The Ultimate Vegan Lasagna

after i tasted The Ultimate Vegan Lasagna, i realized that nothing else really compares in terms of taste, texture, ingredients and ease. instead of making everything from total scratch, i took a few shortcuts. first, pre-made marinara is a key ingredient in this recipe. i used about 1.5 jars of marinara, which ends up being about 36 oz. if you don’t want to use marinara, canned tomato sauce will work well, but the dish won’t have as much flavor. i used Rao’s marinara by the way. it was on sale at Whole Foods, which made my day!

the veggies are a hearty touch and there’s protein in The Ultimate Vegan Lasagna too! the cheese is made with tofu and the lasagna noodles are made from yellow lentils, how great is that?

ingredients and directions

ingredients

• two 8 oz boxes lasagna noodles (won’t use all of them). also, i used Whole Foods Yellow Lentil and Brown Rice.
• 1.5 jars of marinara (about 36 oz)
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups diced zucchini
• 8 oz sliced organic mushrooms
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 14 oz extra firm tofu
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup shredded vegan cheese

directions

1. sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.
2. then add the zucchini and mushrooms and 1/2 cup vegetable broth.
3. cook for about 5 minutes until the liquid absorbs.
4. crumble the tofu in a bowl and add the spices, salt and vegan cheese. mix well.
5. layer about 1/2 cup marinara on the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole pan.
6. next add the lasagna noodles, then the veggies followed by the cheese mixture, more sauce, noodles, etc and repeat.
7. top the final layer with 1 can of diced tomatoes and shredded vegan cheese. make sure the noodles are well coated with the tomatoes.
8. bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.