This vegan lasagna recipe is seriously decadent. Layers of vegan bolognese, vegan ricotta, vegan cheese sauce and marinara sauce make for the most delicious lasagna ever!
This vegan lasagna recipe is truly decadent.
The last time I made a lasagna I called it the easiest lasagna because it really was so easy.
But this one? Well I’m not going to pretend this is a simple recipe. It has a few parts to it, but wow is it good! So good.
It’s layers of a marinara sauce, homemade vegan bolognese, lasagna sheets, thinly sliced zucchini, vegan ricotta and a simply divine vegan cheese sauce.
Everything except the marinara sauce and the lasagna sheets gets made up from scratch.
So yes, I can’t call this easy, but rewarding? Definitely!
And it feeds a crowd. You can feed at least 8 very hungry people from this dish. And they will be super impressed with you that is for sure.
For more amazing vegan dishes that feed a crowd check out our vegan cannelloni, our vegan pasta bake, vegan mac and cheese and vegan eggplant parmesan.
How To Make Vegan Lasagna
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The Vegan Bolognese:
We made up a bolognese from scratch and the recipe is only slightly adapted from our vegan bolognese recipe. We adapted the recipe to make it less saucy, since it was going in this lasagna with lots of saucy things like marinara sauce and cheese sauce.
- Add sliced mushrooms to the food processor and process until finely chopped. Add them to a mixing bowl.
- Crumble up a block of extra firm tofu with a fork. Add it to the mixing bowl.
- Add walnuts to the food processor and process into crumbles. Add them to the mixing bowl.
- Mix the mushrooms, tofu and walnuts together in the mixing bowl.
- Add chopped onions and crushed garlic to a pot with olive oil, dried basil, oregano and cayenne pepper and sauté until softened.
- Add the tofu/walnut/mushroom mix, dark soy sauce, tomato paste and marinara sauce and sauté until you have a bolognese sauce with no visible liquid.
- Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance), salt and pepper to taste.
The Vegan Cheese Sauce:
The vegan cheese sauce is an adaptation from our vegan white sauce (bechamel) and it works wonderfully for this lasagna.
If you see the top of the lasagna and that gorgeous crusty cheese, well that is this cheese sauce! We didn’t use any actual vegan cheese in this recipe, just this homemade cheese sauce.
The sauce is made with soy milk. We did try a version with coconut milk, similar to what we did for our vegan alfredo sauce and our baked vegan mac and cheese, but we really preferred soy milk for this. When combined with the other flavors in the lasagna it just worked out the best.
- Add olive oil to a pot or saucepan and let it heat until hot.
- Add all purpose flour and fry it briefly in the oil, stirring vigorously.
- Add all the soy milk at once and whisk it vigorously to get rid of lumps.
- Bring it to the boil stirring constantly. When it boils let it continue to boil, stirring all the while, for a few minutes until it thickens.
- Remove from the heat and add dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and ground black pepper and stir it in.
Layering:
A deep dish is going to work best for this recipe because there are a lot of layers!
- Add a thin layer of marinara sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 rectangular oven safe dish.
- Add 4 sheets of spinach lasagna.
- Add half the vegan bolognese and spread it out in an even layer.
- Add a thin layer of vegan cheese sauce.
- Add a layer of thinly sliced zucchini followed by a layer of vegan ricotta cheese.
Top Tip: For the ricotta layer we used one full batch of homemade vegan ricotta. Of course if you have a store-bought option that you like, you are welcome to use that instead.
- Add 4 sheets of spinach lasagna followed by a layer of marinara sauce.
- Add another thin layer of vegan cheese sauce (leaving the remainder to put on last for the final layer) followed by the rest of the vegan bolognese.
- Add a layer of sliced zucchini, followed by another 4 sheets of spinach lasagna and then a final layer of marinara sauce (leave a little marinara sauce behind to decorate the top of the lasagna after baking).
Baking:
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 390°F.
- Then bring it out, remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese sauce.
