This meatless lasagna with tofu Bolognese sauce, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms is SO delicious! The perfect meal for a relaxed evening. Maybe even with a nice glass of red wine? It’s 100 % vegan, packed with flavor, and easy to make!
Oh, how I LOVE lasagna! It has been one of my favorite meals for such a long time. And this didn’t change when I became vegan six years ago. I still love making lasagna and even more eating it. This vegan lasagna is one of my favorite pasta recipes!
The main ingredient in this vegan lasagna is tofu, which I paired with red wine, onions, lots of garlic, and fresh veggies. Oh and of course tomatoes. I also love having this vegan Bolognese sauce with spaghetti. It’s one of our regular weeknight meals. We make it at least once a week. It means pure comfort food for us!
This Vegan Lasagna Is:
- incredibly delicious
- super healthy
- packed with protein and fresh vegetables
- hearty
- perfect for the whole family
- ready in about one hour (35 minutes of the total time is baking time)
- pure comfort food
- a great recipe to make ahead
What You Need For My Vegan Lasagna:
- firm tofu
- an onion
- garlic
- tomato paste
- dry red wine (make sure it’s vegan)
- dried oregano and basil
- soy sauce
- button mushrooms
- zucchini
- carrot
- lasagna sheets
- vegan crème fraîche or homemade vegan basil ricotta
- vegan cheese
As always, you can find the full ingredient list and the recipe instructions in a separate recipe box at the end of this post.
How to Make Meatless Lasagna
The preparation of this vegan lasagna takes a while but the recipe itself is pretty easy. I can promise you it will be such a flavorful meal and you definitely won’t miss the ground meat in this vegan lasagna!
Make The Vegan Lasagna Sauce
STEP 1: Start by crumbling the tofu with your hands. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and pan-fry the crumbled tofu for about 3 minutes. Then add the chopped onion and cook for another 4 minutes. Then add the garlic. After one minute, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 more minutes.
STEP 2: Deglaze with red wine and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the diced tomatoes as well as the pureed tomatoes and season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
STEP 3: While you make the tofu Bolognese sauce, pan-fry the vegetables in a second pan. Heat some oil and cook them for about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the Bolognese sauce is ready, add the veggies and stir well.
Layer The Lasagna
STEP 4: Add a cup of the Bolognese sauce at the bottom of your casserole dish. Then add a layer of lasagna sheets, then again Bolognese sauce, and top it with some crème frâiche (or homemade basil ricotta). Continue with two more layers of sauce and lasagna sheets. Put the rest of the Bolognese sauce on top and sprinkle with vegan cheese.
Bake the Lasagna
STEP 5: Preheat your oven to 350 °F and bake the lasagna for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. Enjoy the lasagna with a green side salad and maybe a glass of red wine.
Recipe Notes:
- I strongly recommend using very firm tofu for this recipe. It will not work with silken tofu.
- As some of you might know, wine is not always vegan as animal-derived fining agents are often used in the production of wine. So make sure to buy a vegan brand if you want this lasagna to be 100 % vegan.
- I used store-bought vegan crème frâiche for my vegan lasagna, but if you can’t get hold of it you can also use my homemade basil ricotta or also spinach ricotta. I used it for the first vegan lasagna I posted on my blog and it was a huge hit with my family. Sorry about the quality of the photos, it’s a super old post.
- If you want you can freeze this vegan lasagna to have a delicious ready-made meal on hand for nights when you don’t have much time to cook. You can either freeze it baked or unbaked. Let it thaw overnight and then cover the baking dish with aluminium foil while baking.
- If you want to make this vegan lasagna healthier, you can also use whole wheat lasagna noodles. I’ve even tried it with green lentil lasagna noodles and it turned out super delicious as well.
Vegan Lasagna – FAQs:
Do lasagna noodles have eggs in them?
There are many lasagna noodles that are completely egg and dairy-free. So it should be rather easy for you to find vegan lasagna noodles. However, you should still check the ingredient list.
Do I have to pre-cook my lasagna noodles?
No, you don’t need to boil the noodles before you assemble and bake the lasagna. The heat from the cooking sauce in the oven will be enough to cook the noodles. So no extra work needed!
Can I freeze this lasagna?
Yes, freezing lasagna works pretty well. You can either freeze it baked or unbaked. Let it thaw overnight and then cover the baking dish with aluminium foil while baking. Bake it for 30-40 minutes at 350 °F. Remove the aluminium foil for the last 10 minutes of baking, so your lasagna can get a crispy crust.
Other Vegan Pasta Recipes You Might Like:
- Vegan Meatballs with Spaghetti
- Lemon Spaghetti with Spinach
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Creamy Vegan One Pot Pasta with Coconut Milk and Red Curry Paste
- One Pot Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach
And if that’s still not enough, also check out my roundup of 31 delicious vegan pasta recipes for even more ideas.
I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU GUYS!
I know this vegan lasagna is not one of my quickest and easiest recipes, but it’s really worth the work. It’s SO good! I hope you like this meatless lasagna as much as we do!
