My first iteration of this lasagna used ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, but over time I’ve adapted this dairy-free version as well. With the rich and creamy cashew sauce and lemony basil pesto, you won’t miss the cheese!
Ingredients
1 box 100% whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 cup raw unsalted cashews
1 cup water
1 15 oz container silken tofu
½ cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 small zucchini, shredded
6 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped (if using sundried tomatoes in olive oil-look for a brand that doesn’t contain sulfites; drain well before using).
¼ cup pine nuts or slivered almonds (can be toasted if time permits but not necessary)
¼ cup nutritional yeast
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP plus ¼ cup lemony basil pesto, recipe here, or prepared dairy-free pesto of your choice.
Instructions
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup cashews in 1 cup warm water and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Boil water and cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
Combine tofu, basil, spinach, zucchini, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts or almonds in a bowl and stir until ingredients are well mixed.
Prepare cashew cream sauce: after cashews have soaked for at least 30 minutes, add cashews and soaking water to high speed blender. Add nutritional yeast, sea salt, and lemon juice and process until smooth.
Spread 2 TBSP pesto across the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish then cover with 1/3 of the noodles.
Spread ½ of the tofu vegetable mixture over noodles.
Drizzle 1/3 of the cashew cream over tofu vegetable mixture.
Cover with another layer of noodles and the remaining tofu vegetable mixture.
Drizzle 1/3 of the cashew cream over. Set aside remaining cashew cream.
Top with the remaining noodles and cover with ¼ cup pesto.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until heated through and bubbly. (Alternatively, to speed bake time, lasagna can be heated in microwave oven for 10 minutes then warmed in 350° oven until bubbly and lightly browned at edges).
Remove lasagna from oven and let sit for a few minutes.
Warm remaining cashew cream sauce in small sauce pan over stove or in glass bowl in microwave oven. While warming, stir in additional water 1 tsp at a time if needed to obtain pourable consistency. Drizzle cashew cream sauce over lasagna and serve.
