Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream / Gluten-Free
This Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream recipe is rich and cheesy, with layers of flavor you’re sure to love. The bechamel and cheese layer are combined into a cheesy cashew cream which is sandwiched between no-cook lasagna sheets, spinach, and a rich vegan ragu sauce. It’s surprisingly simple to make and perfect for holiday gatherings!
Do you have a favorite holiday dish that you enjoy on Christmas Eve? One that you look forward to every year? In our house that would be lasagna. It’s super festive and fancy looking but can be made ahead of time and baked day of. This is very handy if your main meal, and food focus, is on Christmas Day. It also happily feeds a crowd, both young, and old and makes a-ma-zing-leftovers!
Vegan lasagna doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious and this recipe’s proof of that. I’ve even got a shortcut option for you which uses store-bought marina to simplify the ragu sauce. Once you’ve got your cheesy cashew cream and vegan ragu made, layer up your lasagna and bake it, or pop it in the fridge to bake later!
What makes this recipe both delicious and simple?
The pasta cooks in the lasagna not separately on the stovetop.
With all the moisture from the ragu, cashew cream, and spinach, the pasta cooks right in the sauce! This saves a step and keeps your pasta from sticking together during the layering process or getting mushy in the lasagna. Just be sure to tightly cover the lasagna pan top with foil, to seal in the juices.
The béchamel and cheese layers are combined into a cheesy cashew cream.
Traditional lasagna has a layer of bechamel (a rich white sauce made with milk) and a cheese layer. In this recipe, we combine the bechamel and cheese layers into one by making rich and cheesy cashew cream.
You can swap out store-bought marinara sauce for the ragu sauce.
If you have a favorite marinara sauce and would like to use it instead, swap one 25.5 - 28 oz. jar (722-790 grams / 3½ cups) for the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, and coconut sugar.
Can vegan lasagna be made gluten-free?
Yes! Simply use gluten-free pasta in this recipe. All the other ingredients are gluten-free.
Of all the vegan lasagna dishes I’ve made over the years, this one is the perfect balance of simplicity and deliciousness, and I can’t wait to serve it to my family on Christmas Eve!
Keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions with photos!
Ingredients for Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream
¾ cup (112 grams) of raw cashew nuts
1 cup (240 ml.) of unsweetened plain soy milk
¼ cup nutritional yeast (20 grams)
4 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of white miso paste (white mellow miso)
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
How to make Cheesy Cashew Cream
Steps 1-2:
1. Start by hot soaking your cashews. Place cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water, enough to generously cover, over the cashews and let them soften for 10-20 minutes. When soft, drain off the soaking water and rinse the cashews. You can also cold soak your cashews in water overnight.
2. Add the soaked soy milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, miso paste, garlic powder, and salt to a cup-style blender container. Let this sit while the cashews soak to make buttermilk. When ready to blend, add the soaked cashews.
Step 3:
3. Securely attach the lid to the container and blend at high speed until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining. This may take a couple of minutes, or more, depending on what type of blender you are using. I’ve had the best luck blending for 90 seconds using a Nutribullet.
Time saving tip! Make the ragu sauce while the cashews are soaking.
Ingredients for the Vegan Ragu Sauce
8 oz. (227 grams) of cremini mushrooms (aka baby bella mushrooms) chopped
1½ teaspoons of kosher salt (divided)
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, small diced
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
28 oz. (3½ cups / 800 grams) can of San Marzano tomatoes, pureed
3 tablespoons of coconut sugar
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup of chopped fresh basil
Short cut! Use 1 25.5-28 oz. (722-790 grams) jar of marinara sauce in place of the balsamic vinegar, canned tomatoes, coconut sugar, and tomato paste.
To make the sauce extra meaty, add 1 recipe of pecan meat from my Best Vegan Bolognese Recipe in place of the mushrooms.
How to make Vegan Ragu Sauce
Step 1:
1. Add the chopped mushrooms to a 4-6 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sautee until most of the water is cooked out of the mushrooms and they have shrunk in size by about half. This will take around 5 minutes.
Steps 2-3:
2. Add the diced onion and carrots to the mushrooms and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Continue to sauté until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if the vegetables begin to dry out.
3. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, one minute more.
Steps 4-6:
4. Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and pour in the pureed tomatoes. Add the coconut sugar, tomato paste, black pepper, and give it a stir. -OR- skip this step and pour a 25.5 - 28 oz. jar of marinara sauce over the vegetables and stir.
5. Simmer partially covered, to let the steam escape and to keep the sauce from spattering all over the stovetop, for 15 minutes.