If you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think about it. Just leave me a comment and a star rating below. Your comments really make my day!
You like my recipes and want to see more? Then follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Sina – xx
Meatless Lasagna (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 7 oz firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3/4 cup dry red wine (use a vegan brand)
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 cups passata
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 4.5 oz mushrooms, cut into small cubes
- 1 small zucchini, cut into small cubes
- 1 carrot, cut into small cubes
- 9 lasagna sheets
- 3/4 cup vegan crème fraîche or vegan basil ricotta
- 1 cup vegan cheese
Instructions
- Start by crumbling the tofu with your hands. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and pan-fry the crumbled tofu for about 3 minutes. Then add the chopped onion and cook for another 4 minutes. Then add the garlic. After one minute, add the tomato paste and cook for 2 more minutes. Deglaze with red wine and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the diced tomatoes as well as the pureed tomatoes and season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
- While you make the tofu Bolognese sauce, pan-fry the vegetables in a second pan. Heat some oil and cook them for about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the Bolognese sauce is ready, add the veggies and stir well.
- Add a cup of the Bolognese sauce at the bottom of your casserole dish. Then add a layer of lasagna sheets, then again Bolognese sauce, and top it with some crème frâiche (or homemade basil ricotta). Continue with two more layers of sauce and lasagna sheets. Put the rest of the Bolognese sauce on top and sprinkle with vegan cheese.
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F and bake the lasagna for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. Enjoy the lasagna with a green side salad and maybe a glass of red wine.
Notes
- I strongly recommend using very firm tofu for this recipe. It will not work with silken tofu.
- As some of you might know, wine is not always vegan as animal-derived fining agents are often used in the production of wine. So make sure to buy a vegan brand if you want this lasagna to be 100 % vegan.
- I used store-bought vegan crème frâiche for my vegan lasagna, but if you can't get hold of it you can also use my homemade basil ricotta or also spinach ricotta. I used it for the first vegan lasagna I posted on my blog and it was a huge hit with my family. Sorry about the quality of the photos, it's a super old post.
- If you want you can freeze this vegan lasagna to have a delicious ready-made meal on hand for nights when you don't have much time to cook. You can either freeze it baked or unbaked. Let it thaw overnight and then cover the baking dish with aluminium foil while baking.
- If you want to make this vegan lasagna healthier, you can also use whole wheat lasagna noodles. I've even tried it with green lentil lasagna noodles and it turned out super delicious as well.
I love lasagna and this meatless version looks thousand times better than a meat version! Delicious!
I have done this vegan lasagna last night. We are all pleased my family member with this. Really this incredibly delicious and super healthy. I have got actual color, flavor, and taste. Thanks for the presentation such type of vague less recipe.
This was the first vegan lasagna I’ve tried and it turned out great. I couldn’t find vegan creme fraiche or sour cream, so I made the basil ricotta. The only thing I changed was using spinach instead of basil. Very good! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I just made this vegan lasagna and it was soooo good!! Definitely a keeper!
My husband and I really loved this vegan lasagna! The tofu sauce was SO good!! I’m sure it would also be great with spaghetti. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Made this tonight and my husband loved it! Just a couple of questions … you listed soy sauce in the ingredients but it wasn’t in the cooking instructions. I left it out, but curious about it. Also, 2 tablespoons of oregano seemed like a lot, it doesn’t make it too bitter? I put in 1 tablespoon.
I love lasagna and this meatless version looks 10,000 times better than a meat version!
My daughter was just requesting lasagna tonight. Unfortunately, I didn’t even have lasagna noodles or tomatoes. When I get them though, we’ll be having this! Yum!
That looks so meaty for a meatless lasagna! Definitely no missing out with this hearty meal.
I love lasagna too but it definitely takes some time. I usually prep everything separately then have it all ready when I want to put it together. This look delicious!!!
This may be a dumb question, but is creme fraiche another term for sour creme? In other words, if I bought a vegan sour cream would it work for this recipe? It looks delicious… and I love lasagna. I just want to get it right. Also, do you this if this lasagna was assembled and placed in a refrigerator for a day or maybe just overnight that it would be more flavorful like other lasagna recipes?
And by, “do you this if is…” I meant to say, “do you think if this…”* sorry ????
Hi Nevin,
It’s not a dumb question at all! Crème fraîche is thicker than sour cream and it also has a richer flavor and is less tangy. But I think if you’d buy a vegan sour cream the lasagna should work just fine. The difference is not that big and I mean we’re talking about vegan products anyway. You could also use my vegan basil ricotta instead if you like. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested: https://veganheaven.org/recipe/vegan-basil-ricotta-pinwheels/ And yes, like other lasagna recipes it’s much better after being placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or even overnight. Actually that’s what I did for the photo. :-)
Let me know if you got any other questions or need help with the recipe. Hope you like it!
Best,
Sina
Lasagna has always been a favorite of mine, and your version looks incredible!
I Love lasagna. This meatless lasagna is looking delicious. Perfect for dinner date at home. I will try it. Thanks :)