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While basic lasagnas sit in the corner wearing a dunce cap, this vegan lasagna rocks a meaty walnut lentil filling, a spinach tofu ricotta, AND a homemade garlic mozzarella. I mean, this lasagna knows what it is. And what it is, is a certified banger dinner replacement for your mom's 200% hum-drum non-vegan lasagna that makes a world of marinara goblins cry themselves to sleep.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Swap in Tinkyada gluten-free lasagna noodles, you'll need about 1½ boxes, and the rest of the recipe doesn't change at all.
Boil the noodles a day ahead and toss them with oil like the recipe already has you do, they'll hold fine in the fridge until you layer.
Walnuts and lentils split the filling here, and the lentils are doing a lot of the work for way less money.
Pile in extra spinach when you wilt it down, it cooks way down small and just disappears right into the ricotta layer.
Vegan mozzarella shreds and tapioca starch both live in most regular grocery stores now, right in the natural foods aisle.
Don't get carried away boiling the noodles. They're heading back into the oven later, so if they're super soft they'll turn into floppy lasagna blankets.
When you process the walnuts and lentils, stop while it still looks crumbly and textured. If you run the machine too long you'll end up with a pate-style paste.
I know it smells incredible and you want a slice immediately, but give it about 10-15 minutes to settle.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
And look, I see you stroking your chin, wondering to yourself, "Is vegan lasagna actually gonna hit?" Honey. BEE FREE HONEY. Recipe testers who have made this have called it not just the best vegetarian lasagna they've ever had but the best lasagna period.
Most vegan lasagna recipes pick a lane: meaty OR cheesy OR the ricotta thing. This one does all 3 simultaneously using wholesome ingredients. The walnut lentil filling that's nicely meaty while avoiding processed and costly crud, an herby tofu ricotta tucked into every layer, and a garlic mozzarella sauce that stretches and pulls the whole thing together.
Good news: just about all dried lasagna noodles are vegan, and this works with gluten-free noodles too!
Make it Sunday, it's even better on Monday. It's also a mega-popular potluck dish like my vegan baked ziti and vegan pesto pasta. Or you can just not invite anyone over and just smash the whole thing with a side of my vegan garlic bread while you spend the night watching your Cinema Paradiso DVD and sobbing.
"Recipe testers who have made this have called it not just the best vegetarian lasagna they've ever had but the best lasagna period." Did you read that at the beginning.... I did...and you know what!!!? It's true, seriously true! The balance of the Lentil/Walnut 'meat', the Spinach/Tofu Ricotta and the incredible, and I mean incredible Garlic Mozzerella...is like NO WAY delicious! My totally non-vegan visiting family were blown away by it! Make it all from scratch, takes a bit of time but lemme tell ya...its soooooooooooo worth it!
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🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan lasagna recipe
✊ Vegan AF: Like all my vegan Italian recipes this one is dairy-free, gives cholesterol a swirly, somehow is still the meatiest, cheesiest, most comforting thing in the actual galaxy.
🧊 Freezes Great: Portion it into containers first so future-you can just grab one and go to town (I mean after you thaw and reheat it, of course).
🌾 Easy GF Swap: One ingredient swap and this whole lasagna is GF. Grab your favorite gluten free lasagna noodles (mine are the ones from Tinkyada) and the rest of the recipe doesn't even flinch.
🛒 Normal-Human Ingredients: Everything in this recipe can be found at a regular grocery store. I promise you will not need to order any vegan astronaut ice cream dust from out of the back of their Sharper Image catalogue.
Tested Worldwide: Like all my vegan recipes, hundreds of home cooks worldwide have put this healthy lasagna to the test. Nobody was upset. Several people were very emotional. One person made it 3 weeks in a row and I think about that a lot.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🥫 Vegan Lasagna Ingredients
Lasagna Noodles
affiliate linkI have tried out many budget lasagna noodles, and for a balance of quality without getting hyper-pricy, I'm Team Barilla Wavy Noodles forever. I wrote this recipe to work with a standard 16 oz. box.
For gluten-free, I use Tinkyada lasagna noodles (10 oz. per box), so grab about 1½ boxes. Legit, your non gluten-free family members will eat it and just… not realize.
The Lentils
I stick with dried brown lentils for this, the same ones I use to make my Moroccan lentils. They stay intact and give the filling the best meaty texture and color. You can sub green lentils, no problem. Even whole red lentils are an option, but they shouldn't be cooked to the point that they burst.
Marinara Sauce
I love using my quick vegan marinara recipe for this, but I'm not about to gatekeep. Use whatever jar you've got in the pantry. It'll do the job. My fam kinda loves the spicy truffle one made by the company Truff.
Spinach
My usual move is mature bunched spinach for cooked recipes like this one or my vegan Italian wedding soup. It keeps its texture and doesn't disappear into nothing.
