This Meatless Lasagne recipe has no nuts, fake meat or tofu in it and the bolognese sauce is the closest I’ve ever found to the meaty kind most of us grew up with. It’s comforting and full of umami in the ways you will want to serve up with pasta, whether in lasagna or even just as Spaghetti Bolognese.
The key to making a really great vegetarian lasagne that tastes as good (or even better, perhaps) than a regular one is to create the minced meat texture with your vegetables and this can take a little time, but I’ve got some shortcuts in the ingredient section. Are you trying to consume less meat? I'd love to hear how you're replacing meat in your meals!
We need to finely chop those eggplants and grate our mushrooms. Minced meat texture can be a little lumpy and suck up all the tomato herb flavor and we want the exact same thing with our meatless bolognese sauce.
Also, the cheese sauce in this lasagne is not dairy free, but you can absolutely replace with dairy free milk and cheese and I stand by the herb and garlic in it…extra vegetables are always a win! This dish is for people trying to eat more vegetables, less meat, but still allow those of us who do eat meat to enjoy dairy. It’s small steps here folks!
Why you’ll love this
The deep savoriness in our bolognese
The flavors in that bolognese is real depth thanks to the balance of salt, sugar and acid in the sauce ingredients that cook with the vegetables for a good 30 minutes.
Garlic béchamel
Minced garlic is strewn through the béchamel making for a really full bodied creamy sauce that not only compliments the bolognese, but also holds it’s own.
Ingredients and substitutions Meatless Lasagne
- Sofrito: The combination of onion, shallot, carrot and celery is the base of our bolognese, infusing depth of flavor into our sauce and savoriness.
- Mushrooms: Larger portobello mushrooms are best for the simple fact they will help make prep a quicker task here as you grate them. The large pieces of mushroom help create a large minced meat texture in the bolognese.
- Eggplant: Also known as Aubergine, this large savory fruit is key alongside the mushrooms in creating that minced meat texture needed for a meatless Bolognese. Cubing the produce can take some time, so another option to speed up preparation is to peel the eggplant and grate in a similar fashion to your mushrooms. Eggplant is essential alongside the mushrooms thanks to the fact it soaks up any flavor and is perfect for adding the savoriness of this dish. If you cannot eat eggplant/aubergine, you could substitute with zucchini's in equal measure, so 2 large eggplants would equate to 5 medium zucchinis.
- Canned tomatoes: The canned tomatoes make this a real tomato sauce with chopped used here, however, whole would also work.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste is concentrated tomato sauce which adds depth of flavor to our bolognese.
- Butter: Salted butter was used here, though could be substituted with non salted or even non dairy butter in equal measure, though it is not guaranteed what the texture will result in.
- Flour: Plain flour was used for the sauce, but could be replaced with bread flour due to the amount used. A gluten free flour mix that is similar to plain flour is recommended if going gluten free as I cannot guarantee the overall result with all gluten free flours.
- Milk: Whole milk was used for the béchamel sauce as it results in a super creamy rich sauce, but you can absolutely substitute with non dairy milk in equal measure, though the results cannot be guaranteed.
- Cheese: Cheddar and parmesan cheeses were used here for a subtle and salty flavor, you could substitute the cheddar with any other mild cheese such as edam or polvorone. If you choose not use parmesan, it’s recommended adding 1 further teaspoon sea salt to make up for the lack of saltiness the parmesan adds.
- Garlic & Rosemary: Minced garlic and finely chopped rosemary add depth of flavor and additional savoriness to our béchamel, if you don’t like one or both, feel free to omit.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make this
Heavy pot: The bolognese cooks in a large pot so you’ll need one large enough to cook all the vegetables as they cook down quite substantially.
Grater: A grate is essential to getting your mushrooms nice and finely cut to create the bolognese texture.
Saucepan: A small saucepan is also needed to make the béchamel sauce.
Baking dish: To bake your lasagna.
More pasta dishes you’ll love
Beef Stroganoff with Buttered Pasta
How to make Meatless Lasagne:
Place the onion, shallot, carrots and celery into a heavy pot with a little oil on low heat and cover.
