This easy Dairy Free Lasagna is a great spin on the classic comfort food! It is a plant-based recipe that is packed with veggies and simple ingredients. Perfect for your next meatless Monday dinner!
The Best Dairy-Free Lasagna
Finally, a delicious dairy-free lasagna recipe that the whole family will enjoy! As someone who has a dairy allergy, I have always dreamed of turning by favorite recipe, a traditional lasagna, into a dairy-free version. So I decided to create my own homemade lasagna recipe and I am so excited to share it with you guys! It is packed with veggies and officially kid-approved (my girls inhaled it). We love making this for Sunday supper so that we can enjoy the lasagna leftovers for lunch all week long!
And if you are just looking for a another delicious dairy-free dinner idea, checkout our Vegan Stuffed Shells!
What You Will Need
- raw cashews – the base for our quick and easy dairy-free ricotta!
- block of tofu – another key ingredient for a smooth ricotta mixture and can be found at your local grocery store.
- fresh garlic – everything is always better with a little garlic in the mix, especially when making Italian-inspired recipes.
- lemon juice – a little bit of acidity is great for amplifying all the great flavors.
- nutritional yeast – a simple ingredient that brings a bit of a “cheesy flavor” to our favorite dairy-free recipes.
- kosher salt & black pepper – classic seasonings that are always a must!
- dairy-free creamer – we absolutely love using NutPods, but any plant-based milk will do the trick.
- marinara sauce – option to pick-up a store-bought version, or make our homemade marinara sauce!
- diced tomatoes – just one drained can of tomatoes is perfect!
- fresh zucchini & frozen spinach – we always love packing a lasagna with our favorite veggies.
- dairy-free mozzarella cheese – great for all the melty, cheesy goodness but without the dairy.
- lasagna noodles – pick-up your favorite variety, there are even oven-ready options if you want to skip the boiling step.
How To Make Dairy Free Lasagna
The first steps to making this easy lasagna recipe are to whip up the dairy free ricotta. This is done by blending all the ricotta ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender on the high setting until it reaches a smooth texture.
Next, make sure the frozen spinach is fully thawed and squeeze out all the excess liquid. Add this to the tofu ricotta mixture and mix to fully combine.
Now place the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water and let them cook for about half the time recommended on the packaging (they finish cooking in the oven). While the noodles are cooking, you can cut-up the zucchini and gather the rest of the lasagna ingredients.
To assemble the lasagna, you will spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of a prepared baking dish. Place a single layer of lasagna noodles on the sauce, then half the ricotta mixture, followed by half the zucchini and half the tomatoes. Next, is half a cup of sauce, layer of noodles, ricotta, zucchini, and tomatoes. Finally top it off with another layer of noodles and thin layer of marinara sauce. Pop it all in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes of cook time. Add a generous sprinkling of dairy-free cheese to make the top layer and return to the oven until it melts.
Best Way To Serve Dairy-Free Lasagna
One of the best parts of taking the time to make lasagna is that it is basically a whole meal all baked in one pan. If you do want to serve something with it, we highly recommend garlic bread with plant-based butter, breadsticks, or a side salad.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! We love incorporating some plant-based meals when we can and if you follow the recipe card, it is vegan.
Absolutely! It can easily be assembled in a freezer-safe container, covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and stored in the fridge overnight to bake the next day. Or cover and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Perfect option for meal prepping before a major life event (i.e. surgery, having a baby, etc.).
Definitely! Ground beef or ground Italian sausage would be great options. Just brown it in a hot skillet on the stovetop. Add the marinara sauce to the skillet to warm and use this meat sauce mixture just as you would a plain marinara sauce.
Made this delicious recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram and TikTok account for some behind-the-scenes action! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Other Recipes You Might Like
Dairy Free Lasagna
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Description
A comforting and delicious dairy-free lasagna recipe that is plant-based and packed with veggies! Great for a meatless dinner option!
Ingredients
Dairy Free Ricotta:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews (soak in water overnight or soak in boiling hot water for 20–30 minutes, drain before use)
- 1 block firm tofu
- 1 garlic clove, whole & peeled
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened/unflavored dairy-free creamer or almond milk
Lasagna:
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained
- 3 cups diced zucchini (approximately 2 medium zucchini)
- (2) 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach
- 2 cups dairy-free mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 box lasagna noodles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; spray 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Make Ricotta: Add cashews, dairy-free creamer, garlic, and 1/3 of the tofu block to a high powered blender or food processor. Blend on high until cashews are broken down and smooth (scrape down the sides intermittently as you do this). Add lemon juice, the remaining tofu, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast and blend on low until fully combined and smooth. Taste and add additional salt or lemon juice, as desired. Pour into a medium bowl.
