Whole Food Plant Based Lasagna…No Way
Lasagna without meat, sure why not. Lasagna without cheese, impossible…right?
Wrong! I was skeptical too, but this lasagna recipe is so amazing, that you may never eat a meat and cheese filled lasagna again. I’m not going to lie, this takes a little bit of work to make, but is definitely worth it. This would be a great recipe for a crowd or for freezing leftovers for later.
Here is what we are making:
When I first shared this picture on social media it was a huge hit and people were asking for the recipe. I also got a lot of comments about this being “comfort food”. I started to think about the concept of comfort food. Why do we turn to food for comfort? As a culture, how did we get into this habit of eating when we are nervous, sad, stressed, or otherwise in need of comfort? Is it at all surprising that we are such an obese nation? Here is some free life advice: find a different way to comfort yourself and let food be an experience to nourish your body. My top recommendations for self comfort and stress management are meditation, mindfulness, yoga, physical exercise, and artistic expression (drawing, painting, zen-doodling, music, etc). Patients often look at me like I have 5 heads when I suggest doing yoga or meditation, but after a while they figure out that I am serious and many give it a try. Sometimes I even practice meditation in the office with patients. If you have never meditated before, here is an easy way to start: sit in a comfortable position, rest one or both of you hands on your belly, however you are comfortable. Close your eyes, gently take a breath in, and say the word soft. Exhale fully and say belly. Then repeat for however long you would like. If your mind wanders invite it back to the meditation. If your mind is wandering towards lasagna right now, I don’t blame you. Ok, back to the food.
There are 3 components of the dish that need to be made before we can construct this lasagna.
1. Tofu “ricotta cheese”
2. Basil pesto
3. Spinach and mushroom filling
Happy eating and best health,
Dr. G
Ingredients
- 1 package of lasagna noodles, cooked (regular, brown rice noodles, buckwheat, whatever you want)
- 6 cups of tomato sauce
- 1 tomato, sliced
- tofu "ricotta cheese"
- basil pesto
- spinach and mushroom filling
Tofu Ricotta:
- 2/3 cup hulled sunflower seeds (I use roasted ones though raw works as well)
- 2/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 2 blocks of firm tofu
Basil Pesto:
- 2 cups of packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons of walnuts
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- pinch of salt to taste
Spinach and Mushroom Filling
- 6-8 cups of baby spinach
- 24-32oz of mushrooms, chopped (oyster and crimini used here)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
Instructions
Tofu Ricotta:
- Pulse the sunflower seeds and garlic in the food processor until they are broken down to a gravel like consistency.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and let the food processor run until the mixture is nice and smooth.
- Put your "ricotta" in a bowl and pop it in the fridge while you get everything else ready.
Basil Pesto:
- Dump everything into the food processors and let 'er rip until, well, it looks like pesto.
- Salt to taste.
- DONE!
Spinach and Mushroom Filling:
- In a large saute pan, over medium heat cook the mushrooms first until they are soft
- Throw in the garlic and spinach until the spinach has wilted.
- Place this in a bowl and set aside.
Construct the Lasagna:
- In a 9x13in glass baking dish, start by spreading some sauce along the bottom.
- Then layer noodles, tofu ricotta, spinach and mushroom filling, and then the pesto.
- Continue to layer in this order until you use all of your ingredients or fill the pan.
- Once you get to the final layer of noodles on top, spread on one more layer of sauce
- Add a single layer of sliced tomatoes with a dollop of pesto in the middle of each tomato.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and continue baking for 15 more minutes.
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