Veggie Lasagna with Pesto and Mozzarella Sauce
Perfect for the holidays or a meal with friends this veggie lasagna with pesto and vegan mozzarella white sauce delivers an array of flavours and textures that everyone will love.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 560kcal
Ingredients
- 300 g Lasagna Sheets
...for the filling...
- 600 g Water or Vegetable Broth*
- 500 g Aubergines eggplants; 1-2, depending on size - cubed
- 500 g Bell Peppers mixed - cubed
- 250 g Red Onions 4 medium - roughly chopped
- 80 g Soya TVP textured vegetable protein
- 55 g Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Bouillon Powder* omit if using vegetable broth
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tbsp Sea Salt
- 1 tbsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Sage
- 1/2 tsp Celery Salt
...for the mozzarella sauce...
- 680 g Soy Milk
- 75 g Fermented Tofu* see note 2
- 45 g Tapioca Starch* see note 3
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tbsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Celery Salt
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
...for the tomato sauce...
- 500 g Passata
- 50 g Water
- 1/2 tbsp Vegan Pesto
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Celery Salt
...toppings...
- 4-5 tbsp Vegan Pesto
- Fresh Basil optional
Instructions
- Sauté the peppers 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until they are tender but still a bit crunchy. Set aside.
- Caramelize the onions in another tablespoon of oil for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Add cubed aubergine, followed by all the spices and herbs, and the vegan mince. Stir well and heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and the cooked peppers, followed by the vegetable stock (or water + bouillon). Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
- For the mozzarella sauce: simply add all the ingredients to a food processor bowl and blend for 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside.
- Mix the tomato passata with water and all the seasonings with a spoon and set it aside as well.
- Preheat the oven at 180°C (350° F).
- Grab a 20x30x10 pan (see note 1) and spread an even layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the tray (roughly 1/3 of the total).
- Place dry lasagna sheets on top of it, making sure to cover the entire area.
- Spread half of the vegetable filling over the lasagna sheets, then add another 1/3 of tomato sauce followed by 1/3 of the white sauce.
- Repeat steps 9 and 10 to create another, final layer.
- Cover with the last layer of lasagne and spread over the remaining mozzarella sauce. The sauce it will appear too runny but do not worry, it will thicken in the oven (see note 1).
- Top the lasagna with a few generous spoonful of vegan pesto and bake for 50 minutes.
- Allow cooked lasagna to set out of the oven for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with fresh basil leaves if you like and enjoy!
Notes
* You can use 1 tbsp of vegan bouillon powder and 600 g of water or use 600 (ml) of vegetable broth instead.
1. Make sure you have a deep pan (I used a 20x30x10 cm pan for this recipes and the sauce was just perfect to the top rim). If yours is not deep enough you can also add more white sauce to the top half way though the oven or as soon as the lasagna has absorbed enough sauce.
2. Fermented Tofu. If you already checked the recipe of my homemade vegan mozzarella you'd be familiar with how I love using this ingredient to actually achieve the cheesy flavour. However if you don't want to purchase it specifically for this recipe you can omit it or use 1 tablespoon of miso paste instead. Any miso will do, as long as it is, of course, suitable for vegans.
3. Tapioca Starch. It will act as a thickener of the white sauce. It also gives a really nice stretch that resembled melted mozzarella, which I purposefully wanted to recreate in this dish as it does not contain any plant based cheese. If you don't have tapioca you can substitute it with any other starch or even all purpose flour. And of course you are free to add your favourite plant cheese to the layers of this lasagna.
2. Fermented Tofu. If you already checked the recipe of my homemade vegan mozzarella you'd be familiar with how I love using this ingredient to actually achieve the cheesy flavour. However if you don't want to purchase it specifically for this recipe you can omit it or use 1 tablespoon of miso paste instead. Any miso will do, as long as it is, of course, suitable for vegans.
3. Tapioca Starch. It will act as a thickener of the white sauce. It also gives a really nice stretch that resembled melted mozzarella, which I purposefully wanted to recreate in this dish as it does not contain any plant based cheese. If you don't have tapioca you can substitute it with any other starch or even all purpose flour. And of course you are free to add your favourite plant cheese to the layers of this lasagna.
Nutrition
Calories: 560kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Potassium: 1215mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 3865IU | Vitamin B12: 1µg | Vitamin C: 130mg | Calcium: 285mg | Iron: 6mg
