Vegan Kale Pesto Lasagna with Veggie Tofu Ricotta
Vegan Kale Pesto Lasagna with Veggie Tofu Ricotta is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Really, anything Italian style and carb loaded ticks the box for comfort food in my world. My mom had no idea how to cook when we were little. She was raised on shitty German food at best, but my other gma had learned to cook ca-razzzzy good Italian food from her Italian hubster, and from living in Italy for a bit. Jealous! She gave my mom a cookbook that she had typed out for her. Totally amazing! My goal is to one day replicate this book vegan style! Anyway, now-a-days, my mother is an incredibly amazing cook and chefs up all styles of food. For many of my single digit years, I spent most of it consuming loads of delicious Italian grub… not too shabby! However, I definitely blame my love affair with carbohydrates on this long-winded stint in my life. 😉
Vegan Kale Pesto Lasagna with Veggie Tofu Ricotta is incredibly simple to make. It has a kale/arugula pesto (click for my recipe), pureed spinach, tofu, nooch (nutritional yeast), flax, and more as a vegan ricotta cheese, plus marinara. I love this because it gets in loads of protein and vitamins, plus, I can get my kiddo to eat all his veggies since he’s decided that whole vegetable are no longer for him… sighhhhh… Enjoy the good grub! Mangia!
- 12 lasagna noodles - cooked (I use whole wheat)
- 8 Oz vegan kale pesto (I used my own recipe. Click on link in post)
- 1 1/2- 2 C marinara sauce
- 4 cloves of garlic - minced
- 1/2 white or yellow onion - diced
- 1 Tbl dried Italian herbs
- 2 C loosely packed baby spinach
- 1/4 C previously soaked cashews
- 2 Tbl nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbl ground flax seed
- 14 Oz extra firm tofu - drained and pressed dry - crumbled
- 1/4 C water
- 1 tsp vegetable broth base (this is a paste - I use Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base)
- Olive oil for pan
- Preheat the oven to 350f
- Cover the bottom of your lasagna pan with approximately 1/2 C marinara sauce
- Heat pan with olive oil on medium
- Add onion and cook for about 3-5 minutes
- Add garlic and cook for one minute more - stirring occasionally
- Add tofu, vegetable broth base, and Italian herbs, and spinach - stir occasionally for approximately 5 minutes
- Remove from heat
- In a blender, on low, blend contents of the pan, flax seed, nutritional yeast, cashews, and water
- Blend until the consistency of a ricotta cheese (if need be, SLOWLY add more water)
- Place your first layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan (on top of the marinara - my pan is 3 pieces per layer)
- Evenly spread some of the ricotta mixture, pesto, and marinara on top of the noodles
- Repeat this process until done
- Above the top layer of lasagna noodles, add more marinara and save a bit for when the lasagna comes out of the oven as well
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes
- Let stand and cool for about 10 minutes and then add the remaining marinara on top
- Done!
- Oregon Pinot Noir
- Serves 9-12 pieces
