Lasagna (gluten-free & vegan)
Ok, so I made this over a month ago for Christmas Eve, but better late than never!! And you will LOVE this recipe! It is SO dang good! If you are like me and cannot eat store-bought gluten-free items because there is so much other junk in them that you cannot digest, this recipe will ROCK YOUR WORLD! If you are looking for a healthy but scrumptious meal to make for any celebration or special occassion, look no further!
I'm half Italian, so when I found out my parents were making traditional lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner, I really didn't want to miss out while everyone was raging about the warm, gooey, delicious meal in front of them. So I searched high and low and found this recipe for an all veggie lasagna!
The recipe seemed quite daunting, so I decided to split it up into two days worth of cooking. Day one consisted of making all the homemade sauces: tomato sauce, cashew mozzarella, cauliflower ricotta and oil-free pesto.
OH MAN, did they taste good!!
Here are the sauce recipes from the Medical Medium website:
Tomato Sauce 8 cups tomatoes, diced 2 cups onions, diced 6 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbsp tomato paste 1 date, minced 1/2 tbsp each: rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme 1 tbsp poultry seasoning 1 tsp curry powder
In a large sauce pan, combine all ingredients together over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer, stirring occasional until all ingredients are cooked through and have started to combine, approximately 20 minutes. Blend sauce to desired consistency using a hand blender or by transferring to a standing blender in batches. Set aside.
Cashew Mozzarella 1.5 cups cashews 1.5 cups zucchini, peeled and diced 1 date, seed removed 1 garlic clove 1/2 lemon, juiced
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Add water by the spoonful only if needed to blend. Set aside.
Cauliflower Ricotta 1 large cauliflower, florets 1/3 cup cashew cheese Arrange florets on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Roast at 425 degrees for 25 minutes until the tips turn golden brown and florets are tender but not mushy. In a food processor, pulse cauliflower with 1/3C cashew cheese until well combined but still somewhat "grainy". Set aside.
Oil-Free Pesto 1/4 cup pine nuts 2 cups basil 2 cups spinach 1/2 lemon, juiced 2 cloves garlic 1 date 1/4 tsp sea salt In a food processor, pulse all ingredients until well combined. Add water in a thin stream as needed up to 1/4 cup. Pesto should be uniform but with some texture. Set aside.
Day two: make the noodles and assemble/cook the lasagna! It was quite the process, but worth it :)
Noodles 6 zucchini
1 butternut squash, peeled
2 eggplants
6 large potatoes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make noodles by slicing all vegetables into lengthwise strips about 1/4 inch thick, using a mandoline if desired. Arrange on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Roast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked through.
**I really loved snacking on the noodles! They're delicious! Especially the potatoes and eggplant ;)
To assemble the lasagna, first spread some of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the lasagna dish.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_3a3f04b2104849f498175b0ba1609f7e~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_3a3f04b2104849f498175b0ba1609f7e~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
Then, layer zucchini noodles on top. Spread pesto sauce on the zucchini noodles.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_510e6775f9074555b644abe6360be82b~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_510e6775f9074555b644abe6360be82b~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
Add a layer of potato noodles and cauliflower ricotta...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_67f8ff8abbc0429290c40c724b8ca410~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_67f8ff8abbc0429290c40c724b8ca410~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
Butternut squash noodles...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_6279d6b912d0466cb47f2c470f4cddf9~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_6279d6b912d0466cb47f2c470f4cddf9~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
and tomato sauce...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_f0c7e23acd4a4c9c8d55ce61fb4aeaea~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_f0c7e23acd4a4c9c8d55ce61fb4aeaea~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
eggplant noodles and pesto...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_3987ae8af819498095953a955f1dcdab~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_3987ae8af819498095953a955f1dcdab~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_809fd3c94cda4c93925c74eadfd0fd0a~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_809fd3c94cda4c93925c74eadfd0fd0a~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
potatoes and tomato sauce...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_239b2c1097e0470592603ec5c5d222b1~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_239b2c1097e0470592603ec5c5d222b1~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
zucchini noodles and more tomato sauce...
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_ce8912a18295469080e980aeee3a6798~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_ce8912a18295469080e980aeee3a6798~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
and finally...the cashew cheese
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_f082081d3b4c4b1584076c2ed3f133d0~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_f082081d3b4c4b1584076c2ed3f133d0~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
And into the oven! 425 for 20-30 mins or until the top is golden brown.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_956755e16ae441bb88e34cfc5896afd6~mv2_d_4000_6000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_221,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_956755e16ae441bb88e34cfc5896afd6~mv2_d_4000_6000_s_4_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_f1530f69eb25414abe6a49370856fc96~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_f1530f69eb25414abe6a49370856fc96~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)
Let sit before serving and top with fresh parsley! Dinner is served! YUMM!!
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b3dd9c_f0992681c68f458986a798caa7b62246~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_98,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/b3dd9c_f0992681c68f458986a798caa7b62246~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg)