Wholesome Vegan Lentil Lasagna
If you love lasagna and so happen to be plant-based (or not), you’ll love this vegan lentil lasagna!
I set out to make a lasagna that screams comfort and happiness but doesnāt contain processed ingredients like vegan butter and cheese. These two processed ingredients can be found in most vegan lasagna recipes on the internet.
This lasagna is the birth child of our baked ziti and lentil bolognese, with the main feature coming from our bƩchamel sauce recipe. This is the first of many lasagna bakes that will be coming to our blog. So keep an eye out for other variations in the future!
You might be wondering how I managed to achieve that beautiful topping that looks like it has cheese in it and a filling that resembles mincemeat. Well, Iāve used subtle techniques to make a rich and meaty texture with a cheesy top without using any animal products, which I’ll explain below.
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The anatomy of this vegan lentil lasagna
The lentil veggie layer is packed full of goodness.
You’ll find the base for this flavourful sauce starts with onion, garlic, carrot, and mushrooms cooked down nicely with some colour. I then add the brown lentils, herbs, and spices as well as the tomato paste (puree) and canned diced tomatoes.
Add a touch of water and cook down nicely to create a wonderfully rich sauce. A splash of tamari is for some extra umami.
While the lentil veggie sauce cooks, it’s time to prepare the bĆ©chamel. This creamy sauce is a combination of olive oil, flour, plant milk, a couple of herbs and spices mixed together to make a rich and diverse sauce. To thicken it a little further and add the umami of cheese-like flavour, I add nutritional yeast at the end.
You’ll find one other trick in this bĆ©chamel. When you’ve baked the lasagna for 30 minutes, you add a tapioca starch slurry to create a cheesy pull and nice brown film on top. You won’t believe there’s no cheese in this recipe!
This is all layered nicely with uncooked lasagna sheets and baked in the oven to make a beautiful home-cooked meal to please omnivores and vegans!
How to layer a vegan lasagna
There are typically two ways to layer lasagna. You can make a bƩchamel for just the top as a finishing layer (which is how I used to do it), or you can layer the bƩchamel throughout the lentil veggie sauce and pasta sheets.
I’ve been doing the latter method for the last couple of years after watching how it was done the traditional way. Adding bĆ©chamel throughout the lasagna adds a more balanced flavour profile, as well as a creamier bake.
This was my method of layering:
- Lentil sauce (2 cups)
- Lasagna sheets
- BĆ©chamel sauce (Ā¾ cup)
- Lentil sauce (2 cups)
- Lasagna sheets
- BĆ©chamel sauce (Ā¾ cup)
- Lentil sauce (2 cups)
- Lasagna sheets
- Lentil sauce (the rest)
- BĆ©chamel sauce (the rest, minus Ā½ cup that is left aside for the tapioca slurry topping)
Using a food processor to achieve texture (and speed up the process)
I always love a good kitchen hack to speed up the process of cooking. I mean, who doesn’t? I introduced the use of my food processor when doing my third iteration of this recipe and noticed how much quicker the sauce took.
The main thing I noticed when processing the veggies was how much more liquid came out of them. If you use this method, cook the vegetables on medium-high heat as otherwise, you’ll be stewing them in their juices.
If you don’t use a food processor, lower the heat to medium so that the veggies have time to saute properly.
The veggies that are put through the food processor are the onion, carrots, and mushrooms. You can also pulse the canned tomatoes if you buy them whole to get the diced consistency.
When you use a food processor, you create a nice rhythm when cooking. As things are chopped much faster, you won’t have to worry about burning anything if you’re preparing the vegetables as you go.
TIP: Make sure to pulse so you don’t overprocess them!
If you don’t have a food processor, or don’t want to use one, simply dice the onion, carrots, and mushrooms finely. I suggest you prep all of these before you start cooking.
Now let’s get into this Italian deliciousness! I hope you enjoy this vegan lentil lasagna as much as I do.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Bake (7 Ingredients)
- Creamy Vegan Potato Gratin
- Easy Vegan Baked Ziti
- 20-Minute Creamy Vegan Red Pepper Pasta
- How to Make Vegan BĆ©chamel Sauce
- Marinated Vegan Bocconcini (Mozzarella Cheese)
- Easy Vegan Gnocchi with a Simple Tomato Sauce
If you try this recipe, let me know. We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.
Wholesome Vegan Lentil Lasagna
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Bake Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
This wholesome vegan lentil lasagna is packed with nutritious ingredients and flavour! It’s the perfect comfort food for both omnivores and vegans.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced*
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, diced*
- 250g / 8.81 ounces mushrooms, diced*
- 1 tablespoon mixed dried Italian herbs
- 2 cans / 425g / 14.99 ounces each brown lentils, drained and rinsed (or 3 cups cooked brown lentils)
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 jar / 700g / 1.54 pounds passata
- 1 can / 400g / 14.10 ounces diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tamari, or soy sauce
- 1Ā½ teaspoons salt
- Ā¼ teaspoon chilli powder, or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 250g / 8.82 ounces uncooked lasagna sheets
- BĆ©chamel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius (390 degrees Fahrenheit).
- In a large saucepan on medium-high heat,* add the olive oil and onion. SautƩ for a couple of minutes until the onions have softened and are browning a little.
- Add in the garlic, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add in the carrots, and cook for around 4-5 minutes until they’re soft. If you find that it’s starting to stick to the pan, add a little bit of water – not too much because you don’t want them to start stewing. Around 1-2 tablespoons.
- Add in the mushrooms and Italian herb mix, stirring well, and cooking for another couple of minutes until all the veggies are nice and soft.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the lentils, cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the tomato paste, passata, can of tomatoes, and Ā½ cup / 125ml of water (I’ll typically add the water to the passata jar and can to get the remainder of the tomato juices). Give it a good stir.
