Dairy Free Veggie Lasagna (GF) (V)

Being plant based is about incorporating all the colors of the rainbow into your diet. The more color the better! Try experimenting with different vegetables of different colors and a great way to do that is in a dish like lasagna!

If you want to know one of my secrets for creating veggie packed recipes ESPECIALLY with leftover veggies, its veggie burgers AND lasagna! Its so easy and really fun to see what can turn out!

For this recipe I decided I was going to make the ricotta because I don’t like most of the vegan one’s out there and I usually make cashew ricotta but of course I wanted to mix it up so decided to throw in some walnuts!

Next, I did purchase some eggplant and zucchini because those are really the necessary components for veggie lasagna noodles!

For the sauce, you can really go pesto or tomato sauce. I also did a combo of both! I created my own cashew pesto a few weeks ago and you can find it HERE - and used this for the recipe as well as some tomato sauce I purchased out of a can at the store.

Now, let’s get started with what you’ll need for the recipe!

Walnut Cashew Ricotta

• 1//2 cup raw walnuts

• 3/4 cup raw cashews

• 1 tbsp white miso paste

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 2 chopped garlic cloves

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 2 tbsp lemon juice or fresh squeezed lemon

• 1/2 tsp dried basil

Ingredients for lasagna:

• 1 bunch dino kale rinsed and washed.

• 1 small eggplant

• 1 large zuchinni

• 1/2 cup tomato sauce

• 2 cups chopped cruiferous vegetables (I used the blend from Trader Joe’s - otherwise you can chop a couple stalks of kale and about 1 cup of shredded purple cabbage)

• 1 Cup Cashew Walnut Ricotta - USE INGREDIENTS ABOVE

• 1/2 cup Cashew Pesto - SEE RECIPE HERE

• 1/2 cup mushrooms

• 1 tsp basil

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 2 tbsp avocado oil

• 1 block extra firm organic tofu

• 1/2 cup Daiya Mozzarella Cheese

• 2 slices Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Cheese slices

Directions for Ricotta:

1. Add ingredients to blender or Vita Mix. Blend well. Add Lemon and basil. Blend again until smooth.

Directions for Lasagna:

1. Layer 12 x 16 glass or metal pan with avocado oil. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Place approx 3-4 tbsp tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan

3. Slice Eggplant into thin 1/4” thick slices or even smaller. I got approx 6-8 slices from one eggplant.

4. Dab cashew walnut ricotta on top of the first layer of eggplant. Smooth out with spoon or spatula.

5. Layer with dino kale & mushrooms.

6. Top with sliced tofu. To ensure tofu is fully drained place a heavy flat object like a cutting board on top of the tofu and layer bottom with paper towels to absorb excess water. Let set for approx 5 minutes. Remove and slice into thin slices - approx 1/8 - 1/4 “ thick. Layer on top of kale and mushrooms.

7. Dab on pesto and evenly distribute over lasagna and tofu. No need to spread out.

8. Add your next layer of zucchini. First cut off both ends of the zucchini. Slice into thin slices approx 1/8” thick. You should get approx 6 or more slices from a medium/large sized zucchini. Layer evenly over tofu.

9. Add another layer of cashew walnut ricotta and tab it over the layer of zucchini. Spread over gently to smooth out.

10. Add a few more tbsp of tomato sauce and evenly distribute over lasagna.

11. Add cruciferious vegetable layer. Top with sliced tofu for the second time.

12. Add your plant based cheese. I used a combo of shredded mozzarella from Daiya and Follow Your Heart sliced mozzarella cheese for the top layer.

13. sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil.

14. Bake in over on 350 for approx 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Bake uncovered.