This protein-packed vegan lentil lasagna is hearty, satisfying and perfect for the whole family! Layered with oven-ready lasagna noodles, seasoned homemade sunflower seed ricotta, lentil pasta sauce and dairy-free béchamel, this dish is pure vegan comfort food!
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What's to love about this dairy-free lasagna recipe?
When you live in a household of not only mixed eaters, but mixed picky eaters, you literally do a little happy dance when EVERYONE enjoys the same meal.
And this just happens to be one of those meals.
When my cheese-obsessed older daughter and my "I could live off pizza every day" extremely picky younger daughter are BOTH down with the same dish (that isn't pizza), I know we've got a winner.
Taking traditionally cheese-based dishes and making them vegan has become somewhat of my specialty. Take this dairy-free cacio e pepe and this dairy-free baked ziti for example.
Whether you're vegan, dairy-free, or just cutting back on meat and dairy, you've got to try this lasagna!
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Ingredients you'll need for vegan lasagna with lentils
For the ricotta filling
To make the filling for this lasagna, I used a modified version of my sunflower seed ricotta recipe using parsley instead of the basil as well as vegan Parmesan cheese. Feel free to use basil as well if you'd like.
For the white sauce
For the white sauce layer, I used my vegan béchamel.
For the lasagna
- Oven-Ready Lasagna Noodles (traditional or gluten-free) - I used Jovial brown rice noodles for the photographs. If you are not gluten-free, feel free to use non GF oven-ready lasagna noodles such as the Good and Gather brand from Target.
- 2 (24-25 oz.) jars pasta sauce
- Canned lentils (green or brown) - I recommend Westbrae or Natural Value brand. You can also used precooked bagged lentils such as this kind from Geffen.
How to make vegan lentil lasagna
For the vegan ricotta
Step 1: Soak the sunflower seeds in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain.
Step 2: Add sunflower seeds, water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and apple cider vinegar to a blender. Blend on high until seeds have been fully blended and no visible chunks remain, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Step 2: Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add vegan Parmesan, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper.
Stir to combine.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the béchamel sauce
Step 1: Melt the butter or heat the oil over medium heat.
Step 2: Once the butter is melted or oil is heated, whisk in the chickpea flour to make a roux. Whisk until it resembles a thick paste and is golden in color. Any clumps will melt during cooking and whisking.
Step 3: Whisk in the milk, salt and pepper.
Step 4: Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Once boiling, whisk for 30 seconds and then remove from heat.
Sauce will continue to thicken as it sits off of the heat. Stir in more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Cover and set aside until ready to use. Be sure to give it a good stir right before using.
For the lasagna
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375° F.
Step 2: Add sauce to a mixing bowl. Add the lentils.
Stir in the lentils.
Step 3: Line the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with 1 cup of the lentil sauce.
Step 4: Add the first layer of lasagna sheets (4 sheets) in the sauce-lined baking dish. It's OK if they overlap a bit.
Step 5: Dollop approximately ⅓ cup of the ricotta mixture onto each lasagna sheet.
Spread around the ricotta across the entire layer of noodles using a small silicone spatula or spoon.
Step 6: Pour 2 cups of sauce over top of the cheese layer. Spread around.
Step 7: Pour ¼ cup of béchamel over top of the sauce layer.
Spread around.
Step 8: Top with 4 more lasagna sheets. Repeat the process 1 more time.
Step 9: Cover the top of the lasagna with the remaining lentil sauce. Spread around. Pour on the remaining béchamel.
Step 10: Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
Tips
- If it seems like 48-50 ounces of pasta sauce is a lot, it's because no boil noodles soak up liquid during baking since they weren't precooked in water. You want to be sure to fully coat the bottom of your baking dish with sauce or the noodles can stick to it. Also, ensure that none of the noodles are exposed and that they are fully covered in sauce. Doing so will prevent the them from drying out and hardening during cooking. What it comes down it is, don't be skimpy with the sauce. In fact, if you'd like, you can have some extra on hand for those who would like to put a little more on their portions like my sauce-obsessed husband. 😉
- Don't remove the foil too soon. When uncovered, the sauce will start drying out. We want to get rid of some of the excess moisture from the sauce which is why the foil is removed for the last 10 minutes. However, if you leave the covering off for too long, too much moisture will be lost and the noodles will start drying out.
- Want to prep in advance? You can make the ricotta, lentil sauce mixture and béchamel ahead of time and store them in the fridge until ready to use. Just be sure to give the béchamel a good whisk or stir before using. You can also prepare the lasagna in the morning, cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Remove the lasagna and leave out at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before baking.
