A healthy and nourishing plant based meal made with fresh spinach and convenient oven-ready lasagna noodles. Store-bought tomato sauce and super firm tofu make it simple and convenient, while a homemade walnut ‘parmesan’ topping adds a delightfully satisfying crunchy layer of flavorful texture. This recipe’s great for make-ahead meal prep.
WHY I LOVE IT
Lasagna casseroles are my go to for festive occasions or when I want to treat myself to something satisfying. I love this lasagna recipe because it features one of my favorite veggie combos, spinach and artichoke. As lasagna recipes go, this one’s pretty easy. Oven-ready noodles are a great time saver and so is using super firm tofu to make the ‘ricotta’ filling. This type of tofu doesn’t require pressing. I use a 6 ounce package of pre-washed baby spinach, so that’s also easy. The sauce is no fuss and economical because I use simple store-bought tomato sauce. The ‘ricotta’ is made in a food processor with tofu, cashews, and a handful of other simple ingredients. Chopped artichoke hearts are incorporated into the ‘ricotta’ with just a few pulses. The result is my favorite part of this recipe, a light and flavorful artichoke ‘ricotta.’ The walnut ‘parmesan’ complements the rest of the flavor beautifully and it’s super simple to make. When you combine all these ingredients you end up with a complete meal that’s packed with protein with a solid amount of leafy greens in every serving.
OVEN-READY LASAGNA NOODLES
I’m a huge fan of oven-ready lasagna noodles, also known as no-boil or no-cook lasagna noodles. This type of pasta is designed to be used in lasagna recipes without the need for pre-cooking. No matter how minimalist the recipe, making lasagna always feels like a project, something I need to roll up my sleeves for. Oven-ready noodles just make the whole thing a little less intimidating. Making lasagna with oven-ready noodles requires either using more sauce or having a wetter sauce. In this recipe I simply add water to the tomato sauce before using it in the recipe. If anyone wants to use conventional pre-cooked lasagna noodles instead, all they have to do to adjust the recipe is omit the extra water.
FOOD PROCESSOR NEEDED
For best results, you’ll need a medium or large food processor for this recipe. You could also get away with using a high speed blender (1,000 watts or more), but I really prefer a food processor for this recipe. Both the crunchy walnut topping and the ‘ricotta’ require processing. I recommend making the crunchy topping first because then it’s easy to go onto making the ‘ricotta’ without needing to wash the bowl.
CHOOSING ARTICHOKE HEARTS
The best artichoke hearts for this recipe are plain with no added seasonings, oil or marinades. I used canned artichoke hearts packed in water brine from Trader Joe’s, but thawed frozen artichoke hearts would also work. Using oil packed artichoke hearts would make this lasagna greasy and heavy. So even if you’re not actively avoiding oil in your cooking, you should still go for oil-free artichoke hearts for this lasagna. One 14 ounce can of whole artichoke hearts has the right number of artichoke hearts for this recipe.
SUPER FIRM TOFU SUBSTITUTIONS
If you don’t have access to super firm tofu, no worries. You can use pressed firm, or extra firm, tofu instead. To substitute a 16 ounce package of super firm tofu you’re going to need to use a little more than one block of firm or extra firm. There’s 2 cups of super firm tofu in a 16 oz package. To approximate this amount you need to start with about 1 and 1/3 block of firm or extra firm tofu. The exact amount needed depends on how big your blocks are and how much water you manage to press out. Although the amount of tofu in this recipe doesn’t need to be exact, it’s better to err on the side of more rather than less because there needs to be enough ricotta filling to spread over two layers of the lasagna. Use your preferred method for pressing tofu, it’s just one extra step.
SOAKING CASHEWS IS IMPORTANT
Even if you routinely bypass soaking your cashews for other recipes, please soak them for this recipe. Using boiling water to soak cashews means you can get away with a quick 20 minute soak. In the meantime you can get all your other ingredients prepped and make the crunchy topping. Cashews can also be soaked in cold water for at least 2 hours or overnight. I like the overnight method myself, though that requires knowing what I’ll be making a day ahead of time which isn’t always the case.
ARTICHOKE ‘RICOTTA’
There’s two steps to making the artichoke ricotta. First I like to blitz all the ingredients except the artichokes until I achieve a ricotta-like creamy ness. Then I add quartered artichoke hearts and pulse a few more times. The idea is for the artichoke pieces to get smaller and evenly spread into the ‘ricotta’ while still remaining a little chunky.
CRUNCHY WALNUT TOPPING
There’s so much satisfying nourishing flavor in this simple topping that’s basically a scaled down, slightly simpler version of my recipe for Vegan ‘Parmesan’ Seed and Nut Topping. Walnut pieces, nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, garlic powder, salt and a pinch of pepper get pulsed in a food processor just long enough to achieve a sandy parmesan-like texture.
BUILDING THE LASAGNA
Building a lasagna with oven-ready noodles requires starting with a layer of sauce and for the noodles to overlap quite a bit. It’s also important to have enough sauce to spread over the top layer of noodles, otherwise the top layer won’t get soft enough. Lasagna casseroles are built from the bottom up so I think it’s a good idea to separate a cup of the sauce and water mixture, saving it for spreading over the top. This lasagna has two layers of filling, each consisting of a layer of artichoke ‘ricotta’ and a layer of fresh baby spinach. The top layer of noodles is covered with the reserved cup of sauce and the crunchy walnut topping.
