Cheesy Lasagna

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Recipe submitted by asjohnso@students.wisc.edu

Cheesy Lasagna

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

2-3 jars of favorite spaghetti sauce
1-16 oz bag of spinach leaves
2-3 jars of tomato sauce
1/2 lb. carrots
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup canned low-sodium veggie broth
1 lb. herbed tofu
8 oz. vegan cream cheese
2 Tblspns. lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
12 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional

Directions:

Slice carrots and steam, set aside. Add olive oil to a large skillet, place over medium-high heat until hot. Add parsley and garlic, saute for 1 minute.. Add carrots and veggie broth; simmer uncovered for 5 min. Add herbed tofu, vegan cream cheese, and lemon juice; stir well. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until fake cheesy stuff starts to melt.Stir in nutmeg (possibly you could add some about 1/4 C. nutritional yeast at this step, just to make it a little bit more cheesy!). Remove from heat; keep warm.

Place 3 lasagna noodles in bottom of 11x7 baking dish. spread carrot mixture over top, place 3 noodles on top of that and spread tomato sauce and spinach on top of those, repeat process until all noodles are used up... top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake 15 min. at 375 degrees. Uncover and bake an additional 20-30 min. until it is thoroughly heated... use your own judgment. Usually a lasagna takes about 45 minutes to cook thoroughly. this is the best lasagna i have ever made or had, or non-vegan... it is superb... your non-vegan friends will be wowed!!!!!!!

Serves a lot.

This recipe was great! I didn't use more than 1 jar (16 oz) of spag. sauce, nor any tomatoe sauce, nor even a 1/2 bag of the spinach.. next time I'll use more spinach and maybe a bit more sauce. The nutritional yeast is a great touch. Thanks for the recipe!!

Archived comment by: wendy

what exactly is herbed tofu? is it something that i would make myself, or would i buy it?

Archived comment by: wendy

i think that herbed tofu might refer to the sort of tofu that has small specks of vegetables and herbs in it. a brand stocked in south florida(i don't know about the rest of the world) is LEASA veggie tofu. =0)

Archived comment by: sherrila

Delicious Recipe, the family loved it!!! One problem I had was with the spinach, do I steam it first or add it raw? It was kind of crispy. I only used 1/2 the spaghetti sauce and no tomato sauce and it was fine. I'll make this again for sure. Thanks

Archived comment by: karen

This was the first lasagna ive ever made and I thought it was delicious. I pureed the spinach though. Thanks for the recipe!

Archived comment by: robert

its cheesey

Archived comment by: andreas

this recipe was soooooo unbelievable...even two of my meateating friends loved it. i, howe'ver, made it in a 9x13 dish. i used a pound of whole wheat lasagna noodles, 2 and 1/2 jars (26 oz each) of classico tomato and basil spaghetti sauce, i didn't use any tomato sauce, 24 oz of 5 spice tofu (i forget the brand), and 20 oz of frozen leaf spinach. this is the best lasagna ive ever had. including me, there were 5 people, and i still have about half left...it makes alot.

Archived comment by: andy

I'd just like to know where (in Australia) I can buy nutritional yeast? I've searched everywhere. If anyone can assist me, my email is lorraine.neale@agal.gov.au - this recipe sounds great and I'd really like to try it!

Archived comment by: lorraine

I made this last night for myself and three carnivores and it was wonderful. I didn't use as much spinach because i added some sliced portabellos and black olives, and (for the carnivorous ones) some sliced Lightlife Italian Links for that spicy taste usually provided by sausage, and i did include the nutr.yeast to make it extra cheesy...even my 5 yr old daughter, who won't eat anything veggie, liked it (though i had to take the spinach out of hers because she still refuses to eat green things), and my lasagna-loving (and unfortunately,MEAT loving) man said it was as good as any he's had and he would welcome me making it again anytime...Thanx for a great recipe!

Archived comment by: lee

I have been a vegetarian/vegan cooking instructor for six yrs., and I search out great cooking. This recipe is excellent. My entire family adored it. I'm making it for a casual dinner party this weekend. Highly recommend!

Archived comment by: lynne

I'm really psyched I actually made a lasagne. How domestic! It was wonderful and I am thankful.