Ideas for serving lentil lasagna
This lasagna is perfect on its own or garnished with fresh basil and/or topped with some store-bought vegan Parmesan cheese (my favorites are Thrive Market brand and Follow Your Heart) or try our homemade pumpkin seed Parmesan.
You can also serve it with a simple side salad, our vegan gluten-free garlic bread and our Impossible meatballs.
Freqently asked questions
Yes, you can swap out the canned lentils for ¾ dry red, green or brown lentils. Cook according to package directions and set aside until ready to use. I recommend starting them before the vegan ricotta so that they cook while you are making the cheese.
Leftover lasagna can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. If your baking dish has a lid, you can keep it stored in the baking dish.
Otherwise, you can store the cut pieces alone or in groups in airtight containers.
Cut lasagna pieces can be frozen in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Before freezing, top the lasagna pieces with additional red pasta sauce. You can place a layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil over top of the container before sealing for extra protection. Thaw thoroughly in the refrigerator before reheating.
To reheat, place lasagna in a small baking dish lined with some additional tomato sauce, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375° F until warmed throughout. You can also microwave instead, if desired. Place a piece of lasagna on a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave for 1 minute, followed by 30-second intervals, until thoroughly heated.
Yes, you can make this lasagna a day ahead of time. Follow all of the steps except for baking and then cover tightly with foil and store in the refrigerator. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before baking according to the cooking instructions.
Vegan Lentil Lasagna
Ingredients
FOR THE RICOTTA FILLING
- 1 ½ cups raw sunflower seeds
- ¾ cups filtered water (plus 1-2 tablespoons more, if needed)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup grated or shredded vegan Parmesan cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)
- ½ cup parsley leaves, finely chopped (or combine ¼ cup fresh parsley and ¼ cup fresh basil, if preferred)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
FOR THE BECHAMEL (WHITE) SAUCE
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter (sub olive oil if desired)
- 2 ½ tablespoon chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour) (sub 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour if preferred/not avoiding gluten)
- 1 ½ cups plain, unsweetened oat milk, brought to room temperature or warmed but not boiling (ensure the brand you are using is certified GF if necessary)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt, plus more to taste if desired
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste, if desired
FOR THE LASAGNA
- 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, traditional or gluten-free
- 2 (24-25 oz.) jars pasta sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can brown or green lentils, drained and rinsed (Alternatively, you can use a 16 oz. bag of plain pre-cooked brown or green lentils, drained and rinsed; **see notes below for using dried lentils instead)
Instructions
FOR THE RICOTTA FILLING
- Cover sunflower seeds with boiling water and soak for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add the sunflower seeds to a high-powered blender or food processor. Add water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and apple cider vinegar to the blender. Blend on high until sunflower seeds have been fully blended and no visible chunks of the seeds remain, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. You can add 1-2 tablespoons more water if needed and blend again. The final product should be creamy with the consistency resembling traditional ricotta. Be careful not to overblend or the consistency will become paste-like.
- Transfer ricotta to a mixing bowl. Stir in vegan Parmesan, parsley, garlic powder and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
FOR THE BECHAMEL (WHITE) SAUCE
- Melt the butter or heat the oil in a 2-qt. or 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted or oil is heated, whisk in the chickpea flour to make a roux. Whisk for about 1-2 minutes (it should resemble a smooth, thick paste and have a golden color). Be careful not to burn. Any clumps will melt during cooking and whisking.
- Whisk in the milk, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Once boiling, whisk for 30 seconds and then remove from heat. Sauce will continue to thicken as it sits off of the heat. Stir in more salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Cover and set aside (off the heat) until ready to use. Give it a good stir right before using.
FOR THE LASAGNA
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Add sauce to a mixing bowl and stir in lentils. Line the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish with 1 cup of the lentil sauce. Add the first layer of lasagna noodles (4 noodles) in the sauce-lined baking dish. It's okay if they overlap a bit.
- Dollop approximately ⅓ cup of the ricotta mixture onto each lasagna sheet. Spread around across the entire layer using a small silicone spatula or spoon. Pour 2 cups of sauce over top of the cheese layer. Spread around. Pour ¼ cup of bechamel over top of the sauce layer. Spread around. Top with 4 more lasagna noodles. Repeat this process 1 more time.
- Cover the top of the lasagna with the remaining lentil sauce. Spread around. Pour on the remaining bechamel.
- Cover with foil and bake for *45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
Nutrition
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Christie
Wow that vegan lentil lasagna is totally calling my name! I would love to try baking these because my husband loves lentils! Great idea Sherri!
Sherri Hall
Thanks so much! I hope he enjoys it! 🙂