A classic vegan mushroom and spinach lasagna made with layers of marinara sauce, vegan bechamel, sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and cashew ricotta for a delicious family meal that everyone will love.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
When it comes to comfort food, it doesn’t get better than classic vegan lasagna.
It’s creamy Bechamel Sauce mixed with sweet and tart marinara sauce layered between lasagna noodles, sautéed vegetables, and nut-based cheeses. Yum!
While I’ve made lasagna recipes for this blog before, such as this Creamy Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna and this low-carb, gluten-free Zucchini Noodle Lasagna, I’ve never shared one of my favorite lasagna recipes – this Classic Mushroom and Spinach Vegan Lasagna.
I think you’re going to love it!
Recommended Ingredients and Equipment
This vegan lasagna is so flavorful. It is packed with homemade Bechemel and Marinara Sauce, veggies, and homemade cheeses. And it’s made without processed foods. It’s a vegan lasagna that uses no store bought cheeses or sauces, relying on only wholesome, nutrient-packed foods.
Here is everything you need.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Lasagna Noodles – If you are looking for a gluten-free option, I like this brand of gluten-free pasta. (<<affiliate link)
- Cashew Ricotta – This homemade vegan ricotta is a blend of raw cashews, water, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and salt. If you want to save on time, you could buy vegan ricotta at the store. I recommend Kite Hill Almond Ricotta.
- Olive Oil
- Button Mushrooms
- Spinach – I recommend fresh spinach but you can use frozen if that’s what you have on hand.
- Marinara Sauce – Use either store bought or homemade.
- Vegan Parmesan – I recommend Violife parmesan. It is creamy, melty, and tastes exactly how I remember parmesan to taste. If you don’t have access to Violife, you can make your own parmesan.
- Vegan Butter – Look for a high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend either Earth Balance or Miyoko’s.
- Garlic
- Fresh Herbs – You will need fresh oregano and thyme. If you only have access to dried herbs, use 1/2 tsp. of both.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Non-Dairy Milk – You can use any neutral flavored non-dairy milk. I recommend soy or cashew. Make sure to use unsweetened milk.
- Spices – You will need nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Recommended Equipment
You don’t need much when it comes to this recipe. Make sure you have a large skillet ,a good chef’s knife, cutting board, basic kitchen utensils, and 7×11 baking dish.(<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Lasagna
Step One – Make the Vegan Ricotta
This vegan ricotta is made from blending up cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor until it resembles ricotta cheese.
If you’re looking to save time, this ricotta can be made a day or two in advance. To store it, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Because there is a lot of multitasking required for this lasagna, I do recommend you make the vegan ricotta in advance.
Time Saving: You could also use store-bought vegan ricotta. Kite Hill has a delicious almond based ricotta that I recommend.
Step Two – Make the Bechamel Sauce
The next step is to make the vegan Bechamel Sauce. Bechamel, or white sauce, is a classic French sauce made from butter, flour, and milk. Often fresh herbs and seasonings are added to the bechamel for flavoring.
To make the bechamel, you need to make a roux with flour and butter. Once the flour starts to cook, add warm milk (and any possible seasonings and herbs) and cook the sauce until it is thick and creamy.
As you can imagine, traditional Bechamel is not vegan. However, it’s an easy sauce to make vegan. All you need to swap out is dairy butter for vegan butter. I recommend Miyoko’s Cultured Vegan Butter and use non-dairy milk. For the milk, make sure to buy unsweetened and I recommend either soy, cashew, or oat for their thickness.
Step Three – Sauté the Vegetables
This part is easy! In a large skillet, sauté the mushrooms until they are golden brown and fragrant. Add the spinach and mix together until it has begun to wilt.
Step Four – Assemble and Bake
Now, with everything ready, it’s time to assemble the lasagna. When assembling this recipe, you want to find a pattern. This is how I do it
- Sauce. For this recipe, I mix the marinara sauce with bechamel sauce. This gives me the classic tomato sauce taste while mixing in a bit of the creamy cheesiness of traditional lasagna.