That said, triple washed baby spinach totally works if that's what you've got. Frozen spinach is also fair game, just make sure it's thawed and drained so things don't descend into a sludgy old swamp zone.
Nutritional Yeast
Doesn't matter if it's flakes or powder, both kinds of nooch are good to go. If you haven't messed with nutritional yeast before, it's the same stuff that brings killer umami to vegan pepperoni and vegan Italian sausage.
Vegan Mozzarella Shreds
I love to make this with the truffled buffalo mozzarella from this vegan dairy crash course, but I don't always have some on hand. So for regular use, Daiya or any shredded vegan mozzarella you like will work fine. As long as it the gobs of cheese melts and doesn't taste like it's made out of artificial Bart Simpson powder, you're in business.
Vegan Parmesan Cheese
I make my own vegan parmesan most of the time, it's fast and kinda ridiculous how good it is (no bias, I swear). That said, Violife is solid if you're buying one. It's really just to garnish the 'sagna with, so if you don't have any, don't lose any sleep over it.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯 Variations
Pesto Lasagna
Okay but hear me out… pesto lasagna? OMG - yes X2. Just layer pistachio pesto, walnut pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, or spinach pesto into the layers for extra pizzaz.
Lasagna Bolognese
Skip the snoozefest of plain marinara. Use my red wine kissed vegan bolognese instead. I mean, regular marinara is not really lame, but if you like things meaty, this could be just the tweak for you.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make vegan lasagna
Okay so there are 3 fillings and I know that sounds like a lot but I promise it's very manageable and I'm gonna walk you through the whole thing. Follow along for the full breakdown with tips and photos. Or bounce straight down to the printable recipe card at the bottom if you can't take the hunger no more.
Step One
Boil George:
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add salt, then the lasagna noodles and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and briefly rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, then return the noodles to the pot and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking while you prepare the fillings.
Step Two
Lentil Death Do Us Part:
Place the dried lentils in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for about 20 minutes until they are tender but still hold their shape. Drain well and set aside.
Step Three
Walnuthing's Gonna Stop Us Now:
Add the walnuts to a food processor with the drained cooked lentils, tamari, and marinara sauce, then pulse again until a cohesive, meaty filling forms with no whole lentils remaining. Set aside.
Step Four
Tofu Legit to Quit:
Press or pat the tofu dry so the ricotta mixture doesn't come out watery and sucky. Set aside.
Step Five
A More Perfect Onion:
Place a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. After about 90 seconds, once the oil is hot, add the diced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it softens and becomes translucent.
Add the minced garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring constantly.
Step Six
Spinach Me Right Round:
Add the fresh spinach to the skillet and crumble in the tofu. Stir while the spinach wilts, then mix in the oregano, lemon juice, and salt once the spinach has softened. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
Step Seven
Garls in Charge:
Place a saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. After about 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring often so it becomes fragrant without browning.
Step Eight
Whisk And Weward:
Add the tapioca starch and nutritional yeast to the saucepan and whisk continuously for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the plant based milk while whisking to prevent lumps, then continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Step Nine
A Mozz the Universe:
Add the vegan mozzarella shreds and salt to the saucepan. Stir constantly until the cheese melts completely and the creamy sauce becomes smooth and stretchy. Remove from the heat.
Step Ten
Saucetin Powers:
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread a layer of marinara sauce across the bottom of a large baking dish, then arrange a layer of pasta noodles over the sauce.
Step Eleven
Ricotta Feeling, That Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night:
Spread a layer of the walnut lentil filling over the noodles, then add a layer of the spinach tofu ricotta. Spoon a layer of the garlic mozzarella sauce over the creamy vegan ricotta cheese.
Step Twelve
Under Mozzarella, Ella Ella, Eh Eh:
Place another layer of noodles on top and repeat the layering process with marinara sauce, walnut lentil filling, spinach tofu ricotta, and garlic mozzarella sauce.
Continue layering until all components are used, finishing with marinara sauce after the final layer of noodles, and then the garlic mozzarella sauce on top.
Step Thirteen
Foil Metal Jacket:
Cover the dish with foil, tenting it slightly so the foil does not touch the top of the lasagna. Transfer to the oven and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the top is bubbling and lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes.
Step Fourteen
Tay Lasagnday:
Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Optionally garnish with chopped parsley and grated vegan parmesan before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
Look, this easy vegan lasagna is already doing a lot. But if you want to build a whole darn feast around it, starting with escarole and bean soup or some vegan pasta fagioli is a good idea.
Vegan eggplant parm, vegan chicken parm, vegan mushroom risotto, or white wine pumpkin risotto will turn the entire thing into the full Italian carb-fest of your marathon-running dreams.
👉Top tips
- Cook the Noodles Just Until Al Dente: Don't get carried away boiling the noodles. They're heading back into the oven later, so if they're already super soft they'll turn into floppy lasagna blankets instead of nice defined layers.
