Vegan Spinach and Portobello Mushroom Lasagna
EDIT: I’m promoting this to the front page because I looked at my web stats and found that a TON of people are finding this through search engines and on Pinterest, so it must be good. I first published it in January 2009…six years ago and it’s still popular! Sweet!
This was the first time that I have ever tried (much less cooked with) tofu and I was skeptical (and slightly terrified, to tell you the truth). But as it turns out, everything they say about tofu is absolutely true. Tofu totally does take on all of the characteristics and flavors of the ingredients that you are cooking with. I really couldn’t even tell that tofu was one of the ingredients at all. I happened to have a little cilantro on hand so I tossed a bunch into the tofu mixture for good measure…not necessary, but it does make it taste more ” Italiany”.
BONUS: This recipe is also “oil free”. The mushrooms will “sweat” while sautéing so no need to add oil. At first it may seem like a crap-ton of mushrooms and you’ll wonder how they’ll ever fit, but they will reduce in size by a quarter after cooking.
This meal requires a few more dishes to wash than I’d like, but you can save a pot by sautéing the mushrooms in the same pot as you’ll use for the sauce…just dump the sauce in when you’re ready. I generally loathe to use (and wash) the food processor under any circumstance, but I’ve made this at least 4 more times and loved it every single time.
Calorie Count
For those of you keeping score at home (like me): My 6×9 baking dish yields 4 generous servings. Approximately 530 calories per serving // 14.1 Fat // 10.7 Fiber // 67.1 Carbs // 885 Sodium // 33.4 Protein
Vegan Spinach and Portobello Mushroom Lasagna
- 1 jar (24oz) spaghetti sauce
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 box of no-boil lasagna noodles
- 16 oz Portobello Mushrooms (sliced thin)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 14 oz extra firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons Bragg Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon drushed rosemary
- 3 pinches ground cayenne pepper
- A bag of your favorite vegan mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Slice tofu into 2″ cubes and place in food processor. Add 1/2 the spinach. Pulse a few times to break it up and mix.
- Add the spices and nutritional yeast and process until smooth. It will look like ricotta cheese.
- Stir-fry mushrooms in a soup pot till tender. Add garlic toward the end to keep it from burning.
- Toss in the spaghetti< sauce and heat till just bubbling.
- In a 6×9 baking pan, add 1/3 of the mushroom/red sauce mixture and place one layer of lasagna noodles on top.
- Add 1/2 of tofu mixture on top of noodles (spread out evenly with spatula).
- Add a layer of fresh spinach (the other half) and another 1/3 of the sauce.
- Add another layer of lasagna noodles.
- Add other half of the tofu mixture.
- Add the last layer of lasagna noodles, and cover with the final 1/3 of the red sauce.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove foil, sprinkle the cheese on top, and bake for additional 30 minutes.
- Let it rest and settle for 10 minutes (important, don’t skip!).
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You go buddy… I am very proud of your determination although I know first hand that once something makes you unhappy it had better get out of the way because no one does it better than MTJ…
Amen, Brother. Get outta my way or get run over.
Found your page by searching for a vegan lasagna recipe, via google images. I clicked on your image because oohhh it looks so yummy!! I see you have lots of other vegan recipes also! Thank you! that’s wonderful! My husband and I went vegan this past November after being vegetarian since spring, 2009. I gained weight instead of the expected which was that I would lose. I think I ate more eggs and cheese. Since being vegan both of us have lost weight (me, 23 pounds) and I love this food more than I ever thought I would.
Okay, sorry this is getting long! But I wanted to say thank you for the lovely images and recipes and I’ll definitely be trying out this lasagna recipe asap.
~ Cheers from Canada
Thanks, Angie! please send me an email so we can keep in touch. I’d love to see how you’re doing and help in any way that I can!
Very nice photo (great logo too). Good simple recipe well explained.
Bit US-centric. The World Wide Web is world-wide and not everyone uses fahrenheit!
Thanks for the feedback, Mike. I’ve started using a scale just to get a little more accurate on my calorie intake so It’ll be easier to convert from ounces to grams (and vice versa).