Archived comment by: alison

I made this the other night and my whole family (even my meat loving Father) loved it! I made it with 2 jars of spagetti sauce and one large can of Hunts tomato sauce. I added one 16 oz frozen bag of spinach to the sauces and also added about two cups of textured soy protein (texterized vegetable protien). It ws the best lasagna I've made this year. Thanks for the recipe.

Archived comment by: nichele

This is a great recipe! The lack of chopping really made this a quick one to make. It was also delicious. I had some sworn tofu-haters over for dinner last night who changed their mind because of this dish! Wonderful.

Archived comment by: meggie

After reading such lovely comments I had to try this recipe for myself, and It was good! I am allergic to garlic though, so I'm sure it would've been even better with garlic! I added salt to taste...it was good...i used the nutritional yeast...and added cooked spinach but next time i would just use frozen already chopped spinach.... hoora

Archived comment by: emily

WOW!! This was my first attempt to make a lasagna using tofu. I was quite skeptical, but was amazed at the results. We happened to have an unexpected guest for dinner as well. He too was astonished. Loved your recipe!! We will definitely be making this again and again. Thanks alot.

Archived comment by: mona

i made this for two of my meat-eating friends and they loved it! i used garlic/onion flavored tofu and plain tofutti cream cheese. it was delicious!

Archived comment by: teri11

This was fantastic. My all soya product hating boyfriend actually prefers it to real lasagne (especially when I added lots of extra nutritional yeast, lemon juice and nutmeg). I've found the the cheesy sauce is really good on other dishes too - it works well wherever a white sauce is called for. I couldnt find any herbed tofu, but I just added a good shake of mixed herbs to the pan after adding the tofu, and that seemed to work fine.

Archived comment by: nicola

This was fantastic! This is by far the best recipe for vegan lasagna out there. The tofu, Tofutti and the yeast make a great substitute for cheese, not like most of those yucky cheese substitutes you find at the grocery store. Thanks for the great recipe!

Archived comment by: jessika

This really is delicious. I substituted a bit more spinach for the carrots.

Archived comment by: amy

Great recipe!! I am a personal chef for a vegan couple and they really loved it and so did I.

Archived comment by: littlegirl

My cheese-loving friends raved about this lasagna. Really was amazing--by far the best vegan lasagna I have ever tasted. This will definitely make it into my repetoire of regularly-made dishes.

Archived comment by: smochel

I made this last night for my family and they loved it. A friend came to dinner and he said that he had vegan lasagna before but this was the best hehe nice recipe =)

Archived comment by: akina

Great recipe! Yummy!

Archived comment by: micmil

This was delicious and earned rave reviews across the table. Straight from the authors mouth: the tofu to use in this recipe is Bountiful Beans herbed extra firm tofu. I don't know if its available everywhere, but it was quite tasty in this dish. She recommended freezing the tofu and thawing it before adding to the cheesy mixture (which I did, and the extra chewy texture was great). Delightful!

Archived comment by: kparsons

I've made this one over and over again. My beef loving husband even loves it. Thanks for the great recipe.

Archived comment by: aicrag51

Delicious lasagna!! I highly recommend! I used 2 jars spaghetti sauce, 8 oz frozen chopped spinach (heated with the sauce), no tomato sauce, 8 oz pre-shredded carrots, and the rest of the ingredients per the recipe measurements. I did, howe'ver, totally space the nutmeg, but it was awesome as it was. I did add the nutritional yeast for more cheese flavor, in addition to some vegan mozzarella on the top layer (Follow Your Heart, the same company that makes Veganaise, makes vegan cheese alternatives in mozzarella, cheddar, nacho, and jack flavors that are the best vegan cheeses on the market, hands down; they melt and taste great!). Definitely give this a try. If my meat-eating boyfriend likes it, it must be good!

Archived comment by: willwolf

Forgot to mention...I did not cook the lasagna noodles ahead. I layered them uncooked with the rest of the ingredients. I then cooked the lasagna at 350 F for 1 hour. For me, this is much less work, and I'm lazy. Make sure that you let the cooked lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes as this makes it much easier and neater to cut. Enjoy!