- Return to the oven to bake for another 20 minutes uncovered. The cheese sauce goes firm and melty on top, similar to melty cheese! It’s divine.
- When the lasagna comes out of the oven, stick a knife in to make sure it’s cooked through.
- And then put a swirl of the remaining marinara sauce into the middle to look pretty.
Decorating:
- Decorate with some chopped basil, a sprinkle of dried basil and black pepper.
Recipe Notes:
The vegan bolognese and vegan cheese sauce really make this lasagna special.
We used a store-bought marinara sauce, because we didn’t want to be busy ALL day making this! But if you have a favorite homemade marinara sauce you’d like to make, well, go ahead superstar!
The homemade vegan ricotta layer also really makes this lasagna special. But if you’re looking to save time and have a ready-made option that you can buy, you can definitely use that.
We used lasagna sheets that don’t need to be pre-cooked, because ain’t nobody got time for cooking that in advance!
The sliced zucchini layers are awesome because having some extra veggies in your lasagna is only a good thing. However, this can be omitted if you can’t get hold of any zucchini.
Serving Suggestions
Some vegan garlic bread served on the side will never go amiss. A salad on the side like a vegan kale salad or vegan caesar salad would be awesome too.
Make It Gluten-Free
You can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend when making the vegan cheese sauce, and you can use gluten-free lasagna sheets. Also use a gluten-free soy sauce in the vegan bolognese or switch it for tamari. These are the only adjustments needed to make this a gluten-free lasagna.
Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Make Ahead:
The vegan ricotta can be made in advance, it can even be frozen if you need to make it far in advance and then thawed in the fridge when you need it.
The vegan bolognese can be made a day or two in advance and stored in the fridge.
The vegan cheese sauce can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a couple of days. Give it a good whisk to make sure it’s smooth. It will thicken up in the fridge but this is okay.
Then you just need to assemble the lasagna and bake it when you’re ready. I don’t think it would be great to assemble it a couple of days before, just because it could cause your lasagna sheets to get mushy.
Storing:
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated slice by slice as needed! Or simply reheat the whole dish in the oven at 350°F until heated through.
Freezing:
This lasagna is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat as usual.
More Vegan Comfort Food Recipes
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Moussaka
- Vegan Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
For the Vegan Bolognese:
- 2 ½ cups Cremini Mushrooms (240g)
- 8 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (226g)
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g)
- ½ Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Dried Basil
- 1 tsp Oregano
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 1 cup Marinara Sauce (240ml)
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Vegan Cheese Sauce:
- 6 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 4 cups Soy Milk (960ml)
- 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ⅔ cup Nutritional Yeast (40g)
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¾ tsp Ground Black Pepper
For the Vegan Ricotta:
- 1 Recipe Vegan Ricotta
For the Marinara Sauce:
- 2 ½ cups Marinara Sauce (600ml)
For Assembling:
- 12 Sheets Spinach Lasagna*
- 4 Small Zucchini Sliced
For Decorating:
- Marinara Sauce
- Fresh Basil Chopped
- Dried Basil
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- If you’re making the vegan ricotta from scratch as per our recipe, then put your slivered almonds in a bowl, pour over some boiling water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 1 hour.
Vegan Bolognese:
- Slice the mushrooms and add them to the food processor. Process until very finely chopped. Add them to a mixing bowl.
- Crumble the tofu with a fork and add it to the mixing bowl.
- Add the walnuts to the food processor, process into crumbs and then add it to the mixing bowl.
- Mix the mushrooms, tofu and walnuts together in the mixing bowl.
- Add the chopped onion to a pot with the crushed garlic, olive oil, dried basil, oregano and cayenne pepper and sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add the tofu/walnut/mushroom mix, dark soy sauce, tomato paste and marinara sauce and sauté until you have a soft bolognese sauce with no visible liquid.
- Add coconut sugar (for flavor balance) and salt and pepper to taste.
Vegan Cheese Sauce:
- Add the olive oil to a pot and let it heat until hot. Add the flour and fry it briefly in the oil, stirring vigorously and then add in all the soy milk and whisk it vigorously to get rid of lumps.
