Best 3 Vegetarian Lasagna Bolognese Recipes

BEST VEGETARIAN LASAGNA BOLOGNESE (WITH SPINACH-RICOTTA & BéCHAMEL)

Steps:

• Use this recipe to prepare the vegan bolognese sauce. I recommend making it one day ahead, as it needs to cook low and slow for 3.5 hours. Plus, the flavors intensify in the fridge.
• For fresh spinach, heat a pan on low heat, add in a splash of olive oil, then wilt the spinach completely. Allow it to cool, then, with your hands, squeeze out the excess moisture. For frozen spinach, defrost it, then, with your hands, squeeze out the excess moisture.
• In a bowl, mix together the wilted spinach, ricotta cheese, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, an egg, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Set the bowl aside.
• In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter completely, then whisk in the flour. Continue whisking vigorously for one minute to cook the flour. Add in a small splash of pre-warmed milk, and whisk. Continue whisking in the warm milk, a little at a time. If any lumps form, just keep whisking. The sauce should become thick. Bring the sauce to a low boil, and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the mozzarella cheese ans salt, allowing it to melt. Turn off the stove.
• First, preheat the oven to 395°F/200°C. Then, in your lasagna baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of bolognese sauce to the bottom of the pan, and spread it across to make a thin layer. Add a layer of pasta sheets. Smooth an even layer of the spinach-ricotta mixture atop the pasta sheets, about 1 to 1.5 cups. Then, smooth over an even layer of the bolognese sauce, about 1 to 1.5 cups. Sprinkle on an even layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Starting again with the lasagna sheets, repeat this pattern until the pan is almost full to the top, and you can barely fit another layer. After the last layer of pasta sheets go on, spread on another layer of bolognese sauce. Quickly re-whisk the béchamel sauce and pour it over the top of the bolognese sauce. Sprinkle on a bit more mozzarella.
• Cover the lasagna with a sheet of foil to retain moisture, but ensure the foil is not touching the béchamel sauce. Bake the lasagna on the middle rack of your oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the pasta sheets are just cooked through. Remove the foil, turn your oven onto the broil setting (or the highest heat), and move the lasagna to the top rack. With a very watchful eye, allow the lasagna to bubble up and become golden-brown - with some darker brown spots too! If necessary, carefully turn the dish around to achieve an even broil across the top. This should take about 5-10 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven, recover with foil (but ensure it's not touching the top layer), and allow it to cool and set for about 20-30 minutes before digging in!
• If desired, use a spoon to smooth over a drizzle of truffle oil and garnish with fresh parsley!

WORLD'S BEST (NOW VEGETARIAN!) LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in plant-based sausage, meat substitute crumbles, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, 1 tablespoon parsley, sugar, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles; cook 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse noodles with cold water.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, stir together egg, ricotta, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl.
• To assemble lasagna, spread 1/3 of the sauce in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over sauce. Spread with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella slices. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake, covered with cooking spray-coated foil, for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes more. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing into 12 equal servings.

VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil over medium-high. When foaming, add the onion, carrots and cauliflower, season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few pepper grinds. Cook, stirring just once or twice, until browned and juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce and garlic and cook, stirring and smashing the vegetables, until the tomato paste is a shade darker and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the milk and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, and stir to combine, scraping up browned bits from the pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk has thickened slightly and the vegetables are very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. (At first the pan will look dry, then the vegetable liquid will thin the sauce and it will thicken slightly).
• Halfway through cooking the sauce, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain. If the sauce is ready before the pasta, remove sauce from heat and keep covered.
• Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup pasta water, the Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir vigorously until the pasta is well coated, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce is glossy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with more grated Parmesan on top.