Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

Spinach and ricotta lasagne, but make it plant based. Say no more!

This was one of my favourite dishes growing up which I hadn’t had in sooo long. Turns out that you can make a plant based version of it that tastes virtually exactly the same, and it totally still is one of my favourite things.

A rich, veggie-packed tomato sauce with that creamy, protein-packed spinach and ‘ricotta’ filling and a crusty cheesy top. It’s hearty, filling and just delicious in every way.

Sure it takes a little longer to make than many of my other recipes, but let me promise you that it’s definitely worth it. I love making a batch at the start of the week to reheat for super easy and quick dinners that week.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

This recipe serves around 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack (200g) lasagne sheets of choice, such as whole wheat, spelt or GF, if needed

For the sauce:

• 2 tsp olive oil

• 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped

• 2 tsp Italian herb mix

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 700g tomato passata

For the ricotta filling:

• 400g firm tofu

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 250g frozen chopped spinach, thawed

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

• 1 tsp dried oregano

For the cashew cheese sauce:

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup cashews, soaked

• 1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk

• Pinch of nutmeg

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

1. For the sauce, heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onion and garlic until they start to soften. Then add carrot, mushrooms, herbs and salt and keep sautéing for about 5 minutes.

2. Add tomato passata and 1 cup of water, bring to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes.

3. For the filling, heat a fry pan and add onion and garlic. Sauté until browned before adding spinach and cooking down for about 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, add tofu, nutritional yeast, salt and onion powder to a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

5. Fold tofu ricotta into spinach mix, and add oregano and black pepper, to taste.

6. For the cashew cheese sauce, add all ingredients into a blender and blend until super smooth and creamy. Preheat oven to 180°C.

7. To assemble lasagne, start by covering the bottom of a lasagne dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce. Then add a layer of lasagne sheets, then ricotta mix and another layer of sauce. Repeat until everything has been used up and ending with the top layer being tomato sauce (ensuring lasagne sheets are well covered in sauce liquid!).

8. Spread cashew cheese sauce over the top, then bake for about 30 minutes until golden and lasagne sheets are cooked through. Enjoy!