Hearty layers of vegan ricotta, spinach and simple marinara sauce make this the Best Vegan Lasagna. A simple vegan dinner that is a great make ahead meal.
Lasagna has been on my "recipe to-do" list FOR-EVER! I have attempted a few different recipes which have turned out fine, but none were good enough to add to the TSV recipe archive.
That is until today.
I have finally mastered a lasagna recipe that is not only simple to make, but is so freaking delicious that even your non-vegan family and friends are going to be begging you to make this on the regular.
The keys to this recipe are:
- A simple and flavorful marinara sauce.
- Vegan ricotta mixed with the right seasonings.
For the marinara you can go a few different ways. You can make your favorite recipe. You can buy a pre-made sauce. Or you can do what I did and make my 10 Minute Vegan Marinara.
This marinara sauce is the best of both worlds. Pre-made sauce is combined with diced tomatoes, garlic and some additional seasonings to make a sauce that tastes like it has been cooking all day. No one will be the wiser, and you will only spend 10 minutes on it.
As for the vegan ricotta. I have only ever tried one brand and that is Kite Hill. I know that other vegan brands make ricotta, but I have not tested them out so I cannot speak to their quality. I can however say that Kite Hill ricotta is 10/10.
UPDATE: Since writing this recipe, I have created my own Tofu Ricotta recipe. If you can't find pre-made vegan ricotta, then be sure to check out my recipe.
TSV TIP: You can use the search function on their website to find a store near you that sells it.
To make the ricotta filling extra tasty we are going to add a couple of things...
vegan parmesan - my favorite brand is GoVeggie
frozen spinach - that has been thawed and drained
italian seasoning
non-dairy milk
salt & pepper (obvi)
You can thin your ricotta filling out as much as you want by adding more non-dairy milk. I kept mine on the thick side - I like those chunky ricotta pieces in each bite.
After you have your noodles cooked, marinara made and your ricotta filling combined you are ready to assemble. Layer it all together and bake for 30-40 minutes.
When you remove it from the oven, allow it to cool for 10 minutes so that it can set - this will help when cutting it into pieces.
This makes a great make ahead meal. You can freeze it for a mid-week dinner or you can cook it and dish it into individual containers for easy lunches.
More of a visual person? Check out the video:
The Best Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients
- 9 lasagna noodles
- 10 Minute Vegan Marinara*
- 8 oz vegan ricotta**
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan***
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk unsweetened
- 8 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt & pepper
- fresh parsely for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside until ready to use.
- Prepare 10 Minute Vegan Marinara according to instructions.
- Add ricotta, parmesan, milk, spinach, Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt & pepper to a bowl. Stir until well combined - add more milk if you want a thinner consistency.
- To assemble, spoon ½ cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 6 baking pan. Layer 3 lasagna noodles over the marinara and spoon ⅓ of the remaining marinara on top of the noodles followed by ⅓ of the ricotta mixture. Repeat layers - noodles, marinara, ricotta, noodles, marinara, ricotta.
- Spray a piece of foil with non-stick spray and cover the lasagna. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- For a crispier topping, turn the oven to broil, cook for an additional 2-5 minutes (or until desired browning is reached - be sure to keep an eye on it while the oven is on broil).
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.****
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase I will receive a small percentage of the sale. Please know I would never link a product unless I have personally used it and loved it!
Allyssa
My meat eating boyfriend absolutely loves this lasagna! As do I! I am not vegan anymore but still can't have dairy and don't eat meat, so having such a solid recipe in my arsenal is pretty great. Thank you!
Rene
Woooo - so glad it has stayed a staple in your house!
Amy
Yum! This was absolutely delicious. I made a few alterations - used vegan mozzarella instead of Parmesan and crumbled 6 Gardein meatballs into the ricotta mix since I forgot the spinach 😬 It was great!
Rene
Hi Amy - so glad you liked it! Love the idea of using the meatballs!
Susan
Could you tell me how you would adjust this recipe if using “no boil” gluten free noodles? That is about all I can find anymore. Thank you.
Rene
You shouldn't need to adjust at all - other than not cooking the noodles. Those no boil noodles soften as the lasagna bakes 👍
Skye
I am not vegan but am gluten and dairy free (only one in my family). I made them a nice lasagna for Valentine’s Day and have been craving it since that day. I made this recipe with gluten free noodles , hamburger mixed with a jar of marinara, fresh spinach along with Follow Your Heart dairy free Parmesan and Kite Hill Ricotta. This was the perfect, most yummy meal I have made in a long time. Thank you!!!!
Rene
So glad you and your family liked it!!!
Camille Montgomery
Delicious, thank you!
Stephanie
Hi the kite hill ricotta has not been available so I’m going to make your tofu ricotta. However my question is do I still follow the same recipe to make the spinach ricotta with the tofu ricotta as the base. Wasn’t sure if I had to add in more Parmesan and do I add in the almond milk too. Just wanted to clarify. Thanks so much for a really great recipe.
Rene
Yep, just follow the recipe as is - the homemade ricotta will be your base. 🙂
Cecily
My family was visiting from Los Angeles and I made everyone’s fave cheese and meat sauce lasagne. My husband is a vegan though, so my darling daughter decided to make him a vegan lasagna. She used your recipe and it was so delicious that my lasagne was half eaten and the vegan lasagne was demolished! It was so delicious that she made another full sized one which also disappeared in short order. It’s beyond fantastic and everyone wanted the recipe. Bravo!!
