This vegan lasagna is baked with layers of marinara, homemade tofu ricotta, vegan mozzarella, and roasted vegetables coated in zesty pesto. It's the perfect everyday pasta dish or meal for a special occasion.
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Lasagna is a Christmas dish in my family—my Grandma makes it every year for Christmas Day dinner, and I will often make a vegan lasagna so everyone can partake in this tradition. Lasagna is such a comforting albeit labor intensive dish to make, so it makes sense to keep it as a once a year tradition.
Whether you're making lasagna for Christmas, another special occasion, or just a regular meal, you'll enjoy this pesto and roasted vegetable vegan lasagna with tofu ricotta! It's a delicious take on the classic vegan lasagna with an assortment of colorful veggies and unique flavors.
This recipe can be made completely from scratch, with all store bought ingredients, or a healthy mix of the two. Lasagna is super customizable and completely forgiving, so you can use any veggies you have on hand and adjust the flavors as you like. It can be time consuming to prepare, but very easy to make!
To make a meal of it, start off with Tomato Basil Bruschetta and serve with Garlic Knots and a side salad!
Need a dessert with Italian flair? Try my Vegan Anisette Cookies or Italian Rainbow Cookies.
🥫 Ingredients
- Garlic
- Walnuts or pine nuts
- Fresh basil
- Vegan Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Tofu
- Raw cashews
- Lemon juice
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Artichoke hearts
- Lasagna noodles
- Marinara sauce
- Vegan pesto
- Vegan mozzarella cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Vegan Parmesan Cheese
You can use homemade or store bought vegan Parmesan cheese. This recipe calls for it in the pesto, in the lasagna layers, and as a topping. I recommend making your own Parmesan for cost efficiency and flavor with my 5 Minute Vegan Parmesan with Walnuts and Cashews.
Red Bell Peppers
You can use any color bell peppers, a mix of peppers, or replace them with another veggie, or mushrooms.
Artichoke Hearts
This recipe calls for canned artichoke hearts.
Not a fan of artichokes? Replace them with another canned or jarred ingredient such as roasted red peppers or olives. Or you could omit them and use ½ cup more bell pepper and onions with your roasted vegetables.
Marinara Sauce
The lasagna noodles will soak up a ton of red sauce as they cook, so make sure to have extra on hand if needed. You can use any kind of vegan marinara or pasta sauce in this recipe.
Vegan Pesto
This vegan lasagna recipe includes a built in basil pesto recipe, but you can replace it with store bought pesto, just be sure to check the ingredients to make sure it's vegan.
Alternatively, you can replace the basil pesto with a more affordable and easy-to-make Kale Pesto, or use up those garlic scapes from the farmers market with Garlic Scape Pesto.
🔪 Instructions
For the pesto:
Combine the garlic and nuts in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.
Add the basil and Parmesan. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending the pesto just until it is no longer gritty. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the tofu ricotta:
Press the tofu for 10 minutes, until some of the water is drained out.
Combine all ingredients except the pressed tofu in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.
Add the tofu and pulse until the tofu is finely crumbled and the ingredients are homogenized throughout the tofu. Don't overblend, or the tofu will become paste like.
To prepare the lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Drizzle the olive oil, scatter the peppers, onions, and garlic on a prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 25-30 minutes, then let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Combine the artichokes with the roasted veggies in a bowl, then stir together with the ⅓ cup pesto.
Boil lasagna noodles to just before al dente, according to package instructions, about 4-5 minutes. Drain.
Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish, and cover with a thin layer of marinara.
Place a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of the dish. Top the noodles with a layer with marinara, then add half of the tofu ricotta on top in dollops.
Scatter half the pesto and veggie mix on top.
Add another layer of marinara and top with a second layer of noodles. Top this layer with remaining pesto and veggie mix.
Dollop on the remaining tofu ricotta, and sprinkle on some vegan mozzarella cheese.
Add more marinara to this layer, then top with a third layer of noodles.
Finally, top this layer with marinara (liberally, as the top layer tends to dry out) and any remaining pesto.
Cover the top with vegan mozzarella, then top with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cover in foil and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the lasagna is bubbling, the cheese is melty. Check to make sure the noodles aren’t over cooked, every so often.
Let cool slightly so it firms up before cutting. Serve with vegan Parmesan.
Hint: Place the tray of lasagna on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over the edge.
🥣 Equipment
Besides baking sheets and a baking pan for the lasagna, I would recommend using a food processor since it's the easiest way to make 3 components of this recipe: the vegan Parmesan, tofu ricotta, and pesto.
I like my Cuisinart food processor for these tasks, as well as making hummus and other sauces. It also comes with some grater attachments, which I use all the time for shredding carrots and other veggies for salads and bowls.
🚫 Substitutions
Gluten Free Vegan Lasagna
To make this vegan lasagna gluten free, use gluten free lasagna noodles. The remaining ingredients in this recipe are gluten free. Also double check the ingredients in your marinara and vegan mozzarella to make sure there are no additives that contain gluten, as well as your vegan Parmesan and pesto, if using store bought.
