This classic-tasting vegan lasagna is the best veggie lasagna that you'll ever eat! Packed with healthy veggies, meaty vegan sausage, creamy vegan ricotta, and topped with melty vegan mozzarella cheese, this lasagna can't be beaten!
If you want a thick, layered lasagna packed with all of your favorite fillings, you have to give this recipe a try! Lasagna can be a bit time consuming to assemble, but I promise it's well worth the effort!
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❤️ You'll love this recipe because
- delicious and tastes like an authentic 12 layer lasagna you would get at a restaurant.
- layered with lots of vegetables like zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
- meaty tasting with protein-packed vegan sausage!
- seasoned and cooked to perfection!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Lasagna Noodles - I like the type that you boil ahead of time, but you can also use the no-boil type.
- Tomato Sauce - Any jarred spaghetti sauce will work or you can make your own oven-roasted tomato sauce.
- Vegan Ricotta Cheese - I make my own vegan ricotta from tofu, but you can also use cashew ricotta or store-bought vegan ricotta. (I also like to add a bag of frozen spinach that has been thawed to the ricotta).
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese - for sprinkling between layers and topping the lasagna. You can use any store-bought brand that you like or make your own with my homemade vegan mozzarella cheese recipe. YOu can also swap out the cheese for vegan Bechamel sauce if you like.
- Tomatoes - any medium tomatoes like Roma work well. The fresher and more in season, the better they will taste.
- Mushrooms - any type of mushroom will work. I prefer to slice the mushrooms and lightly saute them before adding them to the lasagna.
- Zucchini or any Summer Squash - cut into thin slices and lightly sauteed in some olive oil.
- Olive Oil - for sauteing the vegetables before adding them to the lasagna.
- Spinach - either fresh or frozen will work. I prefer to use frozen spinach that has been thawed in my ricotta and fresh spinach between the layers of noodles.
- Vegan Sausage - (optional) I like to use my homemade Italian flavored vegan sausage crumbles but you can use any vegan sausage chopped up into small pieces.
Note: you can also replace the ricotta or the mozzarella with vegan béchamel sauce if you prefer.
🔪 Helpful tools
- Large Lasagna Dish - I use a 9" x 13'' deep dish lasagna pan.
- Food Processor - To make the homemade tofu ricotta.
🥄 Instructions
Prepare all of the lasagna fillings:
- Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain, and rinse. Put back into the pot with enough ice-cold water to cover the noodles. (This will stop the cooking process and keep them from sticking together.)
- Wash and slice the veggies. Saute the mushrooms and zucchini in a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan for about 2 minutes on each side to lightly cook them and set aside.
- Make some vegan sausage crumbles or chop up some store-bought vegan Italian sausages into bite-sized pieces. (optional)
Make your tofu ricotta: (or use store-bought vegan ricotta if desired)
- Drain and press a container of extra firm tofu getting out as much liquid as possible.
- Crumble the tofu into a large food processor.
- Add, salt, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and basil.
- Blend well for 2 minutes in a food processor. Add a splash of soy milk if needed to thin out the ricotta to a smooth spreadable texture.
- Thaw a 16 oz. bag of frozen spinach, put it in a colander, press out the water, then add it to the ricotta. (optional)
- Pulse the food processor a few times to mix in the spinach.
Assemble the Lasagna:
- Cover the bottom of your lasagna dish with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce.
- Then lay down the cooked lasagna noodles so that they overlap each other a little.
- Pour another layer of sauce and assemble a layer of sauteed zucchini
- Sprinkle with a layer of vegan sausage.
- Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly.
- Spread on a layer of ricotta cheese.
- Add a layer of cooked mushrooms and add another layer of sauce.
- Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly.
- Arrange fresh sliced tomatoes, basil, and some shredded vegan mozzarella.
- Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly and press down on them firmly to flatten out the lasagna and get out any pockets of air.
- Drizzle spaghetti sauce over the top of the final layer of noodles and top with more vegan mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375° F for 50 minutes. Then take off the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes until bubbly.
