Zucchini Lasagna
This Zucchini Lasagna is worth the time it takes to make. It’s composed of sliced zucchini noodles, cashew or almond ricotta, mushrooms, spinach, marinara and pesto.
You can eat this lasagna raw or bake it. I tend to eat it raw in the summer and bake it the rest of the time.
To make the zucchini noodles, a mandolin is very helpful for slicing the zucchini lengthwise, thin and evenly.
For the ricotta, you can use cashews or almonds that have been soaked for at least an hour. Blanched almonds will give you a creamy white ricotta, but it’s not necessary. Tofu can also be a substitute for the nuts.
The marinara is made in a blender combining sundried tomatoes with fresh tomatoes and herbs.
I use a food processor to chop the mushrooms and spinach and evenly layer them.
Pesto is made with basil or a combination of basil and spinach, olive oil, nuts, lemon, and garlic blended together.
This Zucchini Lasagna can be made in a casserole dish or on individual plates, if eating it raw. It’s really good both raw and cooked.
Let me know if you try it.
Vegan Zucchini Lasagna
Equipment
- blender
- 9X13 casserole dish
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce:
- 1 ½ C sun-dried tomatoes soaked in water until soft
- 2 dates soaked with tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- ¼ cup red onion
- 2-3 cups fresh tomatoes chopped
- ½ Tbs dried basil or ¼ cup fresh
- ½ Tbs dried oregano
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos or Braggs
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Nut Ricotta
- 2 C cashews or almonds soak for 1 hour, use blanched if desire no skins
- 1 Tbs Lemon juice
- 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
- ½ yellow pepper chopped
- 1 small garlic clove minced
- Dash of nutmeg
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ cup water as needed
- 2 Tbs fresh parsley
Spinach and Mushroom Layer
- 3 C spinach torn or chopped
- 8 oz mushrooms chopped fine
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- ½ tsp sea salt
Zucchini Noodles
- 4 Zucchini, medium sized, sliced lengthwise use mandolin
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Pesto
- 2 cups basil or 1/2 spinach
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or hemp seeds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
For Marinara
- Combine all the marinara ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
For Nut Ricotta
- Add all ingredients except the parsley to food processor and blend until smooth adding water as needed to achieve fluffy consistency. Stir in the parsley.
For Spinach and Mushroom Layer
- Chop the spinach and mushrooms. I like to put them in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Mix together spinach and mushrooms in a bowl, add salt and oil and massage to soften and wilt.
For Zucchini Noodles
- Slice zucchini lengthwise to 1/4 inch thickness using a mandolin. Lay on a parchment lined sheet pan.
- Brush zucchini with oil and sprinkle with salt, let marinate for approximately 10 mins.
For Pesto
- Add all except the oil to a blender or food processor, start on low and as it blends, pour in the oil through the lid hole. Otherwise add everything and blend, stopping to scrape the sides and push ingredients toward the blades. Blend again until a smooth consistency is reached.
For Assembly:
- Line base of casserole dish with zucchini strips, slightly overlapping
- Spread half of the cheese mixture over zucchini, then layer ½ the spinach and mushrooms, followed by 1/3 of the marinara, dollop with pesto and another layer of zucchini.
- Repeat layers, finishing with Marinara. Add pesto to garnish the top.
- To eat it raw, refrigerate for a couple hours to firm up a bit before slicing. You can make individual raw lasagnas on a plate by using two slices of zucchini as the base and layering the ingredients on top. Top it with pesto and tomato slices.
- To Bake, heat oven to 350℉, and cook for an hour.
- Store leftovers, refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Notes