Vegan Lasagna (with Tofu)

Happy Meatless Monday!

Happy Vegan MoFo 2013!

Just happy HAPPY!

Today I want to share the vegan lasagna recipe (well, kinda a recipe) that I made last weekend. When I say “kinda” a recipe it’s because most of the time I start with a recipe, but almost always I end up improvising due to a lack of or need to substitute some ingredient or other.

This vegan lasagna was no different.

Of course, to begin I set a pot of water on the stove to boil to cook my lasagna noodles. Here are the noodles I used and I really liked them!

Then I worked on the veggies using what I had on hand….zucchini, squash, green bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic.

The veggies, of course, constituting what will be in the lasagna other than noodles, sauce and filling could’ve been anything I had already at home. Other options include sundried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, asparagus and any other item that sounds tasty.

I sauteed a little coconut oil (maybe 1 tablespoon) in a pan over medium high heat, then added the chopped onion. Once the onion was translucent I tossed in the veggies to cook a bit.

While the veggies were heating through, I started on the filling.

In the past, I have been known to use vegan ricotta as a filling. Since I didn’t have any vegan ricotta in the house, I decided to make a similar filling using silken tofu. Here’s what I used:

• 2 containers Azumaya silken tofu (though on hindsight, I would’ve used one container)
• 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasonings
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Grated lemon zest (finely grated from about 1 lemon that I had frozen in my freezer)
• 3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
• Salt & Pepper to taste – about 1 teaspoon salt and about 1/2 pepper

Now, after all the parts were ready, it was time to layer the lasagna. I started with a layer of my favorite jar sauce Rao’s.

Next, a layer of noodles, then a layer of veggies, then noodles, then tofu filling and sauce. I continued until the pan was full.

I covered the lasagna with foil and cooked in a preheated 350 degree oven for  50 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes more. Pops likes the edges of his lasagna a bit crunchy – which may not be everyone’s favorite, so I actually then kept it in the oven uncovered a bit more.

Turned out super yummy…not too overrun with sauce or with cheese – which is what I tend to do.

Have you ever used tofu in your lasagna before? This was my first time and I was very happy with the results!!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Enjoy!