vegan lasagna with cashew ricotta and pesto
vegan vegetable lasagna with cashew ricotta and pesto sauce
This vegan, pesto lasagna is made with fresh basil and garlic, and a vegetable-infused tomato sauce. It’s delicious, hearty, and quite filling!
details
servings: 16 servings or 1 large casserole dish
prep time: 2 hours
cook time: 35-40 minutes
recipe
ingredients:
1 bell pepper
1 zucchini sliced (skin on)
1 eggplant (sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds)
1 onion
1 garlic bulb (whole head) finely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for grilling)
6 basil leaves, chopped
Sea salt and ground pepper or cayenne pepper
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
2 shredded carrots
1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
12 lasagna noodles (with no milk or eggs in ingredients), cooked in boiling salted water, al dente, drained, and rinsed
1 - 8-ounce bag of finely shredded Violife mozzarella shreds (optional)
ingredients for cashew ricotta:
1 cup of raw cashews
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast flakes
Parsley, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper or cayenne pepper to taste
ingredients for basil pesto:
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup to 1 cup of raw, sunflower seeds (no shells)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
directions
Prepare the cashew ricotta: Cook cashews in boiling water for 10-15 minutes—until soft. Drain cashews and save water. In a food processor, or blender, blend cashews, nutritional yeast flakes, parsley, sea salt, and black or cayenne pepper to taste. Add the cashew water teaspoon by teaspoon until the consistency of the ricotta looks like…ricotta! Not too mushy, not too wet. A little on the dry side. Set aside in glass bowl, covered.
Prepare the basil pesto. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse until desired consistency. Combine the pesto and ricotta in bowl. Mix it by hand or leave one on top of the other for a loose mix. It’s up to you. It all looks good in the grand scheme of things.
Prepare the marinara sauce. Sautee onions and garlic in a large pan. Add your favorite marinara sauce, shredded carrots, and almond milk (optional, to offset the acidity.) Let simmer for 20 minutes, while you prepare the vegetables.
Prepare the roasted vegetables. Fahrenheit. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut and prep all vegetables. Place them together on cookie sheets with extra-virgin olive oil drizzled over them with sprinkles of sea salt and freshly ground pepper or cayenne pepper. Place in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Then, broil for 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and set vegetables aside.
Start layering! Add a ladle-full of sauce to the bottom of a large casserole dish. Add 4 noodles, add ricotta/pesto sauce, add vegetables, add sauce and repeat! (optional: add Violife shreds to the vegetables for each layer). The final layer should be noodles, sauce, and Violife shreds (optional.)
Bake in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes. Broil for the last 3 minutes for a bubbly, darker crust on top! Let cool for 15-20 minutes and serve.