- Let it sit for about 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven before slicing to allow it to firm up.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- You do not have to add the same exact things to your lasagna or assemble the layers in the same order that I did. Just as long as you get in some sauce, veggies, ricotta, and cheese, it will taste good.
- You can easily replace the layers of ricotta or cheese with vegan bechamel sauce or just add it in addition to the ricotta and cheese. (Hey, I know some people are very serious about their need for béchamel sauce in lasagna.)
- Make sure to cover your lasagna during the first part of baking! This allows it to cook evenly, keeps it from drying out, and helps the vegan cheese melt. Give it a little time to bake without the foil at the end to crisp up a little on the edges and brown a little.
- This makes a very large lasagna, you can cut the recipe in half and bake in a smaller dish. If you do this you will only need to bake it for about 40 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.
❔ Can I make it ahead of time?
Yes, if you want to get the work of making the lasagna out of the way, you can make it a day or two ahead of time. Follow all of the directions the same, except only bake it for 30 minutes the first day. Allow it to cool and keep it covered in the fridge until about an hour before you want to serve it. Then bake it again at 375°F for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerator: The vegan lasagna will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freezing: Lasagna freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrosting: Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the lasagna one slice at a time in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes. To reheat large amounts, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water and bake in a covered dish at 350° F for about 20-25 minutes until hot in the center.
🍞 How to make it gluten-free
All of the ingredients in this lasagna are gluten-free except for the noodles, so all you need to do is replace regular noodles with gluten-free ones. You can also use long thin slices of zucchini instead of noodles if you wish.
How to make zucchini noodles:
- Cut the zucchini with a mandolin lengthwise and lay on a paper towel.
- Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
- Wipe off excess salt and water and use it as you would cooked noodles.
Serve this veggie lasagna with some beautiful focaccia bread, minestrone soup, and/or a vegan Caesar salad for a complete meal.
🌟 More vegan Italian style dishes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A classic tasting 12 layer lasagna packed with veggies, vegan cheese, and vegan sausage for a hearty meal.
- 1 16 oz package lasagna noodles
- 38 oz tomato sauce (about a jar and a half)
- 2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup tomatoes about 3 medium
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup zucchini and/or summer squash
- 1 tbsp olive oil for sauteing veggies (optional)
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 cup vegan sausage crumbles or diced small (you can also use beefless crumbles)
- 1 14 oz package extra-firm tofu drained and pressed
- 1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 handful basil or 1 tbsp pesto or dried herbs
- 1 splash water to thin it out if necessary.
- 1 16 oz bag frozen spinach thawed with excess liquid pressed out of it.
-
Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions, drain, and rinse. Put back into the pot with enough ice-cold water to cover the noodles. (This will stop the cooking process and keep them from sticking together.)
-
Wash and slice the veggies. Saute the mushrooms and zucchini in a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan for about 2 minutes on each side to lightly cook them and set aside.
-
Make some vegan sausage crumbles or chop up some store-bought vegan Italian sausages into bite-sized pieces. (optional)
-
Drain and press a container of extra firm tofu getting out as much liquid as possible.
-
Crumble the tofu into a large food processor.
-
Add, salt, garlic, nutritional yeast, olive oil, and basil.
-
Blend well for 2 minutes in a food processor. Add a splash of water or soy milk if needed to thin out the ricotta to a smooth spreadable texture.
-
Thaw a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach, put it in a colander, press out the water, then add it to the ricotta. (optional)
-
Pulse the food processor a few times to mix in the spinach.
-
Preheat the oven to 375° F while you assemble the lasagna.
-
Cover the bottom of your lasagna dish with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce.
-
Then lay down the cooked lasagna noodles so that they overlap each other a little.
-
Pour another layer of sauce and assemble a layer of sauteed zucchini.
-
Sprinkle with a layer of vegan sausage.
-
Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly.
-
Spread on a layer of ricotta cheese.
-
Add a layer of cooked mushrooms and another layer of sauce.
-
Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly.
-
Arrange fresh sliced tomatoes, basil, and some shredded vegan mozzarella.