Archived comment by: willwolf

I agree with willwolf on adding the Follow Your Heart Cheese. This is the only lasagna recipe I ever use and I usually cover the top with FYH mozzarella. Instead of using tomato sauce, I just use an Amys Pasta Sauce for every layer. Basil goes well with it I think. Also, I would recommend using extra-firm tofu. This recipe is terrific! My meat-a-holic roomate loves it.

Archived comment by: jessika

THanks for this recipe! We used it for catering a wedding and EVERYONE loved it! Since we don't have herbed tofu (except oriental) around here, I added 1/4 t. ground fennel and 1 t. Italian seasoning. I also used herb and chive cream cheese. For the broth, I used the carrot water with a little McKays chicken seasoning added. I don't think that the nutritional yeast is optional, it is a MUST. Here is a tip for the topping: Save a little of the cheesy layer for the top and mix it with a little of the red sauce. It looks like melted cheese, so it looks good to the milk sucking crowd; and you don't have to waste money on buying the expensive veggie cheeses. At the health food store where I work, we have people in all the time looking for recipes to use in their new life style. This is one of my favorites to give out and everyone really likes it. Thanks again!

Archived comment by: grammy

This was really great. My four year old loved it and she is pretty picky. Unfortunately I did not have the spinach, but I will use that next time. I didn't cook the noodles beforehand - that is such a pain. Just make sure they are all covered with sauce and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes longer while covered and they cook just fine.

Archived comment by: jill

This was absolutely delicious. I couldnt find herbed tofu so I just added italian seasonings. The nutritional yeast made it extra cheesy, and it was an overall delicious recipe. I ended up putting the spinach with the cheese mixture. My sister and her roommates boyfriend (meat-eaters) said that it was the best lasagna they have ever had.

Archived comment by: harpua

Oh yea, I used onions instead of carrots.

Archived comment by: harpua

This was the BEST lasanga my kids have ever eaten! I was a little skeptical at first and my son tasted the cheese mixture and was like this is GOOD mom and my daughter who is PICKY LOVED IT! I would make this again and AGAIN

Archived comment by: msvoluptous

This recipe was Fabulous! I am not big on pasta but what a great dish!! The Cheese filling has such a nice taste!

Archived comment by: mandyB

oh my! I have had plenty of other vegan lasagnas bu this was incredible! My family loved it...You could definitely add zuchinni and summer sqash with the carrots but the cheese was the best part. I will be making this again and passing this recipe on to all my vegan friends Thanks, who ever this recipe belongs to.

Archived comment by: jsimpson76

This recipe almost turned into a disaster... because my oven stopped working right before I put it in to bake! I put it in the freezer for a couple weeks and it stayed quite nicely (although a bit soggier than I would have liked because of the freezing). I loved the taste though and would recommend it to anyone.

Archived comment by: saturnino

The cheesy stuff definitately makes this lasagna! The combination of the flavors is excellent! I used a 9x13 Pyrex dish instead of 7x11 pan, and it worked great. I wasn't sure how to handle the tofu. I had cubed it but, in retrospect, it would've been better crumbled. I shredded the carrots myself with a vegetable peeler (that's all I had) and they turned out great. I only had one jar of sauce and it came out fine, but would've been good with about 1/2 jar more. I browned slices of vegan italian sausage in a frying pan and added to spinach layer but I didn't have any spinach, so I didn't use that. Added vegan mozzarella shreds to sausage and sauce layer as well as to the top of the lasagna, which really added to the cheesiness. Lastly, I didn't have any Nutritional Yeast, but since it has a nutty, parmasean cheese flavor, I substituted some Vegan parmesean sprinkles which, again, added to the cheesiness and flavor. Will DEFINITELY make this again. :-)

Archived comment by: peanutMeg

OMG I can't belive how delicious this was, I used onions instead of carrots and used alot more parsely and garlic and it was AMAZING! my whole family loved it..It was such a joy to eat =) thank you =*) you are my hero

Archived comment by: animalluva

wow! thanks for the great recipe... have been using for over a year. I do cut down on the tomato sauce, and try to add a layer of tofutti mozzarella cheese to the top. even my husband, the meat eater love it.

Archived comment by: aicrag51