Love lasagna but hate how long it takes to make? This easy whole food, plant-based lasagna recipe comes together quickly and can be made and ready to eat in about an hour.
Unlike my weekend lasagnas, there is no cashew cheese sauce or almond ricotta in this recipe. I also use a jarred sauce and oven ready noodles to cut down on the prep time. But don’t worry, it’s still delicious!
Watch the video or scroll down to continue reading.
I began by sauteing 1/2 cup of onion in a large skillet or pan. I love using my ceramic non-stick Greenpan Dutch oven for just about everything. If you are using a stainless steel or cast iron pan, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to prevent sticking. No oil is needed to get flavor-boosting browning. By water sauteing instead of oil, you save yourself 120 calories per tablespoon, and avoid damaging the lining of your arteries.
Next, I added 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms and 2 small to medium sized zucchini cut into half moons. Once the liquid from the mushrooms and zucchini was released, I scraped the browned bits off the bottom of the pan and stirred them in. (Browned bits = flavor.) Then I add 2 cloves of minced garlic. Most recipes I read say to saute your onion and garlic together, but garlic burns easily and only needs about 30 seconds of heat, so I add it at the end.
I next added one diced Field Roast® Italian Sausage link. This meat alternative is made from vital wheat gluten, which is basically the wheat protein left over after the wheat has been washed. (It is often added to breads to increase the stretch of the dough.) I consider vital wheat gluten to be a low-processed ingredient, one step past milled flour. There is some added oil in this product, so I don’t eat it often. It fits into that 5-10% of my diet that is less nutrient dense. If you are trying to reverse heart disease, you’ll want to leave this out, as no amount of oil is health promoting. Naturally, if you have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten intolerance, you’ll want to skip this ingredient. It will still be delicious!
I also added a couple of handfuls of baby mixed greens. Because greens are so good for you! I put the lid on and let them wilt for a minute or two.
This whole cooking process should only take about 10 minutes if your skillet is on medium-high.
Now it’s time to layer up the lasagna!
Into an 8×8 glass baking dish I added about 1/2-3/4 cup of jarred pasta sauce. Then two sheets of green lentil oven ready lasagna noodles. Then half of the sauteed vegetables. Then another layer of noodles and sauce and the rest of the veggies. Then finally the last layer of noodles and last of the pasta sauce. I don’t like dried out noodles, so I covered my dish with foil and baked for 40 minutes at 400 degrees F.
Allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, or the layers will slide apart. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste and texture of the green lentil noodles. They tasted the same as regular wheat noodles, and had the same texture. Not mushy!
I hope you make this easy WFPB lasagna recipe. If you do, let me know if the comments!
Easy Plant Based Lasagna
Serves 4
Time: About an hour, including 40 minutes of hands-off oven time
Ingredients
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 small/medium zucchini, cut into half moons
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt or no-salt seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Field Roast Italian Sausage (optional)
2 handfuls mixed baby greens or spinach
6 sheets oven ready lasagna noodles (I used Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Lasagna Noodles)
1 jar marinara or pasta sauce
Method
In a large skillet, saute the onion for a couple of minutes, adding a tablespoon of water at a time as needed to prevent sticking.
Add the mushroom, zucchini, Italian seasoning and salt if using. Stir and saute for a couple of minutes.
Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
Add the Field Roast sausage and baby greens. Put the lid on and allow the greens to wilt.
Build the Lasagna: In a 8×8 or 9×9″ square baking dish, add 1/2-3/4 cup of pasta sauce, then 2 sheets of lasagna noodles followed by 1/2 the vegetables. Repeat, adding 2 more lasagna noodles, sauce and the remaining vegetables. Top with 2 noodles and the remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 400 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
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