With layers of a vegan meaty bolognese sauce, lasagna noodles, and homemade cashew ricotta (which takes less than 5 minutes to make), all topped with a 5-minute vegan mozzarella sauce you have yourself The Best Ever Vegan Lasagna!!! It's meaty, cheesy, creamy, and so delicious, no one will be able to tell it's vegan! 
FEATURED COMMENT:
I’ve made many different vegan lasagna recipes, but this is the first one my husband has raved about to this extent. He said it was the first one that gave him the cheesiness you’d expect in a lasagna... 10/10 will make again!! - Alyssa
Can you ever go wrong with a big dish of vegan lasagna? Lasagna is one of the most perfect comfort foods! Filling and satisfying, full of rich flavor, 29 grams of protein per serving, great for feeding a big family, and it freezes well too! This vegan lasagna recipe takes a few steps to prepare, but I made it as easy as possible with step-by-step instructions, lots of pictures, using easy-to-find ingredients, and bonus points: this recipe requires no chopping! 
Make-ahead/ freeze:
Vegan lasagna is a great make-ahead recipe! In my recipe you can either prepare all the fillings and store them separately, or you can assemble the entire lasagna and store that.
- Store the fillings separately: prepare the vegan meat sauce, the cashew ricotta, and mozzarella sauce. Allow them to cool and then store in seperate air-tight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to prepare the lasagna, cook the noodles, assemble the lasagna, and then bake.
- Store the unbaked lasagna: assemble the lasagna as instructed, but do not bake it. Cover and store the unbaked lasagna in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow it to come to room temperature before baking, then bake as usual.
- Freeze the unbaked lasagna: assemble the lasagna as instructed, but do not bake it. Cover the lasagna, and wrap it well to make sure it's as air-tight as possible. Freeze for up to 2 - 3 months. When ready to bake, transfer the lasagna to the fridge and let thaw overnight. Allow it to come to room temperature before baking, then bake as usual.
- Store leftovers: allow the lasagna to cool, then store the leftovers, covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to Make the Best Ever Vegan Lasagna:
To Make Vegan Bolognese:
Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them. Break the two blocks of tofu into chunks and add them to a large bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the tofu into crumbles. 
Add the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, smoked paprika, and garlic powder and stir to coat the tofu. 
Spread the tofu across the two prepared baking sheets. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, stopping to stir every now and then until the tofu is browned and dry. Set aside. 
To a saucepan add the marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Put over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in the baked tofu crumbles and then remove from the heat. The tofu will absorb some of the liquid and become deliciously meaty and chewy. If your sauce gets a little too dry add a splash of water as needed. This meaty sauce is the key to the best ever vegan lasagna! 
To Make Cashew Ricotta:
Add the cashews to a food processor and pulse several times until the cashews have broken down into a crumbly powder. 
Add the plant-based milk, lemon juice, and miso paste, and blend, stopping to scrape the sides until you reach a sticky ricotta texture. If you prefer a nut-free vegan ricotta cheese recipe you can sub the cashew ricotta with my tofu ricotta recipe. 
To Make Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Sauce:
Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to make a paste. Keep whisking and cook the flour paste for 60 seconds. Whisk in plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt. 
Simmer for about 5 minutes until the mozzarella sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside. If the sauce gets too thick, feel free to add a splash more plant-based milk or water as needed. 
Turn your oven up to 375F (190C). Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package instructions. (I always cook a few extra noodles in case some break).
To Assemble the Vegan Lasagna:
To assemble the lasagna, spread ¼ of the vegan meat sauce across the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. 
Top with 3 lasagna noodles. 
Spread another ¼ of vegan meat sauce over the noodles, then dollop ½ the ricotta over the meat sauce. 
Top with 3 more lasagna noodles, another ¼ of vegan meat sauce, the remaining ½ of the ricotta, the final layer of noodles, the last of the vegan meat sauce, and lastly pour over all of the mozzarella sauce and gently spread it over top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 mins. Remove foil and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Optionally you can brown the vegan cheese by putting it under the broiler for a few minutes, keeping a close eye to ensure it doesn't burn. Allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh chopped basil, parsley, or vegan parmesan cheese if desired. 
The best ever vegan lasagna is...