Rene
I love this! So glad it was hit with everyone!!!
Hannah
Hi! For the lasagna recipe...I can’t have marinara is there an alternative to marinara that I could use so I could still make the lasagna? Thanks!
Rene
What about a pesto sauce? Or even my Creamy Cauliflower Sauce - https://www.thissavoryvegan.com/creamy-vegan-cauliflower-sauce/
Ren
Made this recipe tonight It was very good! Do you happen to know the calorie content? Thanks,
Ren
Rita Avison
No Kite Hill cheese in Canada?
Rene
Have no fear, I have since created my own ricotta recipe...https://www.thissavoryvegan.com/vegan-tofu-ricotta/ ENJOY! 🙂
Katie
I loathe frozen spinach, can I use fresh?
Rene
Hi Katie - you can definitely use fresh spinach!
Natalie
I made this with gluten-free ingredients, everyone loved it and asked for the recipe! Thanks so much!!!
Rene
Woo! Glad it was hit and you were able to customize it to your liking!
Med G
I made two pans of this lasagna, including the ricotta recipe. It was a hit with the whole family. They’re always a bit suspicious of my vegan cooking. I think we had 1 piece left. It was a great lunch next day. Thank you!
Nathalie
Hello ,I can't find vegan ricotta cheese in my area, what can I use instead ricotta ?Can Iuse toffu or vegan cream cheese.Thank you
Rene
I have a recipe for vegan ricotta. You can get it here - https://www.thissavoryvegan.com/vegan-tofu-ricotta/
Denise
For the first time in 6 1/2 years, I have had lasagna and this is the best vegan lasagna I've ever had. THANK YOU for sharing this with us. (And you're right, the Kite Hill Ricotta is amazing!!)
Rene
You are so sweet - and I am so happy you were able to eat something you love that you haven't had in so long!
Susan
Made this for Easter dinner and it was delicious. So glad to know about Kite Hill ricotta. I also added vegan mozzarella to the ricotta mixture. Added one extra layer of lasagna noodles topped with sauce and cheese. Added about 3 C of fresh spinach to the marinara sauce near the end, next time will use more. Made it the day before, took out of refrigerator about an hour before baking and added an extra 30 minutes or more to bake time. Will be my go to vegan, gf lasagna recipe in the future. Thanks!
Haley
I love vegan lasagna.
Susan
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen? How much would you use and would you cook it? This is going to be Easter dinner for my vegan son. Thanks!
Rene
You can definitely use fresh. I would add it to the marinara so that it can wilt and I would use roughly 3 large handfuls. Enjoy!
James Galbraith
I made this using the 10 minute marinara and vegan ricotta recipes from here too. It was wonderful! I used no boil lasagna and a 13 x 9 pan but kept times the same. It was a little thinner because of the pan size but perfect.
Kristin
Can you add fake meat? Either beyond meat crumbles or brats?
Rene
Definitely!
Kathy H
Can I assemble the night before and cook it the next day? Do you think sauce would soak in and lasagna might be dry?
Kelly
I'm thinking about making this for Christmas dinner. I'm hosting 8 people. Do you think I should make 2 batches?
Also, I see you say to use a 13"x6" pan, did you mean 13"x9"?
Thanks,
Kelly
Rene
HI Kelly,
My pan was a bit of a weird size, but use whatever you have on hand. This will make 8 pieces, but some people may want more than one, so 2 trays might be the way to go 🙂
Kelly
Thank you!
Ri
This recipe was my first attempt at Vegan lasagna and I am so impressed. It was delicious! I didn't have any parmesan cheese (I used Kite Hill Mozzarella) and my sauce was from a jar but it was phenomenonal. Thank you so much for this recipe. The spinach was a nice touch. Looking forward to making this soon!
Katie
Hello! This looks delicous! I’m wondering what the calorie information is for this lasagna? I’m planning to make it tonight 🙂
Gloria Tobin
My 2 sons and I really love your lasagna recipe! You titled it appropriately because it is truly the “BEST VEGAN LASAGNA”! My one son, age 25, is the cook so he’s made this lasagna 5 times so far. I find the recipes and select the products he uses (we try different sauces and different vegan cheeses.) Each time he’s made it, it has been so delicious — especially on the second day. But the last time he made it, which was yesterday, it was absolute perfection! We all agreed it was even better than the second day for the 4 previous times he made it! He always includes your “10 Minute Vegan Marinara” recipe, but we have tried different jar sauces with it, plus adding vegan mozzarella cheese after each direction to use ricotta cheese and adding grated vegan Parmesan on top. For anyone who wants to know what we used: “Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta” (as you suggested), “Miyoko’s Creamery Fresh Veganmozz” (best vegan mozzarella cheese), “Violife Dairy-Free Just Like Parmesan Wedge”, and the jar sauce we used this time to make your marinara sauce is “Rao’s Homemade Pasta Sauce Artichoke”. The most AMAZING “BEST VEGAN LASAGNA” ever!
Rene
Awesome! So glad you all love this so much. And thanks for such a detailed review - I love hearing how readers adapt recipes to their personal taste.
Katie
What size pan do you use? Thank you!
Rene
A 9x13 is perfect!
Karen M. Chapman
My husband who isn’t eating this way, but eats the same meals most nights, said this was awesome, better than other veggie lasagna’s he had tried. I didn’t read through all the comments, but can this be frozen for later after cooking?
Rene
Sure - just let it cool completely then cover it and throw it in the freezer.