- Bring it to the boil stirring constantly. When it boils let it continue to boil, stirring all the while, for a few minutes until it thickens.
- Remove it from the heat and add dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and ground black pepper and stir in.
Vegan Ricotta:
- Prepare your vegan ricotta as per the linked recipe. Or you can use 1 and ⅔ cups of store-bought vegan ricotta.
Assemble:
- Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
- Add a thin layer of marinara sauce to the bottom of a deep 9×13 baking dish.
- Then add 4 sheets of spinach lasagna noodles.
- Then add half the vegan bolognese and spread it into an even layer.
- Then add a thin layer of vegan cheese sauce.
- Then add a layer of sliced zucchini.
- Then add all the vegan ricotta into one thick layer.
- Then add 4 sheets of spinach lasagna noodles.
- Then add another layer of marinara sauce.
- Then add another thin layer of vegan cheese sauce, leaving the remainder to add on last.
- Then add the rest of the vegan bolognese.
- Then add a layer of sliced zucchini.
- Then add another 4 sheets of spinach lasagna noodles.
- Then add another layer of marinara, leaving a small amount behind for decorating the top.
Bake:
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes bring it out, remove the foil and add all the remaining vegan cheese sauce to the top.
- Return to the oven and bake uncovered for a further 20 minutes.
- Bring it out, stick in a knife to make sure it’s cooked, and then add a generous drizzle of marinara sauce to the middle section of the baked lasagna.
- Decorate with fresh chopped basil, dried basil and ground black pepper.
Notes
- Cremini mushrooms are also known as ‘portobellini’, ‘baby bella’, or ‘baby portobello’ mushrooms. You could also use white button mushrooms.
- Marinara sauce. We used a simple store-bought marinara sauce. Use whatever marinara sauce is your favorite.
- Soy milk. We found soy milk the best for this vegan cheese sauce in light of the other flavors of the lasagna. It just worked really well. We also tried some with coconut milk and it works fine, but for overall flavor with the other elements of this lasagna soy milk tasted best.
- Vegan ricotta. You can make the vegan ricotta as per our recipe or, if you prefer to buy ready made vegan ricotta then the amount needed would be around 1 and ⅔ cups.
- Lasagna sheets. You don’t have to use spinach lasagna you can use plain lasagna, that’s up to you. Ideally you want to use a brand that does not require pre-cooking. You may need a few more sheets of lasagna, depending on the size of the sheets. Just use as many as needed.
- This recipe was first published in March 2019.
How long will this recipe keep refrigerated, and can it be frozen? I am sure it is delicious to eat on the spot, but we are a very small family, plus I like to “make ahead” meals for myself.
Thank you
Hi Oksana, yes it can be frozen, and it also keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days!
This is amazing however it does take a bit of time to prepare so I do it as a 2 day prep. It is so worth it and I will be making it again.
Thanks so much Dawn!
I made this lasagna for my 30 year old Vegan son. Turned out great.
Tips for newbie’s, be sure to set your mind around the fact that its a 2 day project, during a normal day. I am a 65 year old cook, who enjoys cooking, although distracted with many things going on during a day and this was a journey. A happy ending tasty journey.
Thanks so much for sharing Ava! So glad it turned out great!
Is there a substitution for the mushrooms, my husband hates them? Thank you!
Hi there! I’m not sure! You can’t really taste them though in the mince, it’s just like a mince, so maybe he wouldn’t even know they are there. 🙂 However, you could also just replace the mince entirely with a different veggie mince that you do like!
I am going to try this today as I have not seen a recipe that looks more mouthwatering than this! It just has to be as good as it looks.
When you say tomato paste, do you mean passata or tomato concentrate? Thanks
Hi Alan, it’s called tomato paste, it is the highly concentrated tomato.