- meaty
- cheesy
- creamy
- hearty
- 100% amazing
- and totally vegan
What to serve with the best vegan lasagna:
- Cheesy Vegan Garlic Bread
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Any one of these 16 vegan salad dressings
- Vegan Wedge Salad
- Garlic Sautéd Green Beans
- Roasted Broccolini
- Homemade Sandwich Bread
- Vegan Cheese Bread
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram. Bon appetegan! Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
The Best Ever Vegan Lasagna!!!
Servings: lasagna 9" x 13"
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Ingredients
For the Vegan Meat Sauce:
- 2 blocks (350g/ 12.3oz each) extra-firm tofu, drained (no need to press it)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce, (gluten-free if preferred)
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cups prepared tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
For the Cashew Ricotta:
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, (no need to soften them)
- ¼ cup plant-based milk, (such as oat or soy)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
For the Mozzarella Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 cup plant-based milk, (such as oat or soy), plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Lasagna:
- 9 lasagna noodles, (gluten-free if preferred) (I like to cook a few extra noodles incase some break)
Instructions
For the Vegan Meat Sauce:
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease them.
- Break the two blocks of tofu into chunks and add them to a large bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the tofu into crumbles. Add the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, smoked paprika, and garlic powder and stir to coat the tofu. Spread the tofu across the two prepared baking sheets. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, stopping to stir every now and then until the tofu is browned and dry. Set aside.
- To a saucepan add the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Put over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in the baked tofu crumbles and then remove from the heat. The tofu will absorb some of the liquid and become deliciously meaty and chewy. If your sauce gets a little too dry add a splash of water as needed.
For the Cashew Ricotta:
- Add the cashews to a food processor and pulse several times until the cashews have broken down into a crumbly powder. Add the plant-based milk, lemon juice, and miso paste, and blend, stopping to scrape the sides until you reach a sticky ricotta texture.
For the Mozzarella Sauce:
- Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to make a paste. Keep whisking and cook the flour paste for 60 seconds. Whisk in plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the mozzarella sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside. If the sauce gets too thick, feel free to add a splash more plant-based milk or water as needed.
For the Lasagna:
- Turn your oven up to 375℉ (190℃).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions. (I always cook a few extra noodles in case some break).
- To assemble the lasagna, spread ¼ of the vegan meat sauce across the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread another ¼ of vegan meat sauce over the noodles, then dollop ½ the ricotta over the meat sauce. Top with 3 more lasagna noodles, another ¼ of vegan meat sauce, the remaining ½ of the ricotta, 3 more lasagna noodles, the last of the vegan meat sauce, and lastly pour over all of the mozzarella sauce and gently spread it over top.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 mins. Remove foil and bake another 10 - 15 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Optionally you can brown the cheese by putting it under the broiler for a few minutes, keeping a close eye to ensure it doesn't burn. Allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh chopped basil, parsley, or vegan parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Make-ahead/ freeze:
Vegan lasagna is a great make-ahead recipe! In my recipe you can either prepare all the fillings and store them separately, or you can assemble the entire lasagna and store that. Store the fillings separately: prepare the vegan meat sauce, the cashew ricotta, and mozzarella sauce. Allow them to cool and then store in seperate air-tight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to prepare the lasagna, cook the noodles, assemble the lasagna, and then bake. Store the unbaked lasagna: assemble the lasagna as instructed, but do not bake it. Cover and store the unbaked lasagna in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow it to come to room temperature before baking, then bake as usual. Freeze the unbaked lasagna: assemble the lasagna as instructed, but do not bake it. Cover the lasagna, and wrap it well to make sure it's as air-tight as possible. Freeze for up to 2 - 3 months. When ready to bake, transfer the lasagna to the fridge and let thaw overnight. Allow it to come to room temperature before baking, then bake as usual. Store leftovers: allow the lasagna to cool, then store the leftovers, covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.Nutrition
More Vegan Pasta Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Heather says
Recently discovered my husband can't do nutritional yeast. Do you have a recommendation for a substitute? I love all your recipes we've tried so far and want to give this one a try. Thank you.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Heather, nutritional yeast adds a bit of cheesiness. To sub it, you could try replacing it with ground almonds, ground cashews, or ground sunflower seeds, and something tangy like a bit of white miso paste. I hope that helps!
Heather Miller says
I took your advice and I made it without nutritional yeast. I replaced it with coconut aminos and miso paste. It turned out delicious! It's one of my husband's favorites. Thank you so much! You have made going vegan possible!!!
