Easy Plant-Based Lasagna

For this recipe, you will need the garlic and rosemary flavoured neoCheese. If you can’t get your hands on any flavoured cream cheese, plain ones will work fine too. Here’s an alternative take on the plant-based and healthier take on the classic Italian dish!

INGREDIENTS

For the ‘ricotta cheese’

• 2 cups of Neophyto Foods’ garlic and rosemary neoCheese
• ½ of a lemon juice
• 3 tablespoon of nutritional yeast
• 1 cup of cooked spinach
• Salt & pepper

For the red sauce

• ½ block of tofu
• 1 jar of Classico Tomato and Basil sauce
• 1 tablespoon of paprika powder
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• Salt & pepper

Pasta

• 4 sheets of lasagna noodles

• Optional vegetable – 1 zucchini

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375º then start boiling a large pot or pan of salted water on high heat. Once the water is boiled, add the pasta in and cook until al dente (it’s usually less than 3 minutes). Once it’s cooked and drained, drizzle some olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking together.

2. While waiting for the noodles to be ready, start slicing your zucchini, toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper on a tray before putting it in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

3. Next, you can start preparing the red sauce. Instead of using ground beef like the traditional lasagna, I switched it out with half a block of firm tofu. Tofu contains a lot of water so make sure you use an absorbent towel to pat the tofu dry. Once the tofu is dry, cut it into smaller pieces and mash it with your hand so it looks like ground-meat texture.

4. Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil up then add your tofu. Season your tofu with salt, pepper, and paprika before adding your tomato sauce. Stir the sauce and tofu until warmed through before removing it from the heat.

5. Combine the neoCheese, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and cooked spinach, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl. Using a big spatula, make sure everything is mixed well and thoroughly.

6. Now time to assemble all the ingredients in a round 9-inches baking dish. First, spread a thin red sauce evenly before adding the first layer of lasagna noodles. Then add a layer of ‘ricotta’ mixture and zucchini. Repeat layers, topping the last layer of noodles meat sauce and sprinkle as much nutritional yeast you prefer.

7. After you are done assembling, bake it for 20 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400º for another 20 minutes. 

8. Once it’s out of the oven, allow the lasagna to cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Alternatively, you can also freeze for up to a month and reheat in a conventional oven or in the microwave.

Amy Voon is a Guest Food Blogger at Neophyto Foods. In her free time, Amy enjoys cooking and taking pictures of her food! To enjoy more recipes, follow Amy on Instagram @howaboutsaturday and check out her website: How About Saturday?