- Noodles. Add a layer of freshly boiled (or no boil) lasagna noodles so that they are slightly overlapping.
- Veggies. Top with half of the mushroom/spinach mixture.
- Cheese. Drop half of the cashew ricotta in dollops over the top (see photo below)
Now repeat layers 1-4! Top with one more layer of noodles and the remaining sauce and you’re ready to bake!
Serving and Storing
Serving
Once out of the oven, let the lasagna cool 15 minutes before serving. Serve it with fresh herbs and vegan parmesan alongside artisan bread and a big salad
Storing
Store leftover lasagna in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat it, let it thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight. Then cook it according to the instructions below.
Make in Advance
You can make this recipe and then, rather than baking the lasagna, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. For best results, chill the lasagna first in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that when you are ready to place it in the freezer, it will freeze quicker. This reduces the chance of freezer burn.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
More Vegan Lasagna Recipes
Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients
Mushroom Spinach Lasagna
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles
- 1/2 batch cashew ricotta
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 4 cups loosely packed spinach
- 24 ounces marinara sauce, (store bought or homemade)
- 1/4 cup vegan parmesan, optional
- 1 batch vegan Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows
Vegan Bechamel Sauce
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sprig of oregano and thyme, de-stemmed and minced
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- First, make the cashew ricotta. This can be done a day or two in advance.
- While the noodles are boiling, make the Bechamel Sauce. To make the sauce, heat vegan butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, add flour and stir over heat for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and golden-brown. In another pot, bring milk, minced garlic, herbs, nutmeg, and salt to a boil. Add hot milk to butter/flour mixture in 3 batches. Bring to a boil, whisking often, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Once thick and creamy, remove from heat and set aside. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Heat up olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Stir in spinach until spinach has wilted and shrunk to about 50% it's original size. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To assemble the lasagna, pour about 1/3 cup of bechamel sauce and 1/3 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish and spread evenly. Lay down a layer of noodles. Add a layer of the mushroom/spinach mixture and top with 1/2 of the cashew ricotta, evenly dropping them in 1 tablespoon-size pieces. Top this with more bechamel and marinara sauce and repeat the pattern one full time. Top with the 3rd layer of noodles and final layer of sauces. Top with vegan parmesan, if using.
- Cover in foil and bake for 40-50 minutes until the lasagna has started to bubble up. Remove from heat and let cool 15 minutes before slicing. Top with vegan parmesan cheese and/or fresh oregano and serve.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Christina says
This recipe is absolutely fantastic! Might be the best lasagna I’ve ever had hands down. I ended up using one tub Kite Hill’s cashew ricotta instead of making my own.
We froze this dish for 2 months (thank you for the freezing tips). I tried to thaw it overnight (24 hours) in the fridge but a good portion of the middle was still frozen. I put it in the oven anyway on 350 and it took an hour to all the way through.
Lisa says
This is an excellent vegan lasagna; however, I cannot get it to fit properly into a 9 x 13 pan. Instead, I use an 8 x 8 square pan and it serves plenty for my husband and I to have 2 meals. DELICIOUS!
Hallie says
This looks so good! I recently made your eggplant parm recipe. It was delicious. I do have a question about this recipe. I do not usually buy vegan butter…. how necessary is it for the recipe???
Sarah McMinn says
You will need to use vegan butter for the bechamel sauce. Oil just won’t work.
sue says
have added this to my list to make in the next couple of weeks. Is it possible to freeze it after cooking? Thank you. BTW it looks so yummy!!
Sarah McMinn says
Yes, frozen lasagna can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat it, let it thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Peta says
This is my go to lasagna recipe. It never disappoints. Sometimes I also add a layer of eggplant and zucchini.
Alicia Roman Delgado says
Can I make the ricotta cheese in a vitamin mix blender?
Sarah says
Sure, no problem.