Cooking until slightly translucent, approximately 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely cube the eggplants and grate your mushrooms.
Toss the eggplants, mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of salt into the pot and increase the heat to medium and cover.
Stir the mixture every 5 minutes and cook until most of the water has dissipated and the eggplant cubes are beginning to look translucent, approximately 45 minutes.
Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
Stir and cook, with the lid ajar, approximately a further 40 minutes.
Remove from the heat, but leave the lid on the pot (to keep the sauce warm).
Meanwhile, place the butter and flour into a small saucepan on low heat, whisking to melt the butter and make a paste.
Add in ¼ cup milk and whisk until smooth, keeping it on low heat.
Continue adding portions of milk, whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened into a rice pudding texture and it drops off your whisk thickly, and repeat with more portions of milk until it has been included and your sauce is smooth and bubbling thickly.
Add in the minced garlic, rosemary and mustard and whisk to combine.
Toss in the grated cheese and whisk to combine until your sauce is smooth. Set aside.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F and spread a thin layer of the bolognese on the base of a baking dish.
Lay enough lasagna sheets on top to cover the base and top with enough bolognese sauce to coat the pasta.
Top with a thin layer of the garlic béchamel, coating the bolognese completely. Repeat layering with more pasta, bolognese and béchamel until your layers reach the top of your dish.
Sprinkle the parmesan on top and place the baking dish in the oven, baking until golden and bubbling, approximately 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving up.
Serve alongside a salad or not, you do you!
Dig in!
Meatless Lasagne
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8
- Category: Main
Description
This Meatless Lasagna recipe is made from only vegetables and is full of umami for a really comforting take on a classic dish. This will help you consume less meat, but still keeps the flavors full.
Ingredients
Meatless bolognese
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
2 large / 3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
750 grams / 1 ½ pounds mushrooms (brown, button, portobello)
2 large eggplants (see Ingredients section)
2 x 400 grams / 14 ounce canned tomatoes
56 grams / 4 tablespoons tomato paste
4 grams / 1 teaspoon brown sugar
17 grams / 3 teaspoons sea salt
10 grams / 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Garlic béchamel
75 grams / 2.65 ounces butter, cubed
75 grams / ½ cup - ½ tablespoon plain flour
532 milliliters / 2 ¼ cups milk
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
352 grams / 1 ½ cups mild cheese, grated
45 grams / ½ cup parmesan, grated
250 grams / 8.8 ounces lasagna sheets, uncooked
Instructions
Meatless bolognese
- Place the onion, shallot, carrots and celery into a heavy pot with a little oil on low heat and cover.
- Cooking until slightly translucent, approximately 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, finely cube the eggplants and grate your mushrooms.
- Toss the eggplants, mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of salt into the pot and increase the heat to medium and cover.
- Stir the mixture every 5 minutes and cook until most of the water has dissipated and the eggplant cubes are beginning to look translucent, approximately 45 minutes.
- Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
- Stir and cook, with the lid ajar, approximately a further 40 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, but leave the lid on the pot (to keep the sauce warm).
Garlic béchamel
- Meanwhile, place the butter and flour into a small saucepan on low heat, whisking to melt the butter and make a paste.
- Add in ¼ cup milk and whisk until smooth, keeping it on low heat.
- Continue adding portions of milk, whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened into a rice pudding texture and it drops off your whisk thickly, and repeat with more portions of milk until it has been included and your sauce is smooth and bubbling thickly.
- Add in the minced garlic, rosemary and mustard and whisk to combine.
- Toss in the grated cheese and whisk to combine until your sauce is smooth. Set aside.
Lasagna
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F and spread a thin layer of the bolognese on the base of a baking dish.
- Lay enough lasagna sheets on top to cover the base and top with enough bolognese sauce to coat the pasta.
- Top with a thin layer of the garlic béchamel, coating the bolognese completely. Repeat layering with more pasta, bolognese and béchamel until your layers reach the top of your dish.
- Sprinkle the parmesan on top and place the baking dish in the oven, baking until golden and bubbling, approximately 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving up.
- Serve alongside a salad or not, you do you!
- Dig in!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 605 calories per serve
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