The best vegan lasagne

This vegan lasagne contains soft layers of pasta, a creamy béchamel sauce and a variety of vegetables. These combine to give you a mouthful of texture, taste and deliciousness.

Lasagne is one of those dishes that always goes down well with friends and family. My teenage son is addicted to lasagne, whenever we eat out he ALWAYS chooses it. So, of course when I went vegan I had to create my own version. My version replaces the mince with sliced mushrooms, diced eggplant and red lentils. The mix of textures makes this even better than the original.

🥘 Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 aubergine, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 red pepper, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 250g mushrooms, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups of red split lentils
• 2 x 160z tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 10-12 dried lasagne sheets
• seasoning

For the bechamel sauce

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups of soya milk
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Seasoning

🔪 Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Add the olive oil to a large saucepan or frying pan and gently fry the onion for 3–4 minutes until softened and golden in colour.

Add your diced aubergine, diced pepper and sliced mushrooms and fry until cooked through.

Add the garlic to the pan, then add the lentils, tomatoes, seasoning, sugar and stock cube.

Stir well and cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Next, make the bechamel.

Make a roux by adding the oil and flour to a pan and stir to make a paste.

Add the milk, nutritional yeast and season well with salt and pepper.

Bring to a low simmer and whisk consistently for 5 minutes. Your sauce should be glossy and thick.

Next assemble your lasagne.

Divide your veg mix into 3 and put one third on the bottom of your lasagne dish.

Cover with a single layer of lasagne sheets.

Add another third of the vegetable mixture followed by a second layer of lasagne sheets.

Pour over just under half of the white sauce, after removing the bay leaf, and very gently top with the remaining vegetable mixture. Finish with a final layer of lasagne and the rest of the white sauce. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or the pasta has softened and the topping is nicely browned and bubbling. Stand for 5 minutes before cutting to allow the filling to settle.

💭 Top tip

If your vegetable mix is too dry, add a cup or 2 of water to the pan.

📖 Variations

You can swap the vegetables in this to vegetables of your choice. It works well with celery, carrots, zucchini, leeks - the list is endless.

👪 Serving size

The quantities in this recipe are sufficient to serve 8 people, just double up to make 2 lasagne's instead of one.

Don't forget to check out my other vegan main dishes.

Can it be made in advance?

Yes, this dish will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days but it freezes well too and will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When freezing, let it cool and wrap well before freezing. Just defrost completely and then heat up in a microwave or oven.

Yield: 0 Serves 8

Vegan eggplant lasagna

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This vegan lasagna contains soft layers of pasta, a creamy béchamel sauce and a variety of vegetables. These combine to give you a mouthful of texture, taste and deliciousness.

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Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion (finely diced)
• 1 aubergine (diced into 1 inch pieces)
• 1 red pepper (diced into 1 inch pieces)
• 250 g mushrooms (sliced)
• 3 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1 1/2 cups of red split lentils
• 2 x 160z tins of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 10-12 dried lasagne sheets
• seasoning

For the bechamel sauce

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups of soya milk
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Seasoning

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. Add the olive oil to a large saucepan or frying pan and gently fry the onion for 3–4 minutes until softened and golden in colour.
3. Add your diced aubergine, diced pepper and sliced mushrooms and fry until cooked through.
4. Add the garlic to the pan, then add the lentils, tomatoes, seasoning, sugar and stock cube.
5. Stir well and cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
6. Next, make the bechamel.
7. Make a roux by adding the oil and flour to a pan and stir to make a paste.
8. Add the milk, nutritional yeast and season well with salt and pepper.
9. Bring to a low simmer and whisk consistently for 5 minutes. Your sauce should be glossy and thick.
10. Next assemble your lasagne.
11. Divide your veg mix into 3 and put one third on the bottom of your lasagne dish.
12. Cover with a single layer of lasagne sheets.
13. Add another third of the vegetable mixture followed by a second layer of lasagne sheets.
14. Pour over just under half of the white sauce, after removing the bay leaf, and very gently top with the remaining vegetable mixture. Finish with a final layer of lasagne and the rest of the white sauce.
    Bake for 35–40 minutes, or the pasta has softened and the topping is nicely browned and bubbling. Stand for 5 minutes before cutting to allow the filling to settle.