Time-saving tip! Skip step 5 if using a jar of marinara sauce. This is also a good time to blend your cheesy cashew cream.
6. Turn off the heat and fold in the chopped basil. Season with salt, pepper, and coconut sugar to taste.
Ingredients for Vegan Lasagna
1 recipe of Cheesy Cashew Cream (see above recipe)
1 recipe of Vegan Ragu Sauce (see above recipe)
9 lasagna sheets (7”x3” or 10”x2”) uncooked (use gluten-free if needed)
2 cups of packed fresh spinach (about 1 large handful)
Vegan parmesan cheese and extra basil for garnish (optional)
How to make Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream
1. Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C / gas mark 4
2. Grab a 7.5” x 10.5” (2.5 quart) ungreased baking dish and make 3 layers in this order:
1- Ragu Sauce
Ragu sauce, 1 cup, evenly spread
2- Lasagna Sheets
3 lasagna sheets (uncooked) Snap the corners or ends off to fit your pan as needed.
3- Cheesy Cashew C
ream
Cheesy cashew cream, ½ cup, evenly spread
4- Spinach
Spinach, 2/3 cup, evenly sprinkled
Repeat this process to make 2 more layers:
Step 3:
3. Spread the remaining ragu sauce over the top (you’ll have about one cup left).
Step 4:
4. Tightly cover the pan with foil, keeping the foil taught so it doesn’t touch the top of the lasagna. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes to cool and set up a bit.
Step 5:
5. Drizzle the top with remaining cheesy cashew cream and sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Slice and serve!
How to Store
Lasagna makes amazing leftovers! Store leftovers in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Let frozen lasagna come to room temperature before reheating.
More delicious pasta recipes to try!
Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream / Gluten & Oil Free
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start by hot soaking your cashews. Place cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water, enough to generously cover, over the cashews and let them soften for 10-20 minutes. When soft, drain off the soaking water and rinse the cashews. You can also cold soak your cashews in water overnight.
- Add the soaked soy milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, miso paste, garlic powder, and salt to a cup-style blender container. Let this sit while the cashews soak to make buttermilk. When ready to blend, add the soaked cashews.
- Securely attach the lid to the container and blend at high speed until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining. This may take a couple of minutes, or more, depending on what type of blender you are using. I’ve had the best luck blending for 90 seconds using a Nutribullet.
- Add the chopped mushrooms to a 4-6 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sautee until most of the water is cooked out of the mushrooms and they have shrunk in size by about half. This will take around 5 minutes.
- Add the diced onion and carrots to the mushrooms and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Continue to sauté until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if the vegetables begin to dry out.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, one minute more.
- Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and pour in the pureed tomatoes. Add the coconut sugar, tomato paste, black pepper, and give it a stir. -OR- skip this step and pour a 25.5 - 28 oz. jar of marinara sauce over the vegetables and stir.
- Simmer partially covered, to let the steam escape and to keep the sauce from spattering all over the stovetop, for 15 minutes. Time-saving tip! Skip this step if using a jar of marinara sauce. This is also a good time to blend your cheesy cashew cream.
- Turn off the heat and fold in the chopped basil. Season with salt, pepper, and coconut sugar to taste.
- Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C / gas mark 4
- Grab a 7.5” x 10.5” (2.5 quart) ungreased baking dish and make 3 layers in this order: (1) Ragu sauce, 1 cup, evenly spread. (2) 3 lasagna sheets (uncooked) Snap the corners or ends off to fit your pan as needed. (3) Cheesy cashew cream, ½ cup, evenly spread. (4) Spinach, 2/3 cup, evenly sprinkled
- Spread the remaining ragu sauce over the top (you’ll have about one cup left).
- Tightly cover the pan with foil, keeping the foil taught so it doesn’t touch the top of the lasagna. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes to cool and set up a bit.
- Drizzle the top with remaining cheesy cashew cream and sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Slice and serve!
Notes
Time-saving tip! Make the ragu sauce while the cashews are soaking.
To make the sauce extra meaty, add 1 recipe of pecan meat from my Best Vegan Bolognese Recipe!
Storage: Lasagna makes amazing leftovers! Store leftovers in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Let frozen lasagna come to room temperature before reheating.
For step-by-step instructions with photos, see blog post!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
300.21Fat (grams)
12.89 gSat. Fat (grams)
4.00 gCarbs (grams)
32.82 gFiber (grams)
5.71 gNet carbs
27.12 gSugar (grams)
13.81 gProtein (grams)
16.90 gSodium (milligrams)
396.11 mgCholesterol (grams)
30.83 mgNutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