- Pulse the Filling, Don't 100% Purée: When you process the walnuts and lentils, stop while it still looks crumbly and textured. If you run the machine too long you'll end up with a pate-style paste instead of a meaty filling.
- Keep Your Layers Even and on the Thinner Side: Spread each component in fairly thin, even layers so everything cooks through at the same rate. Giant mounds of filling might seem generous, but they can make the lasagna gush apart like a pasta landslide that will look like a sloppy mess served only in Italian hell.
- Let the Lasagna Rest: I know it smells incredible and you want a slice immediately, but give it about 10-15 minutes to settle. That little rest lets the layers firm up so you get clean slices instead of puddles of face-melting swamp.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
If you are using traditional lasagna sheets, boiling them until al dente helps them cook evenly in the finished dish. Some no-boil lasagna sheets can go straight into the pan, but they require a little extra pasta sauce to soften properly. I didn't write the ratios of this great recipe with no-boil lasagna noodles in mind.
🧊 Refrigerating leftovers
Allow the lasagna to cool completely, then transfer slices to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
❄️ Freezing the lasagna
Place cooled portions in a freezer-safe container with a secure lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Keeping the slices surrounded by the homemade sauce helps protect the noodles from drying out.
🌙 Thawing frozen lasagna
Move the airtight container from the freezer to the refrigerator and allow it to thaw overnight. This slow thaw keeps the texture of the noodles and fillings intact.
🔥 Stovetop reheating
Place a slice in a skillet with a few spoonfuls of marinara or water. Cover and warm over medium low heat until heated through.
⚡️ Oven reheating
Place a portion in an oven-safe dish, spoon a little remaining sauce over the top layer so things don't dry out, and cover with foil. Reheat at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes until heated all the way through.
✌️You'll love these vegan pasta recipes too:
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Vegan Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
For the Noodles:
- 1 box lasagna noodles regular or gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the walnut lentil beef filling:
- 1 cup dried brown lentils
- 1 ½ cup walnuts
- 4 teaspoons tamari
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce
For the spinach tofu ricotta:
For the garlic mozzarella:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 3 cups vegan mozzarella shreds
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
To Assemble and Serve the Lasagna:
- 4 cups marinara sauce
- Chopped parsley optional to garnish
- Vegan Parmesan cheese optional to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add salt to the water, then add the lasagna noodles. Cook until al dente according to the package timing. Drain and rinse briefly with cool water to stop the cooking. Place the noodles back into the pot you boiled them in and coat with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together while you prepare the fillings.
- While the pasta cooks, place the dried lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape, about 20 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
- Place the walnuts, drained lentils, tamari (or soy sauce), and marinara sauce to the food processor and pulse until a meaty filling forms with no whole lentils remaining. Set aside.
- Press or pat the tofu dry so the ricotta filling does not become watery.
- Place a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the diced onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring continuously.
- Add the spinach and crumble in the tofu. Stir as the spinach wilts. Once the spinach softens, stir in the oregano, lemon juice, and salt. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
- Place a saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, add the minced garlic. Cook for 60 seconds, stirring frequently so the garlic becomes fragrant without browning.
- Add the tapioca starch and nutritional yeast to the saucepan and whisk continuously for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the plant-based milk while whisking to prevent lumps. Continue whisking over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
- Add the vegan mozzarella shreds and salt. Stir continuously until the vegan cheese melts fully and the sauce becomes smooth and stretchy. Remove from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread a layer of marinara sauce across the bottom of a large baking dish. Arrange a layer of cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce.
- Spread a layer of the walnut lentil filling over the noodles, followed by a layer of the spinach tofu ricotta. Spoon a layer of the garlic mozzarella sauce over the ricotta.
- Place another layer of noodles on top and repeat the layering process with marinara sauce, walnut lentil filling, spinach tofu ricotta, and garlic mozzarella sauce. Continue layering until all components are used, finishing with a layer of marinara sauce and garlic mozzarella sauce on top.
- Cover the dish with foil, making sure to tent it in the middle a little so that the foil is not in direct contact with the top of the lasagna, and transfer it to the oven. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is bubbling and lightly browned, 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Optionally, garnish with chopped parsley and grated vegan parmesan, before serving.
Notes
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Margit says
Can I make that without the lentils? One of our family members is allergic to lentils.
Adam Sobel says
Yes! Maybe do something else entirely for the vegan meaty layer, like seitan, a tofu ground beef, or a Beyond/Impossible thing if you are into that.
Marna says
"Recipe testers who have made this have called it not just the best vegetarian lasagna they've ever had but the best lasagna period." Did you read that at the beginning.... I did...and you know what!!!? It's true, seriously true! The balance of the Lentil/Walnut 'meat', the Spinach/Tofu Ricotta and the incredible, and I mean incredible Garlic Mozzerella...is like NO WAY delicious! My totally non-vegan visiting family were blown away by it! Make it all from scratch, takes a bit of time but lemme tell ya...its soooooooooooo worth it!