The best vegan lasagna Bolognese layered with an umami packed mushroom lentil red sauce, creamy sunflower ricotta, swirls of basil pesto and no boil lasagna noodles. The perfect crowd pleasing comfort food that even hard core meat eater will love!

I know everyone claims their lasagna recipe is the best, but this one really is my favorite. And that’s coming from a meat-eater. I’m not strictly vegan, but I would choose this one over the traditional any day. I even shared this recipe with my non-vegan family and they didn’t miss the meat at all! And a bonus? It’s packed with veggies and plant based protein so don’t worry about eating the whole thing by yourself. It’s totally healthy!

Lasagna can be a little daunting, especially when all the layers are homemade, but I’ve tried to simplify it as much as possible without compromising on flavor. For this vegan lasagna recipe, I use no boil lasagna noodles to save you a pot keep the ingredient list pretty short for each component.

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How to Make Vegan Lasagna Bolognese

Step 1: Make the sunflower tofu ricotta: A combination of sunflower seeds and tofu are going to give this vegan ricotta a rich and creamy texture while also keeping it nut free. I like to soak my sunflower seeds in boiling water for about half an hour to ensure smooth blending. I’ve also had success boiling the seeds for about 15 minutes for the same result.

Once softened, drain your seeds and add them to a food processor along with the tofu and remaining ingredients. Blend it all up until very smooth. This may take up to 3 whole minutes of blending.

Step 2: Make the Bolognese sauce: For the sauce, you’ll need to do a bit of chopping, but I like to pulse the mushrooms in the food processor make things a little easier before adding them to the sauce. From there, all you do is sauté the vegetables and add in the rest of the ingredients, including some soy sauce and miso for an extra punch of umami. Try not to overcook the vegetables so they maintain their texture.

Step 3: Pesto: So you can either use store bought pesto or make your own. It’s super easy to make your own in a food processor by blending up some spinach, basil, nutritional yeast, olive oil and salt. If you decide to use store bought, you may need to thin it out with a couple tablespoons of water.

Step 4: Assemble! Preheat the oven to 375º F and position a rack in the middle of your oven. There really is no right or wrong way to layer lasagna, but I included my order below for those picture perfect lasagna layers.

• Bolognese sauce
• Noodles
• Sunflower Ricotta
• Pesto
• Noodles
• Bolognese sauce
• Noodles
• Sunflower ricotta
• Pesto
• Noodles
• Bolognese sauce

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Step 5: Bake: tightly cover the lasagna dish with tin foil and bake for about 45 minutes or until the noodles are softened. Uncover the dish and add the cheese. I recommend using my Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese but any dairy free shreds will work. Broil the lasagna until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Let the dish sit for at least 10 minutes before serving for clean cuts. I like serving my lasagna with a handful of arugula tossed with a spoonful of pesto. Enjoy!!

Tips for Making Vegan Lasagna Bolognese

• A food processor is essential for this recipe. You’ll need it for making the ricotta, chopping the mushrooms and making the pesto. A high speed blender like a Vitamix would work, but I personally haven’t tried. I wouldn’t recommend chopping the mushrooms in a blender as they will become mushy.
• If you prefer to use traditional lasagna noodles, boil them for half the cook time indicated on the package and proceed with the recipe as written.
• No boil noodles require water to cook through in the oven, so if at any point any of the ingredients seem “dry” feel free to add a few tablespoons of water.

More Vegan Recipes to Try:

• broccoli cheddar soup
• spinach artichoke pasta
• stuffed shells with sunflower basil pesto
• chickpea noodle soup

Made this vegan lasagna bolognese? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram to be featured in my stories and follow along on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!