I’m going to go ahead and say it. I freakin’ love lasagna!!! I mean, how could you not love thick, chewy semolina noodles (I don’t care what people say about white flour, I like my pasta!), rich and savoury marinara, and of course, the soft, creamy, velvety cheese. It was my first time ever making and eating a lasagna and oh boy this vegan lasagna has become my go to food when I’m feeling like I need a big Italian hug. I fell in love with the dairy free cheesiness and comfort food feel. I almost called this a 4-ingredient vegan lasagna, because technically this is assembling three other recipes with noodles layered in. Don’t let that “three other recipes” thing scare you. Lasagna is known to be a complicated and time-consuming dish, but I have some tricks up my sleeve for helping you save some time in the kitchen. But before we get to that, let’s talk about those layers. You know I’m all about those layers, ’bout those layers, more ricotta... Late night bad jokes strike again.
Here’s the thing, though: this lasagna actually is healthy. Skinny, even. Lots of fresh spinach have sneaked – snuck? – their way into this pan of cheesy goodness. And I say cheesy because I like to give the illusion that it’s super cheesy, but here’s the other thing – for better or worse, it’s not excessively cheesy. One cup of cheese? Puhlease. I could top my own individual bowl of pasta with one cup of cheese. Alright, so maybe that melted cheese bomb on top doesn’t look so skinny. I seem to have a certain skill for presenting you with food that is healthy…. but not really. Be warned, you’ll probably have a moment when you ask yourself, wait, how is this vegan? Like, how? Not even joking. As much as I love beef lasagna, when I had a slice of this vegan version, I really didn’t miss the meat. I wanted seconds and if I could fit them, thirds. Blame it on the tofu, mmmkay? Tofu ricotta, that is. I’ll admit, I haven’t always been tofu’s biggest fan. It tastes bland and needs a lot of help in the flavour department. It has a strange texture. It takes an extra 30 minutes to prepare and it’s slightly processed, which I try to avoid.
But… let me tell you a little secret. this recipe has since washed away every single one of my tofu complaints. The extra 30 minutes of prep? Doesn’t even phase me. The bland taste? Gone with all the fresh, savoury ingredients being mixed in. The strange texture? What strange texture? Gone because it was prepared right. The fact that it is slightly processed? Don’t even care because this is good vegan comfort food and we all need it from time to time. This recipe is so worth all of it. Best. Damn. Lasagna. It really, really is. And I didn’t name it that way, omma did. I actually hesitated because it’s such a trendy thing to do, to refer to a recipe as the best ever, or ultimate, or whatever. But this. This is vegan lasagna nirvana. Not only that, but omnivores love it too!
Be warned though, this lasagna is especially good, and non vegans may ask for it again, for every potluck, or for every holiday feast. They’ll get that puppy dog look in their eyes when they look at you and say, “oh, how about that tofu spinach ricotta lasagna, it’s so good, and everyone can eat it – could you bring that?” And you’ll be slightly annoyed because, perhaps you were hoping to squeeze by with a simple potato salad, even though you signed up for a main. But then you’ll think about how good this vegan lasagna is and how much you want some too, and then it’s just an excellent excuse to make it again. This lasagna gets bonus points for being loaded with yummy spinach and creamy ricotta cheese and baked under a blanket of melted mozzarella. Plus, the servings are as big as my hand. And my hands are apparently huge. Repeat: the servings are huge. And if nothing else, who doesn’t love a cheese blanket? Honestly.
IF YOU EVER GIVE THIS RECIPE A TRY, DO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND/OR TAG @FRUITYEMZ AND HASHTAG #FRUITYEMZ ON YOUR INSTAGRAM POST! 🙂
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