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
I'm so happy you loved it Heather! Thrilled you are enjoying going vegan 🙂
Lizzie says
Can oven ready noodles be used? (The ones you don't pre- cook.)
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Lizzie, yes they can! Personally I am not a fan of the flavor and texture of the oven ready noodles, but if you like them, just follow the package directions to use them. Enjoy!
Serena says
This is one of the best vegan lasagna I've ever made and I'm Italian 😀
I change just one thing: I double the "mozzarella sauce" and add half of it into the tofu ragù to make it more creamy. Perfect.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Great suggestion! Thanks for sharing!
Ray says
It took me at least 45 minutes to clean up all the pots and pans I used…more like 2:30to get this in the pan and get the kitchen back to its original state….haven’t cooked it yet so there is no rating
Haider says
Incredibly flavourful and meaty. I mean it.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Thank you!!
Marie says
Amazing- even my family who isn’t vegan like this!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We're happy to hear it!
EC says
This recipe is an easy 10/10! Sooo delicious, and honestly pretty easy to make. The tofu tasted incredible done this way! The ricotta was perfect. Only change I made was that I had Daiya mozza on hand so I used that on top instead of doing the homemade mozzarella sauce (which I'm sure is wonderful), and it turned out excellent regardless. Will definitely be making this repeatedly.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Yay! That's so wonderful! Thank you for your review EC 🙂
Alyssa says
I’ve made many different vegan lasagna recipes, but this is the first one my husband has raved about to this extent. He said it was the first one that gave him the cheesiness you’d expect in a lasagna. We added mushrooms and a white onion to the sauce. 10/10 will make again!!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's amazing! We're so happy to hear it!
Andrea says
The recipe is fantastic! The vegan meat sauce really does have the texture of meat!
I added a package of chopped Bella mushrooms and two thinly sliced zucchini to the vegan sauce because I like veggies in my lasagna. Because of the added veggies, I added an additional 24 oz. jar of tomato sauce to the existing 32 oz. of tomato sauce.
For the noodles, I used Jovial brown rice noodles to make it gluten free. (I boiled the noodles four minutes as directed on the package. I needed four noodles per layer to cover the whole pan.) They turned out well!
I didn't have the white miso paste, so I used a tablespoon of soy sauce instead. I'll use more (maybe 2-3 tablespoons) next time to make it a little saltier tasting.
Will make again! 🙂
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing your gluten free experience with this recipe!
Betty Dickerson says
This recipe is amazing. I would give it 10 stars if possible. It held its shape when serving. The flavor is beyond what was expected, Easter dinner was a hit. My family loved it, even the non vegan members.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's wonderful news, Betty! Thanks for sharing!
Birgitt says
I’m gingerly stepping into the world of vegan cooking and am looking forward to trying this lasagna recipe.
I’m wondering why you are using the mozzarella sauce instead of your ooey, gooey mozzarella
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
In this recipe, the mozzarella sauce is a timesaver. There is a lasagna recipe in Sam's Fuss Free Vegan book that you may wish to try as well!
Rachel says
Made this for our New Year dinner, and it was outstanding. I was hoping for leftovers, but even the meat eaters devoured it and claimed it was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
That's wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it so much Rachel. Thank you for the review!!
Irene says
hello, I was wondering if the sodium in the nutritional content was a typo, 1109mg per serving? I didn't even see saltbeing added, where did it ask come from? would love to try it but I'm trying to limit my sodium.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Irene, the sodium comes from the salt (in the mozzarella sauce), miso paste, and prepared tomato sauce mainly. To reduce the salt you could omit the salt, and use a salt free tomato sauce. Hope that helps!
Rachel says
Delicious! This recipe is such a winner! We added this lasagna to our meal prep rotation and only adjust using over ready noodles to make prepping a bit easier. we add 1/2 cup of water to the dish and the noodles cook just fine. thanks for the recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's wonderful!
Gina Bisaillon says
Sounds good, but for the meat part, I would use your easy vegan meatball recipe made with TVP! It is so tasty, and easy to make too.
Nicol says
Fantastic! I subbed the cheese sauce with Miyoko's vegan mozzarella sauce (because I needed to use it) and it turned out amazing. For those with gluten issues, I subbed the noodles for palm lasagna sheets and it was still tasty, although a bit of an chewier texture. That cashew ricotta is BOMB! You must make this!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing how great yours turned out!