DOUBLE LAYERED COVERING
It’s standard practice to cover lasagna casseroles with aluminum foil during the first half of baking. This step is especially important with no-boil noodles because the liquid needs to stay inside the casserole without evaporating long enough to soften the noodles. Because I’m uneasy about the likelihood of aluminum leaking into food, I like to place layer of parchment paper between the lasagna and the foil. After the foil is removed, the top layer will get deliciously browned and a little bit crunchy during the last 25 minutes of baking.
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Vegan Spinach Artichoke Lasagna
Equipment
- 9 x 13 inch lasagna pan
- Food Processor
- 2 medium-small bowls (should hold at least 1½ cups)
- medium-large bowl (should hold at least 5 cups)
- Parchment Paper
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup raw cashews, whole or pieces
- ½ cup walnut pieces
- 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp nutritional yeast (divided)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds (any type)
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper (divided)
- 16 oz super firm tofu*
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 to 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 Tbsp dried Italian herb blend
- ¾ tsp onion powder or granules
- ¼ to ½ tsp regular salt or fine sea salt
- One 14 oz can artichoke hearts packed in water brine, strained** (or 8 thawed frozen artichoke hearts)
- 1 package oven-ready lasagna noodles (8 or 9 ounces)***
- 30 oz vegan to tomato sauce (two 15 oz cans)
- ¾ cup water
- 6 oz baby spinach, pre-washed
Instructions
Pre-Soak Cashews
- Place raw cashews in a medium-small bowl. Cover cashews with boiling water and soak for at least 20 minutes. Strain and set aside. You can soak cashews while you prepare the other parts of this recipe
Make Crunchy Walnut Topping
- Place walnuts, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, sesame seeds, garlic powder, coarse salt and a pinch of pepper in the bowl of a medium or large food processor. Pulse until you achieve a desired consistency. Be careful not to over pulse or you end up with a kind of nut butter. You only need a few short pulses to achieve a texture similar to coarse sand.
- Place in a medium small bowl and set aside. No need to wash the food processor bowl.
Make Artichoke 'Ricotta'
- Strain artichoke hearts, pat them dry, and cut them lengthwise into quarters. Set aside.
- Tear super firm tofu into large chunks and place them into the food processor. Add the strained soaked cashews, 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp nutritional yeast, lemon juice, chopped garlic, Italian herb blend, onion powder (or granules) and fine salt. Process until all ingredients blend together and a fairly smooth ricotta-like mixture forms.
- Add the quartered artichoke hearts to the food processor and pulse 3 or 4 more times until the artichoke piece get smaller and are evenly distributed in the ricotta-like mixture. Don't over-process. You should still see small artichoke chunks.
Prepare Sauce
- Place tomato sauce in a medium-large bowl. Add ¾ cup of water and mix together. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into a separate container and set aside in order to ensure that you will have enough sauce left for the top layer of the lasagna.
Preheat Oven to 350 ℉ (175 ℃)
Build Lasagna (see main recipe text for step by step photos)
- Pour about 1 cup of sauce from the medium-large bowl (not the cup that you set aside) and spread it evenly over the bottom of the lasagna pan. Then lay down a layer of overlapping noodles over the sauce. Cover the noodles with half the artichoke ricotta. Cover the ricotta with half the baby spinach. Cover the baby spinach with half of the tomato sauce remaining in the medium large bowl.
- Build a second layer over the first in the same way that you built the first layer. First cover the first layer with overlapping noodles. Then cover the noodles with all the remaining artichoke ricotta. Then cover the ricotta with all the remaining baby spinach. Then cover the baby spinach with all the remaining tomato sauce in the medium-large bowl. You should still have 1 cup of sauce set aside.
- Top the second layer with another layer of noodles. Spread the reserved cup of tomato sauce over the noodles. Then cover the tomato sauce with the crunchy walnut topping.
Double Cover Your Lasagna Casserole
- Cut or fold parchment paper to fit over the lasagna without going over the sides and gently place it on top of the lasagna. Then cover everything with a sheet of aluminum foil that wraps tightly around the sides.
Bake
- Place double covered lasagna casserole in the middle rack of preheated 350 ℉ oven and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove both the aluminum foil and the parchment paper covers and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
Rest and Serve
- Remove lasagna casserole from oven and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
- For a fancy extra creamy touch you can top each serving with a spoonful of Lemon Cashew Cream, or your favorite store bought vegan sour cream, and/ or a sprinkling of a chopped fresh herb such as parsley, thyme, oregano or basil.
Storing Suggestions
- Fridge: You can store lasagna casserole in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Cool it down first then cover with parchment paper then tightly wrap it in foil or place in an airtight container.
- Freezer: You can store lasagna in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cool it down first then place it in an airtight container. I prefer to freeze lasagna in smaller sections using ziplock bags or smaller containers.
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