I LOOOOOOVE lasagna! It’s one of my favorite main dishes to make for holidays and fancy dinners. And while I’m all about a classic Italian-style vegan lasagna, it doesn’t always work with the traditional spread that one might serve for a day like Thanksgiving. Marinara sauce and cranberry sauce just clash if you ask me! So I decided to create a different kind of lasagna. This pumpkin lasagna is super rich and full of savory flavor — the perfect kind of flavor for pairing up with traditional holiday sides! If you’ve ever had a white lasagna you’ll have an idea of what to expect from this dish. The tastes and textures are similar, with a little extra seasonal flavor from pumpkin.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dried lasagna noodles.Olive oil. Any cooking oil will do, but olive has a nice flavor and is always my choice for pasta!Raw cashews. We’re using these as the base for our dairy-free ricotta. Make sure they’re raw (not roasted) in order to give your filling just the right flavor and texture.Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that’s unflavored and unsweetened will work. Try soy milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or almond milk.Garlic.Lemon juice.Salt & pepper.Tofu. The recipe calls for firm tofu, but extra firm will work just fine. I don’t recommend using super firm tofu as the texture isn’t quite right for vegan ricotta.Frozen spinach.Vegan butter. Look for brands like Earth Balance and Miyoko’s near where the regular butter is sold at the store.Onion.Full-fat coconut milk. You could probably get away with substituting light coconut milk, though your sauce won’t be quite as rich and creamy.Canned pumpkin puree. Make sure you don’t accidentally buy pumpkin pie filling. We don’t want our lasagna to taste like pie!Nutmeg.Fresh sage. This is optional, but it makes a lovely garnish for the lasagna and will add a touch of savory flavor!
Tip: Feel free to add a few layers of mozzarella-style vegan cheese to the lasagna. I didn’t include them in mine, but they’d make a nice addition.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by bringing some salted water to a boil for your lasagna noodles. Cook them according to the package directions, but just until al dente.Drain your noodles into a colander, lightly rub them with olive oil and lay them flat to prevent them from sticking to each other or folding on themselves.
Tip: Most lasagna recipes can be made just fine with no-cook noodles, but I don’t recommend them for this one. It doesn’t have quite enough liquid to ensure they’ll fully cook in the pan.
While the pasta water boils, make the ricotta. First blend the cashews, milk, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor bowl. Get it relatively smooth, but it need not be perfect.Crumble the tofu into the food processor bowl and add drained, thawed spinach. Make sure you squeeze any excess water from the spinach first! Pulse the machine until the mixture is blended, but still chunky.
To make the sauce, melt your vegan butter in a large skillet, then add diced onion.Sweat the onion for a few minutes, until the pieces soften and just begin to brown.
Stir in the coconut milk, pumpkin, nutmeg and salt. Bring the sauce to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken up.
Ladle about a third of the sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, then arrange 3 noodles over the sauce. Top the noodles with half of your ricotta, then top the ricotta with three more noodles, followed by another layer of sauce, followed by another layer of ricotta, a final layer of noodles and a final layer of sauce.
Cover your baking dish and pop it into the oven! It’ll need to bake for about 30 minutes covered, then about 10 more uncovered. The sauce should be a bit bubbly and darkening around the edges by the time it’s done.
Let your pumpkin lasagna sit for 10 minutes or so before slicing and enjoying. Optionally, garnish each slice with a sprinkle of fresh sage.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan pumpkin lasagna will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
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