I finally managed to write this good recipe for the blog: light vegan lasagna. I assure you that there’s no need to use animal or animal-derived foods to make a tasty lasagna. And there’s no need for a lot of fats either, so here’s a dish perfectly in line with the Weight Watchers diet.
In a few simple steps, which you can also do in advance, you can prepare lasagna that’s finger-licking good and that your guests will enjoy. In fact, I will definitely prepare them for the Christmas or Carnival holidays.
You can divide this tray into 4 super abundant portions that, with some vegetables on the side, make a complete meal. Or you can divide it into 6 portions as a first course followed by a light second course. In short, vegan lasagna is versatile and easy to prepare, let’s see how…
Here you can find some other ideal first courses for festive days:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 or 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 12 sheets lasagna (dry egg-free, like De Cecco)
- 10 g nutritional yeast
- as needed basil (fresh)
- 10 ml extra virgin olive oil (2 teaspoons)
- as needed pepper (optional, if you like)
- 40 g flour
- 30 ml extra virgin olive oil (with a delicate taste. 2 tablespoons)
- 500 ml almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100 g soy granules (also known as dehydrated soy)
- as needed spices (Mediterranean dried to taste)
- 200 g tomato puree
- 200 g diced tomatoes (like Mutti diced tomatoes)
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 10 ml extra virgin olive oil (2 teaspoons)
- 30 ml red wine
- as needed basil (fresh)
- as needed salt
- as needed pepper (optional, if you like)
- Total points = 45 WW points
- Points per portion divided into 4 = 11 WW points
- Points per portion divided into 6 = 7 WW points
Tools
- Pot
- Cutting board
- Baking dish
- Whisk
- Knife
- Pan
- Skimmer
- Colander
- Tea towel
- Aluminum
Steps
You can prepare the béchamel in advance. Find the steps to make it here: Light Vegan Béchamel.
You can also prepare the ragout in advance. Find the steps to make it here: Vegan Soy Ragout.
So, once you’ve prepared the béchamel and ragout (which you can make the day before, the ragout will taste even better), here’s how to pre-cook the lasagna sheets and then assemble them in the baking dish.
Pre-cooking the dry lasagna sheets is optional, but I recommend it, especially if, like mine, your ragout and béchamel are thick and not very liquid. This way, the lasagna will come out soft, and there’s no need to bake them for a long time.
Boil some water with a little salt in a wide baking dish. When it boils, add up to 4 sheets of lasagna, using a skimmer to prevent them from overlapping too much. Let the sheets boil for 3 or 4 minutes, then drain them with the skimmer and place them on a clean tea towel (without fabric softener, or we’ll make lavender lasagna!) to dry.
When all the lasagna sheets are cooked, you can assemble the lasagna. Put a little béchamel on the bottom of the baking dish and place the first 3 lasagna sheets. Distribute one-third of the vegan ragout, then about one-fifth of the béchamel (for the last layer, reserve a little more béchamel to cover the entire lasagna well…).
Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and also add some torn basil. Repeat by adding more lasagna sheets, ragout, béchamel, nutritional yeast, and basil. On the last layer of lasagna, add the remaining béchamel, the rest of the nutritional yeast, and the 2 teaspoons of oil. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven at 356°F-392°F for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or more until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Our light vegan lasagna is ready!
What a smell in the kitchen, they are really delicious, look at how beautiful they are inside in the photo:
Serve them with some vegetables or simply with seasoned arugula. We, including the Dutch, loved them very much, I hope you’ll enjoy them too! Let me know below in the comments or in my Facebook Club. I’ll be waiting for you!
Enjoy your meal
by Giovanna Buono
Preparation and Storage
For convenience, you can prepare everything in advance, including the entire lasagna dish.
Both the béchamel and the ragout can be prepared the day before or even much earlier and frozen. Be sure to thaw them well before assembling the lasagna.
You can also cook the whole lasagna and freeze it in large slices. Then just put them in a hot oven for at least 20 minutes and check when they are boiling again.
If you want, you can also briefly boil some spinach and add them between the layers of lasagna, I like it a lot that way too!
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is nutritional yeast?
In this recipe, you will also find nutritional yeast, which is a deactivated yeast rich in vitamin B12. It is widely used in vegan cuisine as it gives dishes a cheesy flavor. To learn more, read here: Nutritional Yeast: what it is, how to use it, and why! You can omit it, but if you do, add some spices to taste to give more flavor to the final dish.