Nut Free Vegan Lasagna
This recipe calls for several types of nuts and seeds as written. To make it nut free, leave the nuts out of the pesto (or confirm that your store bought pesto is nut free), use a nut-free store bought vegan Parmesan instead of homemade or omit the Parmesan, leave the cashews out of the tofu ricotta, and check any store bought ingredients you are using for nut products.
📋 Variations
- You can get store bought pesto to save on time, but make sure the pesto is vegan, as pesto often contains cheese. You can even leave out the pesto entirely if you prefer.
- Not a fan of basil pesto, or basil not in season? Try Kale Pesto any time of year, or Garlic Scape Pesto if it's garlic scape season!
- You can swap out the vegetables for your favorite veggies.
🧊 Storage
The lasagna will keep in the refrigerator in the covered baking sheet or in portioned airtight containers for 7-10 days.
You can freeze individual servings in freezer-safe containers and they will keep for 6-8 months.
💭 Tips
Lasagna is flexible!
Making lasagna can be a quick meal or an all evening activity. You can prep some or all of the ingredients ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble the lasagna before dinner.
If you'd prefer to make everything at once, make an evening of it! Snack on some crusty bread with olive oil (or even some bruschetta if you're feeling fancy) and have a glass of wine while you're cooking.
If you're making your own vegan Parmesan, you can make it ahead of time. Even so, my 5 Minute Vegan Parmesan only takes...5 minutes to make! And the pesto recipe included in this recipe calls for vegan Parmesan.
❓ FAQs
Vegan cheese, of course! A combination of tofu ricotta, store bought vegan mozzarella shreds, and nut-based vegan Parmesan gives vegan lasagna its richness. But if you'd like to skip the cheese entirely, you can add extra veggies or sauce and it will still be enjoyable.
There are a few different ways to make vegan ricotta, the most common ways being tofu ricotta and nut-based ricotta. I like to combine both of these methods with my cashew tofu ricotta.
📖 Recipe
Pesto and Roasted Vegetable Vegan Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta
This vegan lasagna is baked with layers of marinara, homemade tofu ricotta, vegan mozzarella, and roasted vegetables coated in zesty pesto. It's the perfect everyday pasta dish or meal for a special occasion.
Ingredients
Pesto
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons walnuts or pine nuts
- 2 cups tightly packed basil
- ¼ cup vegan Parmesan cheese (see note)
- ⅓-1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Ricotta:
- 1 block tofu
- ⅓ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup vegan Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Lasagna
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup canned artichoke hearts, chopped
- ⅓ cup pesto (recipe above)
- 16 ounces lasagna noodles
- 3-4 cups vegan marinara
- 1 ½-2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese, or equivalent slices of cheese
Instructions
For the pesto:
- Combine the garlic and nuts in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.
- Add the basil and Parmesan.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending the pesto just until it is no longer gritty.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the tofu ricotta:
- Press the tofu for 10 minutes, until some of the water is drained out.
- Combine all ingredients except the pressed tofu in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.
- Add the tofu and pulse until the tofu is finely crumbled and the ingredients are homogenized throughout the tofu. Don't overblend, or the tofu will become paste like.
To prepare the lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Drizzle the olive oil, scatter the peppers, onions, and garlic on a prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 25-30 minutes, then let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Combine the artichokes with the roasted veggies in a bowl, then stir together with the ⅓ cup pesto.
- Boil lasagna noodles to just before al dente, according to package instructions, about 4-5 minutes. Drain.
To assemble:
- Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish, and cover with a thin layer of marinara.
- Place a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of the dish.
- Top the noodles with a layer with marinara, then add half of the tofu ricotta on top in dollops.
- Scatter half the pesto and veggie mix on top.
- Add another layer of marinara and top with a second layer of noodles.
- Top this layer with remaining pesto and veggie mix.
- Dollop on the remaining tofu ricotta, and sprinkle on some vegan mozzarella cheese.
- Add more marinara to this layer, then top with a third layer of noodles.
- Finally, top this layer with marinara (liberally, as the top layer tends to dry out) and any remaining pesto.
- Cover the top with vegan mozzarella, then top with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Cover in foil and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the lasagna is bubbling, the cheese is melty. Check to make sure the noodles aren’t over cooked, every so often.
- Let cool slightly so it firms up before cutting. Serve with vegan Parmesan.
Notes
- You can make your own vegan Parmesan with my recipe for 5 Minute Vegan Parmesan Cheese with Cashews and Walnuts.
- To save time, you can use store bought pesto and vegan Parmesan. Make sure the pesto does not contain cheese.
- Feel free to mix up the vegetables you use in the recipe.
- Place the tray of lasagna on a baking sheet in the oven in case it bubbles over the edge.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: ⅛ panAmount Per Serving: Calories: 731Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 34gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1936mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 9gSugar: 19gProtein: 25g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on seitanbeatsyourmeat.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.
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