This healthy creamy vegan lentil lasagna is meaty, cheesy and so decadent! It is a fun and delicious project for when you have a bit longer in the kitchen and is perfect for meal prep as it is freezer friendly.
One of my favorite meals eveeeeer is lasagna! Well, most Italian meals are some of my favorites... don't get me started on pizza! So, as always, I wanted to recreate a lasagna recipe that reminded me of what my mum used to cook when I was growing up.
I never really thought it could compare until I made a vegan lasagna for the first time from Bosh! (one of my favorite vegan chefs!).
Nowadays, I wanted to make a delicious lasagna but with lentils to be higher in protein and with the creamiest sauce - bechamel!
What do you need to make this creamy vegan lentil lasagna recipe
Vegan Bechamel
I have gone through how to make this vegan bechamel before but I will write it here.
It can seem daunting to make bechamel from scratch but it is not that bad!
All you need is olive oil, flour and plant-based milk along with nutmeg and nutritional yeast.
Lentil and mushroom mixture
Onion and garlic - both these ingredients are always an incredible base for most recipes! You just fry them up and all the flavor will start to come alive.
Cooked or canned brown lentils and mushrooms - these will be the "meat" of this recipe and trust me, they work perfectly! If you don't like lentils, just replace them with only mushrooms instead. Brown lentils are perfect for so many meals such as lentil bolognese or even a loaded potato salad!
Red bell pepper and eggplant - both these vegetables, especially the red bell pepper stand out in this mixture.
Canned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, and miso paste - all of these put together will make one the most delicious sauces you will ever try!
Dried oregano and dried basil - these two herbs are more than enough to give even more flavor to this already delicious recipe.
Lasagna sheets
For this recipe, I have chosen dried lasagna sheets. Usually these are vegan but you can check the back of the box to make sure it doesn't contain egg.
How to make creamy vegan lentil lasagna?
Lentil and mushroom mixture
- Add a chopped onion along with the minced garlic, salt, and black pepper to a large saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
- To the same pan, add the chopped eggplant, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and mixed herbs and cover. Cook for an additional 10 minutes on low heat.
- Remove the lid and, add the balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, miso paste, canned tomatoes. Add the lentils and cover. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Vegan Bechamel
- To a saucepan, add olive oil and place the pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes until it forms a paste.
- Add the plant-based milk gradually until it is creamy. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and nutritional yeast.
Assembling the lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil to a baking dish and spread it. Add lasagna sheets to cover the bottom, next add the bechamel and add the lentil mixture.
Add more lasagna sheets, bechamel, lentil mixture and, if you see you have plenty of bechamel, add some more.
Add some more lasagna sheets, bechamel, lentil mixture, and, when it is close to the top, finish with the remaining bechamel, nutritional yeast, and breadcrumbs or some vegan cheese (optional).
Bake for 35 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Recipe tips and tricks
Make ahead
If you wish to make this lasagna ahead, I recommend prepping both the bechamel and lentil mixture separately and storing it in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer until you want to make the lasagna.
Do I need to cook the lasagna sheets
No, you don't need to cook them. Given the large amount of bechamel sauce used in this lasagna recipe, the lasagna sheets will cook perfectly in the oven.
Can the lasagna sheets be gluten-free
I haven't personally tried with gluten-free lasagna sheets but it should definitely work fine.
Can the bechamel be done with a gluten-free flour
Yes, I haven't tried it but it should work perfectly.
STORING OPTIONS
FRIDGE
You can store this lasagna in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
FREEZER
This lasagna freezes very well. I would recommend slicing before freezing so that it is easier to take one portion at a time if you wish and you don't have to defrost everything at once.
IF YOU TRY THIS HEALTHY CREAMY VEGAN LENTIL LASAGNA RECIPE, LET ME KNOW!
Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @nutsandpumpkin . I absolutely love seeing and sharing your recreations! Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
Finally, are you on Pinterest? Why not save this photo below to your boards so you can come back and try it another time!
Looking for more comfort meals? Try these ones next!
Creamy Vegan Lentil Lasagna
Equipment
- Baking dish
- Saucepan
- Pan
Ingredients
Vegan Bechamel
- 40 gram vegan butter or olive oil
- 90 gram white flour
- 750 mL plant based milk
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Lentil mixture
- 1 medium white onion finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 300 gram brown lentils cooked or canned
- 250 gram chestnut mushrooms chopped finely
- 1 red bell pepper small, chopped finely
- 1 eggplant small, chopped finely
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
Lasagna sheets
- 1 pack dried lasagna sheets or enough according to your baking dish
Instructions
Lentil and mushroom mixture
- Add a chopped onion along with the minced garlic, salt, and black pepper to a large saucepan and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. To the same pan, add the chopped eggplant, red bell pepper, mushrooms, and mixed herbs and cover. Cook for an additional 10 minutes on low heat.
- Remove the lid and, add the balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, miso paste, canned tomatoes. Add the lentils and cover. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Vegan Bechamel
- To a saucepan, add olive oil and place the pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes until it forms a paste. Add the plant-based milk gradually until it is creamy. Add the nutmeg, salt, black pepper and nutritional yeast.
Assembling the lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil to a baking dish and spread it. Add lasagna sheets to cover the bottom, next add the bechamel and add the lentil mixture. Add more lasagna sheets, bechamel, lentil mixture and, if you see you have plenty of bechamel, add some more. Add some more lasagna sheets, bechamel, lentil mixture, and, when it is close to the top, finish with the remaining bechamel, nutritional yeast, and breadcrumbs or some vegan cheese (optional). Bake for 35 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Looks delicious!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
One of the best lasagna I have ever tasted! It is quite easy to make, the instructions are clear. It’s so tasty, we just couldn’t get enough of this lasagna! It’s heaven on a fork, really. Thank you very much for this recipe, I will do it again for sure!
Thank you so much, Jennifer! Really happy you loved it so much 🙂