Best Damn Vegan Lasagna

I almost called this a 4-ingredient vegan lasagna, because technically this is assembling three other recipes with noodles layered in. Don’t let that “three other recipes” thing scare you. Lasagna is known to be a complicated and time-consuming dish, but I have some tricks up my sleeve for helping you save some time in the kitchen. But before we get to that, let’s talk about those layers.

This is the perfect approach for the person who likes to do meal prep for the week all at once. I am starting to become a person like this, but it’s slow-going. Being prepared and allowing enough time is the hardest part.

INGREDIENTS :

For the Lasagna :

• 2 cups Savory Cashew Cream, recipe follows
• 1 package no-boil lasagna noodles (such as DeLallo Whole Wheat Lasagna)
• 4 cups Protein-Packed Marinara Sauce or your favorite marinara sauce, recipe follows
• 2 cups Vegan Spinach Ricotta, recipe follows
• 1/2 cup water

Savory Cashew Cream :

• 2 cups raw cashews* 
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon heaping nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon chickpea miso, optional (any light miso will work)

Protein-Packed Marinara Sauce :

• 2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes (I love the Muir Glen brand with basil)
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed in a fine mesh strainer
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil, optional
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional
• 2 1/2 cups water

Vegan Spinach Ricotta :

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 10-12 ounce firm or extra-firm tofu drained (1 package is typically 10-12oz but can go up to 14oz, which also works fine)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach or 1 cup frozen spinach
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves**
• 2 cloves garlic***
• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon light miso white, yellow, or chickpea

INSTRUCTIONS :

Work THE SAVORY CASHEW CREAM

1. Intermix all ingredients in a high-speed liquidiser or content processor until creamy and sleek.

Work THE MARINARA SAUCE

1. Modify 4 quart (or larger) saucepan over transmission change. Sound here for Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker instructions.
2. Sauté the flavourer and saliferous in olive oil for 30 seconds or so, just to waken up the flavourer savour.
3. Add the oregano, if using.
4. Impress in the sweetish spud and lentils, and fix for a point or so.
5. Add h2o, then create to a furuncle, and fall to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 10-15 transactions until lentils are downy.
7. Add in low tomatoes, and simmer for another 5 minutes to let the sauce develop unitedly.

Puddle THE VEGAN SPINACH RICOTTA

1. In a matter processor or blender, make cashews, flavourer, miso, flavouring, and nutritional leavening until the foodstuff is small and crumbly.
2. Add the tofu, spinach, and doctor and heartbeat to throughly mix.

Make THE LASAGNA :

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Distributed zesty cashew toiletry with water until it is a pourable uniformness.
3. Locomote one cup of marinara sauce in the bottommost of a 13×9 casserole dish.
4. Bed 5 lasagna sheets over the sauce, covering as needed to fit.
5. Move 1 cup of spinach ricotta over the noodles.
6. Pelt 1 cup of marinara sauce over the ricotta.
7. Stream 3/4 cup of tasteful cashew emollient over the marinara sauce.
8. Utter with noodles, ricotta, marinara, and cashew toiletry.
9. Stratum remaining 5 noodles on top of the cashew elite, then top with remaining marinara sauce.
10. Set content remaining 1/2 cup of cashew elite.
11. Cover casserole ply tightly with aluminum device, and bake for 30 proceedings.
12. Disappear ikon and teem on the remaining cashew emollient.
13. Heat, unroofed, for 20 proceedings.
14. If desirable, grill the top for 3-4 minutes until brunette.
15. Let dish resist for 15 transactions before esurient.