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
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder, or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 250g / 8.82 ounces uncooked lasagna sheets
- Béchamel 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. Sauté 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 ½ 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 béchamel sauce. You may need to turn off the heat on the lentil sauce while you finish off the béchamel.
- Once both the sauces are cooked, you’re now ready to start assembling your lasagna. Remember to set aside the ½ cup of béchamel for later.
- In a large baking dish—mine 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 béchamel sauce (¾ 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 béchamel. 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 ½ cup of béchamel 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
