Did someone say VEGAN Lasagna?

By Christina Lalor
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​Yes, you heard that correctly! It has happened- a vegan dish that even your meat-eating friends will love. I’m sure if they are reading this, they are rolling their eyes, thinking “no way Christina,” nothing compares to a truly cheesy, meaty lasagna. Well, don’t knock it off your list until you try a bite of this deliciousness, you won’t be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. 

For some context, no I am not vegan, but I value the importance of reducing my meat intake and trying dishes outside of my comfort zone. One’s diet - whether vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or a meat-eater, is all on a spectrum. You should base your diet on what gives you the nutrients and subsistence you need, what environmental impact this diet may have, and of course, the health benefits for you. Not every diet is right for every person, play around and find out what makes you feel like your best self and is sustainable! Sustainable eating is one of the most important aspects of eating for me- meaning I am being consistent, getting the nutrients and food value I need, keeping within my budget, and having something that works with my busy schedule. 

Cooking can get boring when you are doing the same dish every time- I don’t know how many times I’ve made lasagna, but I can tell you I have never made a vegan lasagna until today! Don’t let all the healthy ingredients -red lentils, tofu, cashews, spinach and whole grain noodles - make you think this dish won’t be BOMB, because it absolutely is. With all these incredible ingredients, come incredible benefits! This dish is 

• High in Protein
• Rich in nutrients 
• Hearty 
• Delicious! 

Now this specific recipe has two parts- the lasagna and the vegan mozzarella cheese! Both recipes and ingredient lists are provided if you keep scrolling down! You can use the vegan mozzarella cheese for grilled cheeses or pizza, but I think it is absolutely perfect on this lasagna - I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Benefits of Ingredients 
Now, for some honestly- I am not the world’s best cook. I need some easy recipes and when I try out vegan, gluten free or international dishes I am working with a lot of ingredients I may not be familiar with. I think we all know that struggle of going aisle by aisle trying to find an ingredient we have no idea what it even looks like. We now have the power of the internet to help us find what we need, tell us exactly what it is and what the benefits of it are. For this vegan recipe, I want to talk about some of the benefits of the specific ingredients- maybe you’ll be more inclined to eat them after hearing about how great they are for you, I know I was. 

Red Lentils: These are the sweetest and nuttiest of the lentils (green, brown or red), only taking about 30 minutes to cook up. They have 18 grams of protein per cup cooked-  that’s a whole lot of protein (a great sub for not having meat in your dish). Red lentils are easiest to mix in with soups or purees rather than green or brown lentils. 

Cashews: Provide a variety of overall health benefits, cashews are rich in nutrients, linked to benefits like weight loss and help control blood sugar. They are rich in unsaturated fats, low in sugar, a great source of fiber and have almost equal amounts of protein as an equivalent quantity of cooked meat! Cashews also contain copper, a mineral impactful in energy production and one’s immune system! 
Tofu: An amazing protein source, tofu contains all nine essential amino acids, is rich in iron and calcium and contains magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1! Wooh- sounds like I need some more tofu in my life. Tofu comes from soya protein, known as a bean curd, prepared by coagulating soy milk and pressing the curds into solid white blocks that we recognize as tofu! 

Nutritional yeast: A yeast type that helps bake bread and brew beer, nutritional yeast is grown specifically to be used as a food product. The yeast cells are deactivated during the process, leaving many B vitamins, trace minerals like zinc, selenium, molybdenum and manganese. This yeast is a fantastic source of protein as well with one tablespoon containing 2 whole grams of protein! 
Tapioca Starch: This one I had never heard of before, it is made from crushed pulp of the cassava root. It works similar to cornstarch in that it thickens the dish. It works best when added at the end of cooking, whereas corn starch stands well in high heat. 

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Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients: 
1 cup dried red lentils
2 (25oz) jars of marinara sauce 
1 cup raw cashews 
16oz firm tofu (pat dry) 
½ cup nutritional yeast 
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano 
½ tsp garlic powder
2 ½ cups baby spinach 
1 box whole grain (or gluten free) lasagna noodles 

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° 
2. Get those red lentils cooking: Place 1 cup of red lentils and 3 cups of water into a medium pot. Bring this pot to a boil, then let simmer for 15- 20 minutes. Use a fine strainer to drain the lentils and place into a larger bowl. Mix both jars of marinara sauce in with your lentils and mix. Set aside for now. 
3. Cashew-Tofu Ricotta: Place the cup of cashews in a food processor until they are crumbly and small. Add the tofu in chunks, then the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, basil, oregano and garlic powder! Pulse until all the ingredients are mixed well and smooth! 
4. The Lasagna: Add about 1 cup of the marinara sauce (mixed with the lentils) to the bottom of a 9 X 13” casserole dish- spread around evenly. Next, add 4-5 uncooked lasagna noodles. Place half of the cashew-tofu ricotta on top of these noodles. Top with half of the available spinach (about 1 ¼ cups). Place another 1 cup of marinara sauce with lentils over the spinach. Then place another 4 -5 uncooked lasagna noodles on top. Layering is the key to lasagna! Spread the rest of your ricotta over the noodles, then add the rest of the spinach. Place 4 -5 more noodles on the top of the spinach and pour the rest of your sauce over the top, spread evenly. 
5. Place foil tightly over the casserole dish. Bake for 40 minutes, while the lasagna is cooking let’s start working on that creamy vegan mozzarella cheese (see below)! 
6. After 40 minutes in the oven, remove the lasagna. Spoon on your fresh vegan mozzarella cheese and pop it back in the oven for about 20 minutes. 
7. Make sure to let it cool for about 15 minutes before digging in and enjoying on your Elay Products tableware! ​

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese 
Ingredients: 
½ cup Raw Cashews
1 ⅓ cups water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp tapioca starch 
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Instructions: 
While your lasagna is in the oven for 40 minutes, it’s time to get to work on that vegan mozzarella cheese- this is the cherry on top for this dish. This stretchy vegan cheese is made with just 5 ingredients! 

1. Cashews: Boil 2 cups of water and pour over the cashews to soak them for about 10 minutes (or up to one hour). 
2. Drain the cashews, place in a high powered blender with all the other ingredients and blend! You want to blend this until the mixture will be watery. 
3. Pour this watery mix into a small saucepan at medium heat- stir with a spatula or spoon
4. In a few minutes, you’ll see it will begin to get clumpy- keep going! You want to be constantly stirring until the moment happens- bam! It is suddenly a goey, stretchy, thick and smooth consistency! Remove from heat as soon as this happens! 
5. Use immediately (spoon onto your lasagna after cooking for 40 minutes). You can put it in the fridge if you aren’t ready to immediately use it, but this will add thickness to the texture. 
6. Place your lasagna with your stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese in the oven for another 20 minutes before letting cool and enjoying! 

Let your lasagna cool for about 15 minutes and then for our favorite step- enjoy your amazing vegan lasagna on your Élay Products tableware- from bowls, plates, and to-go containers, our tableware is one of the most sustainable, non-toxic and 100% biodegradable products out there! This lasagne recipe makes a  large dish and there may be some leftovers. No worries, Élay’s To-Go containers are cold and heat resistant so you can store your leftovers in the fridge and then microwave them right up in the same container! Shop now!