I prefer Veganrella) (NOTE:  We didn’t use the whole block for the lasagna, but rather made some garlic-cheese bread with some of it. You can use as little or as much as you want in the actual lasagna.)
2 handfuls fresh spinach leaves
4-6 large basil leaves
HALF recipe of Veganomicon’s cashew ricotta recipe (p. 206)

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees (F).
2. Boil your lasagna noodles.   Be sure to add a little oil so they don’t stick together when cooked.  (When fully cooked, set them aside to cool a bit.)
3. While noodles are boiling, dice half of the onion and saute in the safflower oil.  Dice up the green pepper and add that to the onions after they have cooked for a few minutes.
4. Get out your food processor – you’re going to need it!  Throw spinach and basil leaves into food processor and pulse a few times – no need to puree it, just chop it up a little bit and mix together. Set aside spinach & basil mixture.
5. Cut field roast sausages into quarters & put the pieces in the food processor.  Grind that up until it looks like burger crumbles. (You could probably use Boca’s pre-made burger crumbles, but I liked the taste of the Italian flavoring in the Field Roast brand.)
6. Add sausage crumbles to the onion & peppers, and add about 1/3 jar of the marinara to this mixture.  Saute a bit longer to heat up the field roast & marinara.
7. Make the cashew ricotta in your food processor. This probably takes the most amount of time, but it is worth it. This adds SO much to the recipe. I just loved it. Anyway, I have to admit also that I used a little less tofu than they suggested, and it came out great.
8. Now it’s time to layer!!  Get your first layer of pasta down in your pan.  Next, add about half of the field roast/onion/pepper/marinara mixture.  If it looks dry, add more of the marinara.  Before your next layer of noodles, put about 1/3 of the veganrella down.
9. Add the second layer of lasagna noodles.  Next is the cashew ricotta layer (use all of it).  Add the spinach & basil mixture and some more marinara.
10. Third layer of lasagna goes down. On top of this, add the rest of the field roast mixture, and a little more veganrella and/or marinara if you want.
11. Last layer of noodles – top with the remaining marinara & veganrella.
12. Cover with tinfoil & bake for about 20 minutes.
13. Remove tinfoil & bake for another 10 minutes so that the cheese on top melts.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes or so before serving – and ENJOY!

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