-
Add another layer of noodles overlapping them slightly and press down on them firmly to flatten out the lasagna and get out any pockets of air.
-
Drizzle spaghetti sauce over the top of the final layer of noodles and top with more vegan mozzarella cheese.
-
Cover with foil and bake at 375° F for 50 minutes. Then take off the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes until bubbly.
-
Let it sit for about 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven before slicing to allow it to firm up.
Recipe Video
- You do not have to add the same exact things to your lasagna or assemble the layers in the same order that I did. Just as long as you get in some sauce, veggies, ricotta, and cheese, it will taste good.
- You can easily replace the layers of ricotta or cheese with vegan bechamel sauce or just add it in addition to the ricotta and cheese. (Hey, I know some people are very serious about their need for bechamel sauce in lasagna.)
- Make sure to cover your lasagna during the first part of baking! This allows it to cook evenly, keeps it from drying out, and helps the vegan cheese melt. Give it a little time to bake without the foil at the end to crisp up a little on the edges and brown a little.
- This makes a very large lasagna, you can cut the recipe in half and bake in a smaller dish. If you do this you will only need to bake it for about 40 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a comment and stared review! I would love to hear from you!
Loved it 😄❤
Glad I found you!!
Thank you for sharimg
Oh, I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
This came out perfectly. I'm going to make this again for my inlaws for Easter. I'm not sure if they will even realize that it's vegan.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing, made this tonight for my roommates and everyone loved it!
Your recipes were very easy to follow, and the homemade cheeses and sausage worked out beautifully! Will be making again 🙂
I'm so happy that you all liked it. 🙂
Amazing lasagna. We did one with shredded cheese and one without we omitted the vegan sausage. Both were phenomenal. Picky kid approved as well. Making again tonight!
I'm so happy that you guys liked it 🙂
I will be making this on Thursday, this week. I will let you know how it goes. It certainly sounds yummy!
I hope that you enjoy it, Jo-Anne! 🙂
I seriously couldn’t get over how FANTASTIC this tasted! Better than any lasagna I’ve ever had, hands down!
Thanks, Lori! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
Going to make this today... many lasagna recipes use the no-boil noodles — & some recipes have enough moisture to not cook regular lasagna noodles beforehand. Any thoughts on this? Do you think I could try this? Save a step?
This recipe already uses a lot of sauce, because I don't like a dry lasagna, but I would water down the sauce with about 1/3 cup of water for each jar if you are using no-boil noodles. Enjoy! 🙂
This looks incredible. I haven't cooked in a while and with taking precautions now I order my groceries online for pick-up. So I have a couple of questions about amounts. (Also, I love the photos showing the assembly, that really helps! But I think #s5, 6, & 7 need editing.)
The cheese shreds come in 8 oz packages by weight. How many do I need for 2 cups? One cup sliced mushrooms...would an 8 oz box of whole mushrooms be enough? The amount of squash slices pictured looks like more than one cup to me...but maybe the slices in a pile are a cup? And is it probably one summer squash? I do know it doesn't have to be exact, but I thought I'd try to get close! Thank you!
Hi Sally, an 8 oz box of mushrooms sliced will be just about the right amount and a medium-sized summer squash will also be perfect. You just need enough that when you slice them and lay them next to each other, they will cover the lasagna to make a layer. The amounts will vary slightly depending on how thick or thin you slice them and the size of your lasagna pan. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Another question. The recipe calls for 38 oz of sauce. The instructions say to put a thin layer on the bottom of the pan and then drizzle spaghetti sauce over the top when done with assembly...I'm assuming that means all the rest of the 38 ounces. But also, in picture #7 it looks as if there is spaghetti sauce on the layer, in the middle of assembly, so that there would be some of the sauce put there, but that is not mentioned in any written instructions that I see?
Another question. 38 oz of sauce, thin layer bottom, all the rest on top? Recipe doesn't say to put any between layers but #7 photo looks like it shows sauce on a layer. And final assembly says to drizzle sauce on top. Thanks!
Garfield
I agree with Garfield, Lasagna is the best! 🙂