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Vegan Garden Lasagna with Eggplant Noodles

Author Tiffani

Ingredients

For the ricotta...

  • 1 block extra firm tofu
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp Daiya Chive & Onion  or plain Cream Cheese Style Spread
  • 2 Tbsp vegan parmesan I use Follow Your Heart Parmesan Style Shreds
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 7 large basil leaves chopped

For the lasagna...

  • ~3 cups marinara sauce If using my marinara recipe provided in the link, you will only need about half since the recipe yields 6 cups of sauce.
  • 8 oz Miyoko's Creamery Fresh VeganMozz grated or chopped (freeze first)
  • 2 eggplants or 1 very large eggplant, thinly sliced lengthwise (you will need 15-20 slices, thinnest setting on mandolin), salted, rinse, and pressed (see above)
  • 1 zucchini cut into rounds (I used first setting on mandolin)
  • 1 yellow squash cut into rounds (I used first setting on mandolin)
  • 8 white mushrooms sliced thin, I don't buy mine pre-sliced because they are much too thick
  • 1 cup yellow onion diced
  • 1 cup carrot grated
  • 1 bunch asparagus first sliced lengthwise (for thick asparagus only), and then cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp garlic minced
  • 4 1/2 cups fresh spinach 3-4 oz
  • 1 Tbsp Italian herbs or blend your own. I use a mix of mostly oregano and basil, with a little thyme and sage added
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • olive oil for cooking
  • Vegan parmesan optional, for topping

Instructions

For the ricotta...

  • Place all ingredients in the food processor and blend until completely combined. Can be used immediately, or place in fridge until ready to use. Sitting in fridge will allow the ricotta to absorb more flavor.

For the lasagna...

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly grease two baking sheets with oil, or line them with parchment paper. Cover one of the baking sheets with eggplant slices. It's okay if they overlap. Cover the second baking sheet with the zucchini and yellow squash, this time being careful not to overlap. Sprinkle all veggies with salt and pepper, making sure to get any eggplant that may be on the bottom. Place baking sheets in oven and cook for 5 minutes. Eggplant should be just starting to brown and squash should be starting to get soft, but not mushy. Once veggies are done, turn oven down to 350° F.
  • Over medium heat, warm a large skillet with a little olive oil. Add 2 tablespoons of garlic and the onion. Saute for about 30 seconds. Next add the mushrooms, carrots, Italian herbs, and salt and pepper to taste. After 5 minutes, in a second heated skillet, add a little olive oil and the other half tablespoon of garlic. After 30 seconds add your asparagus and salt and pepper to taste. Both skillets will cook about 5 more minutes. You want the onions, mushrooms, and carrots soft, and the asparagus cooked, but not mushy. Alternatively, you can do the first skillet for everything, just adding the asparagus 5 minutes in. I prefer to have mine seperate so I have it seperated for my lasagna layers.
  • Grease a 13"x9" baking dish. Spread ricotta on one side of each eggplant slice. Cover the bottom of the dish with eggplant slices, ricotta side up (I did 4 across and 2 halves along the bottom (cut lengthwise, see image above). Layer on your cooked veggies: half the asparagus, half of your mushroom/carrot/onion mixture, and then a layer of the zucchini and yellow squash. I always alternate types of squash, making a kind of yellow and green checkers board. Now cover with a layer of marinara sauce, VeganMozz, and finally a couple handfuls of fresh spinach.
  • Repeat instructions in step 3 starting with the layer of ricotta spread eggplant slices, and finishing with the spinach. For this second layer you can use whichever eggplant slices didn't come out as nice, leaving the more presentable ones for the top layer.
  • For the third and last layer of eggplant, lay them ricotta side down instead. Now spread with marinara. Chop your last couple handfuls of spinach and sprinkle on top of the marinara. Lastly, cover with the remaining VeganMozz.
  • Carefully cover baking dish with aluminum foil. I will try and curve the foil upwards so it doesn't touch the top of the lasagna. Sometimes toothpicks help, so long as you're careful not to let them pokethrough the foil. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until lasagna starts to bubble. Remove from oven and let sit for approximately 5 minutes before cutting. Be careful to cut all the way through each layer when serving. If desired, sprinkle with vegan parmesan. Serves 4-6. Enjoy!