- Add spinach: Defrost spinach and ensure all excess water has been removed. Feel free to use a cheesecloth or paper towel to squeeze out as much of the excess water as possible. Add spinach to dairy-free ricotta and stir to fully combine.
- Lasagna noodles: bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Then add lasagna noodles to the hot pot. Allow to cook until noodles are approximately halfway cooked and then remove and set on a kitchen towel. They will finish cooking in the oven.
- Assemble the lasagna: take your prepared 9×13 pan and add just enough marinara sauce to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Add the lasagna noodles in a single layer on the sauce. Then add 1/2 the dairy-free ricotta cheese, spreading it out with the back of a spoon. Add half the chopped zucchini and half the tomatoes. Now spoon a 1/2 cup of marinara over top. Repeat with another layer of noodles, ricotta, zucchini, tomatoes, and marinara. For the final layer, add the noodles and 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce, spreading over the noodles.
- Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes or until it starts to bubble and the noodles start to brown.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with your favorite dairy-free mozzarella cheese.
- Return to oven and watch carefully; remove as soon as cheese has melted.
- Remove from oven and let lasagna rest at room temperature, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-Free Lasagna: Feel free to use gluten-free pasta if you want!
- Leftover lasagna: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Make Ahead: You can make this the night before and keep covered in the refrigerator overnight.
- Freezer: You can freeze this lasagna for 3-5 months. To cook simply remove from freezer the night before and allow it to thaw in refrigerator before cooking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 3.8 g
- Sodium: 551.6 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.6 g
- Protein: 11.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0.9 mg
Janelle says
Does it have to be frozen spinach? I always have fresh on hand and would prefer to use that.
Erin says
Hi Janelle – I am sure you could use fresh spinach just fine!
Melissa says
That sounds amazing but I do want to pick your brain a little bit about a possible substitute for the tofu. I avoid gluten, dairy and soy as someone with celiac disease and Hashimoto’s so I was just wondering if there is something you might think would work in place of that. Thank you so much!!
Erin says
Hi Melissa! I have never made the ricotta with anything but tofu at this point, but if I try something else and it works I will definitely update the recipe!
Lilly says
Do you cook the pasta before the assembly of Lasagna? Or is it right out of the box and it cooks while baking?
Erin says
Hi Lilly! See Step 6 of the instructions – you cook the lasagna about half-way and then assemble!
Stephanie says
Could I substitute something got g to be cashews? My son has a severe allergy to them. Thanks I don’t eat lasagna because of all the dairy but excited to try this!!
Erin says
Hi Stephanie! So I have only ever made this with cashews, but if you want to experiment with replacing them with like a walnut, pine nut or sunflower .. that MIGHT work! Again I haven’t tested so if you do try I would love it if you reported back! Hope that helps a little:)
Ruby says
I always see cashews as a base for vegan “cheese” is there something else I can sub? My son is allergic to Cashews/Pistachios/Peanuts. Thank you
Rebecca Moreschi says
How big is the “block* of tofu that you are using? Thank you!!
Erin says
Approx. 12 ounces!
Rebecca says
The dairy free ricotta was to die for! Making it again.. right now. 🙂 I don’t have the creamer this time so I’ll be using some unsweetened almond milk instead.
Erin says
yay!!! So glad you loved it, Rebecca!! So awesome to hear :). And thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! I really appreciate it!
Rebecca says
I think you need to create a separate recipe for just the Dairy Free Ricotta with the spinach.. no joke when I say how delicious it is. I sound like a crazy person responding again, but I’ve also now made it 3 times… (latest was used in a baked ziti). It can even be considered a dip on it’s own.. trust me.. my non-vegan, non food adventurous husband started to dip tortilla chips in it and couldn’t stop. Pretty sure that he still has no idea that it is made with tofu….shhh… A “cheesy” spinach dip pretty much! Great job!
And in case anyone needs the macros for just the ricotta, for 12 servings its about 92 calories, 6 grams Carbs, less than 5 grams Fat, and about 7 grams Protein!
Erin says
That is actually on my to-do list!! Definitely making it its own recipe :). So, so glad you are loving it! And I really appreciate you taking the time to leave your feedback!!