This Vegan Lasagna Recipe with Meaty Bolognese is made with a hearty marinara sauce, creamy cashew bechamel, spinach, and no-boil lasagna noodles, topped with vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil. It’s the best!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I’ve been a lover of Italian food long before going vegan in 2018 with pasta at the tippy top of the list. It’s noodles and sauce dancing in perfect harmony. What’s not to love?

To our good fortune, most pasta dishes are easily made vegan-friendly like this Best Vegan Lasagna Recipe with Meaty Bolognese. I’ve been perfecting this recipe for over 3 years and am gushing with pride to share it with you! I have a feeling you’ll find it equally satisfying.

Lasagna Bolognese, as you know, is a celebrated Italian dish made by layering pasta sheets with Bolognese, bechamel sauce, and cheese. This vegan lasagna has all that rich, meaty, creamy, cheesy goodness making it a quintessential comfort food without animal products. Here’s how:

Pecan Meat – Homemade and simple with recognizable ingredients (sorry Impossible). The texture is just like ground beef with a flavor similar to breakfast sausage.

Jarred Marinara Sauce – Make your life easy and grab a jar of marinara sauce. Look for varieties without sugar and then add sugar to taste.

Lasagna Sheets Cook While Baking – This might be my favorite part. You don’t have to pre-cook your lasagna sheets! They cook to perfection right in the oven layered between the Bolognese and cashew béchamel sauce.

Cashew Bechamel Sauce – Many recipes call for separate vegan cheese and bechamel layers. We combine this step by blending cashews into a rich and cheesy cream sauce. Delizioso!

Vegan Parmesan Cheese – Sprinkled on the top layer before baking, vegan parmesan cheese adds salty umami.

Spinach- A colorful way to balance the richness of the Bolognese and vegan bechamel sauce.

Ingredient Overview

You’ll find the complete ingredient list with measurements and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll need.

How to Make The Best Vegan Lasagna Recipe with Meaty Bolognese (step-by-step instructions)

When you’re ready to make this recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post. You’ll find the complete ingredient list with measurements there.

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

1. Soak the cashews- Place the cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water over them, enough to cover, and let soften for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain and rinse the cashews.

2. Blend the bechamel sauce- Add the cashews and the rest of the bechamel sauce ingredients to a high-powered blender. Blend at high speed until completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining.

Meaty Vegan Bolognese

1. Simmer the pecans- Add all of the pecan meat ingredients to a small cooking pot over medium-high heat. Stir to cover the nuts in liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Once the liquid is absorbed, slide the pan off the heat.

2. Blend the pecan meat- Pile the nut mixture into the work bowl of a food processor. It’s okay if it’s still warm. Pulse until it resembles a course, crumbly meal that looks like ground meat. Set aside.

Onions and garlic simmering on the stovetop.

3. Cook the onions- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When a splash of water creates a sizzle, scrape in the onions. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of kosher salt. Sauté until soft and translucent but not browned, 5-7 minutes.

4. Add the garlic- Plop in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

5. Cook the carrots- Tumble in the carrots, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Mix it all together and cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 5 more minutes.

6. Finish the sauce- Mix in the pecan meat, jar of marinara sauce, sugar and basil. Taste for seasoning. Let simmer for 5 minutes before sliding the pot off the heat.

How To Layer Your Vegan Lasagna

Vegan bolognese layered in a baking pan.

1. Scoop 1 cup of vegan bolognese into the bottom of a 10.5x7.5” (2.5 quart) ungreased baking dish.

2. Place 3 lasagna sheets on top. You may have to snap the corners off to fit your pan.

Cashew bechamel layered on vegan lasagna.

3. Spoon around ½ cup of cashew bechamel sauce on top of the pasta and spread it around evenly. You want enough cream to cover the pasta but not so much it’s absolutely swimming.

4. Sprinkle ⅓ of the spinach on top of the vegan cheese sauce.

5. Repeat these steps two more times for a total of three layers.

6. Spread the remaining ragu over the last spinach layer and generously sprinkle the top with vegan parmesan cheese.

7. Bake the lasagna- Tightly cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F / 177°C for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil, rotate the pan 180°, and bake for another 15 minutes until the insides are bubbling hot. Let cool for 10-15 minutes to set before serving.

8. Serve- Drizzle the top with extra cashew bechamel sauce and garnish with fresh basil. Slice and serve!

How to Store and Reheat

Store cooled vegan lasagna in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It tastes even better the next day!

If freezing, slice into individual portions, place in an airtight freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheat in the Microwave:

Reheat one portion at a time, covered with a microwave-safe lid or paper towel, at 1-minute intervals until warmed through.

Reheat in the Oven:

Place thawed vegan lasagna in an oven-safe dish and cover with aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20-30 minutes until warmed through.

Helpful Tips

For best results, use a high-powered blender to blend your cashews into a silky vegan bechamel sauce with no cashew lumps remaining.

Cook your vegetables until very tender to avoid a sad soggy lasagna.

Measure as you layer. Use a 1 cup measuring scoop when layering the Bolognese and a half cup scoop for the bechamel sauce. This makes for even layers that bake to perfection every time.

Let rest before serving. Cool your lasagna until it is at a reasonable temperature for serving, about 15 minutes. This allows the layers to set and slice beautifully.

More Vegan Italian Recipes

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Enjoy Best Vegan Bolognese Recipe on flat wide pasta like tagliatelle.

Craving carbs and cream? Creamy Vegan Cacio e Pepe is simple to make and secretly healthy.

Get your veggies and all the flavor in Creamy Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo.

Find how easy it is to make Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls.

This meaty lasagna is such a crowd-pleaser that it has become a Christmas Eve tradition at our house. Everyone looks forward to it! I love the rustic elegance and simplicity of this one-dish meal and I’m confident you’ll enjoy it as much as my family does.

See you next time with a fun Vegan Baileys recipe!

X,o,

Best Vegan Lasagna Recipe with Meaty Bolognese

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Ingredient Overview