- Add in the tamari, salt, and chilli powder, stir well and place the lid on askew to allow some steam to escape the saucepan. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sauce cooks, make the bƩchamel sauce. You may need to turn off the heat on the lentil sauce while you finish off the bƩchamel.
- Once both the sauces are cooked, you’re now ready to start assembling your lasagna. Remember to set aside the Ā½ cup of bĆ©chamel for later.
- In a large baking dishāmine is a 5-litre rectangular dish (42cm x 23cm, 16.54 inches x 9.05 inches); start with the lentil sauce (2 cups), then the lasagna sheets, followed by bĆ©chamel sauce (Ā¾ cup). Repeat this process two more times, however on the third round, finish it off with all the lentil sauce that you have left, followed by the rest of the bĆ©chamel. If you’re unsure, see the notes listed above outlining the layering process.
- Bake for 30 minutes. While it bakes, combine the tapioca and water slurry and add it to the remaining Ā½ cup of bĆ©chamel you have leftover.
- After 30 minutes, take the lasagna out of the oven, and top it with this mixture, spreading out nice and even. Return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes.
- Turn the oven off, move the dish to the top shelf, and grill until the top has browned to your liking.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
Vegetables: Use a food processor to pulse these veggies to a nice and fine diced consistency.
* If you’re hand dicing the veggies, keep the heat on medium, not medium-high.
- Diet: Vegan
This is by far THE BEST vegan lasagna recipe! Since I became a vegan, it was hard to find a recipe which resembles the original dish, but it seems this recipe is the ultimate one. Made it yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! It does require a lot of preparation time if you don’t have a food processor, but I think it’s worth the effort. Thank you a lot for this recipe!
So sorry Gilad that I’m only seeing this now. Thank you so much for the lovely review and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it š I always find that it’s worth the effort!
I’ve used my friends rating as she loves this recipe… but can I ask is it at all worth doing the Bechtel recipe when I can’t add oil or another fat? I’m following Dr Caldwell Esselstyns low fat WFPB Diet and adding fats is out of the question except for 1-2 tbsp ground chia or flaxseed….I wondered? can I add water?…thank you
If you’re looking for something without oil, I would try this white sauce recipe instead. It would probably be better for your WFPB diet and will still taste great. You won’t get the nice creamy finish with the stretch like the bechanel but I think you’ll still enjoy it š I would leave the white sauce off and cover the lasagna and add it about 25 minutes into the baking time. I hope that makes sense and helps š
Best lasagne ever!
If youāre looking for a vegan lasagne to make,
this is the one, it was a bit hit with my family.
The bĆ©chamel sauce was very straightforward and delicious. With other recipes Iāve tried I ended up with a lumpy sauce but this one was silky smooth.
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed making this and Iāll definitely be making it again š
SO GOOD! I made 0 modification, it was perfection. I will be bringing this to the thanksgiving dinner.
I was not a fan of the nutritional yeast cheese sauce / bechamel sauce so I will have to find a cheese substitute that I enjoy better. It was an interesting process making the sauce and I learned from it. I encourage you to try! If you make it and donāt like it, donāt add it to the lasagna bc it is a bit strong in flavor and smell.
Despite this I still give it 5 stars because it was a delicious and unique meal made from scratch
Thanks, Gen. Yes, nutritional yeast may not be everyone’s cup of tea. You could try just subbing vegan cheese of choice for the nutritional yeast in the bechamel and see how that goes? Make sure it’s a cheese you like the taste of. Depending on where you live, there could still be a limited range of good vegan cheeses that you can pick from. I appreciate your review x
Wow, my new favorite lasagna! The vegan bƩchamel is amazing!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it! Thank you for the lovely review, Jenny x
This looks very tasty. A few questions:
1) Do you need the special noodles that don’t need to be boiled or do regular noodles work? I’m always concerned that there won’t be enough moisture to cook them in the dish.
2) Any suggestion for what to substitute for the mushrooms?
Thanks!
Hi Mark, I just used any dried lasagna sheets. They don’t need to be special ones. You can swap it out for whatever other vegetable you like. Zucchini/courgettes, red peppers/capsicum, or even eggplant/aubergines would work in this recipe well. It will taste different with them, but it will complement the other flavours. Let me know how you go!
I made this today! Absolutely delish! I love the crispy/browned top with the bechamel! Thank you for the recipe:)
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Ian! That part makes it a little bit more indulgent I think š Thank you for the lovely review!
This lasagna recipe is so simple to make and is so delicious. I never knew a dairy free bechamel could taste so good. The whole family loved it. Highly recommended trying this one.
Yay! Thanks for the lovely review, Kate š
I think this is the best lasagna recipe i’ve tried out so far! Instead of the bĆ©chamel sauce i used hummus but it still turned out great. My family ended up eating it in a day hahah.
Oh that’s awesome, Ian! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for making my day š
Superb!
I made this lasagna this weekend and it turned out fantastic. Well done! The tapioca trick for the cheesy top effect is a very nice touch.
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out great. I added white miso to both the ragout and bechamel sauce because Iām adding it to everything nowadays and it tasted really good. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it, Esther!
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out great. I added white miso to both the ragout and bechamel sauce because Iām adding it to everything nowadays and it tasted really good and comforty, like lasagnas are supposed to do.
Easy and delicious recipe! I modified the sauce slightly, based on what was in my pantry: zucchini instead of mushrooms, and 1/2 red lentils, 1/2 brown. I used uncooked lasagna noodles and covered the pan while it bakedāthe noodles were fully cooked at the end of the baking time. Also, the leftovers are even tastier a day or two later. Next time I will add a layer of chopped cooked greens.
Yum! So glad you enjoyed it š