Lentil Lasagna (Vegan)
This easy vegan lentil lasagna is gluten free, nut free and packed with protein. Great if you're looking for a healthy weeknight dinner that makes loads of portions!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce
- 2 cups unsweetened soy or coconut milk
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Filling
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 large zucchini/courgette, chopped into 1cm cubes (about 2 cups)
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped into 1cm cubes (about 1½ cups)
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes (just under one 800ml can)
- 1 cup uncooked red lentils
- 1½ cup vegetable stock (1 stock cube dissolved in 1½ cups boiling water)
- 2 tablespoon dried mixed Italian herbs
- 6 (approx.) gluten free or regular lasagna sheets/noodles as needed (or you can use pasta - see notes)
Topping
- 1 cup homemade vegan mozzarella or store-bought vegan cheese shreds
Instructions
To make the cheese sauce
- In a medium saucepan on a low heat, combine all sauce ingredients (using a metal whisk to remove any lumps if needed).
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
To make the filling
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for 5 minutes until soft, stirring regularly.
- Add garlic, zucchini and red pepper and sauté for a further 5 minutes, continuing to stir.
- Pour in the tomatoes, lentils, stock and dried herbs. Increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover with a lid.
- Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft.
To assemble
- Pour the tomato/lentil filling into a deep ovenproof dish (just enough to cover the bottom of the dish).
- Cover this with 3 of the lasagna sheets/noodles, and pour half the cheese sauce over these evenly. (If your cheese sauce has become too thick while you've been making the tomato/lentil filling, simply reheat it very gently or thin it out with a small amount of water.)
- Repeat the process, using all the remaining tomato/lentil filling, the remaining 3 lasagna sheets and the remaining cheese sauce.
- Sprinkle cheese shreds over the top, and cover the dish in foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes in the oven, remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes until cheese/cheese sauce is golden.
- Serve with your favourite salad for a hearty, protein-packed dinner!
Notes
Allergen Free - I also love that this lasagna can be gluten free if you use brown rice or corn pasta (or any other gluten free pasat), nut free and of course totally dairy free.
Don't have lasagna noodles? No problem! You can use 2 cups of your favourite pasta instead by just mixing it into the tomato/lentil sauce and it will cook in the oven.
Need to Make it Quicker? - If you're short on time and this recipe still looks a little long to you, use pre-cooked lentils to cut down your stovetop cooking time by 10 minutes (just simmer the tomato/lentil mixture for 10 minutes instead of 20 as the veggies will finish cooking in the oven).
Soaking Lentils - To cut down on cooking time and to make the red lentils easier to digest, soak them for a few hours prior to cooking (as little as 2 hours). This will reduce their cooking time on the stovetop.