I don’t normally leave reviews but this really is the best vegan lasagna recipe!! I’ve made it a few times now and even meat eaters love it and have to keep asking with wonder whether it really is vegan. They were clearly impressed including our chef friend. Give it a go! I added a bit more when it came to seasoning, made my own mariana sauce (highly recommend) and roasted some aubergine and courgette slices for ten minutes before adding as I found the first time without roasting they were a bit chewy for my liking. I also used plain out of the packet vegan cream cheese. Also you can add a nice layer of spinach and seeds for extra health! Sooo delicious, and honestly if it wasn’t a lengthy recipe I’d be making this every few days!!
Hi Kate! Thank you so much! I’m so pleased to hear you love the recipe. I totally agree that it’s a lengthy one though! But worth it now and again. Thanks for the awesome review.
I have a dietary problem that doesn’t allow soy or tofu. Any suggestions for a replacement?
This recipe sounds delicious!
Hi Donna, you could make it with a different vegan mince, you don’t have to make it up from scratch, so if there is a brand that you like of a vegan mince, then use that instead.
What do you do when zucchinis aren’t in season?
You can leave off the zucchini in that case. 🙂
I forgot to leave a comment for this the first time I made it, but this recipe is awesome. Everyone at Christmas loved it, including the most picky eater I know, my father in law. (He thinks pepper is spicy, not even exaggerating) but coming back to make it again and i can’t wait to eat it! YUM!
That is awesome news Rachel! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Made 2 trays on my first try (big crowd). Was quite a bit of effort/time/ingredients, whew, and ended up needing more marinara sauce than called for but overall everyone loved it. Out of the 10 or so people at dinner I was the only vegan but the lasagna disappeared quickly (two huge pans!!!! along with the rest of the dishes on the table). Personally I preferred your bechamel-type sauce from your garlic alfredo recipe better and might sub it next time as this ‘cheese’ sauce was a bit heavy on the nutritional yeast in my opinion and ended up thinning it out with a more plain bechamel. Otherwise perfect! And the bolognese was amazing. I also added finely chopped fresh basil to the ricotta. Yum!!! Still 5 stars because overall it was delicious and impressed all the carnivores at the table.
Thanks so much for sharing Ali! So glad it was enjoyed! 🙂
Super tasty – my whole family loved it and my husband was completely taken with the vegan ricotta. I actually cooked the lasagna noodles first and because it turned out a little too liquidy (though still tasty) I’m assuming that had I used the recommended no boil noodles some of this liquid would have been absorbed by the noodles. Is that correct? I didn’t have that type of noodle on hand but didn’t think to reduce amounts as a result. What would you recommend if repeating this way?
Another question: my cheese sauce didn’t really thicken much which contributed to the runniness. I didn’t use soy milk (my daughter is sensitive to soy milk – but not tofu!) but instead an almond/coconut mix because my favorite oat milk wasn’t available. Not sure why that would make a difference but know that you specifically mention soy milk. Should I use more flour or perhaps corn starch in the future?
Hi Sara! So glad it was tasty and you enjoyed the recipe! I think a thicker sauce to start with will alleviate most of the issue you experienced with it being a bit runny. The noodles being cooked in advance could be part of it (since the dry (pre-cooked) noodles will absorb some of the moisture) but I don’t really see a way to change the recipe to accommodate that, the most important part would be your sauce being nice and thick to start with. If it’s not thickening enough then you can definitely make a paste with 1 Tbsp flour and some water and then whisk it in. If it doesn’t thicken enough then repeat. Cornstarch will also work. 🙂
I have got to leave a comment. I’ve been trying lasagna recipes, since I went vegan 4 years ago, because of a health issue. This IS the one. I love it and it’s so easy.Thanks for sharing it.
Awesome! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for this awesome recipe! Made it tonight and it was delicious, though a bit nutty in flavor for my tastes. I’ll probably skip either the almond or the walnut and replace with something else next time but overall the result was a very decadent and gorgeous lasagna.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Amanda. 🙂
This lasagna is amazing. I cannot believe how tasty. I made enough to freeze and have another time. Wondered if I could freeze the bolognese or the cheese sauce? I have left over and would love to save for another time.
Awesome Gail, so glad you enjoyed it. Sure you can freeze those separately for use later. 🙂