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What do I need to say to get you to believe me that walnuts, zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms make for a very delicious, very feel-good, very cozy and comforting, sauce-bubbling, cheesey-browning, and all-around winning vegetarian lasagna?
I can promise you that all the veggies are blitzed up in the food processor so we have zero watery veggie chunks, and instead they really resemble something more like ground meat (but with better flavor, IMHO)?
I can point out the layer of mascarpone cheese with the grated fresh garlic for a creamy little bite?
I can mention that not only did Bjork and I really, really enjoy this vegetarian lasagna, but our two-year-old also gave it her rare seal of approval and asked for, um, thirds?
How Make Vegetarian Lasagna Happen
Who knew vegetarian lasagna could be so fun and so good.
It starts with an easy vegetarian bolognese featuring veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots – although those are fairly interchangeable with whatever you like and whatever you have on hand – plus a handful of walnuts which really make it into something special and filling. You can make your own marinara, but I have a personal rule that if I’m making something that’s going to involve several steps of layering and such, I will take the opportunity to use my favorite jarred sauce, thank you very much.
Your plants-only bolognese gets tucked in between lasagna noodles (unboiled – I prefer to let the oven do the work for me) and several layers of cheese, including that creamy mascarpone layer that is flecked with a clove of fresh grated garlic that really takes the whole thing to the next flavor level.
The smells, the texture, the whole mood in the house while this is baking…
Crave-able and super satisfying. Highly recommend.
Vegans Welcome, Too!
I would like to note – we did try making a cheese-less version of this that was pretty good, but I couldn’t get Bjork’s approval on that one. I guess for us, we needed the cheese for it to feel like a good solid lasagna.
That being said, if you are vegan, I have used the vegan bechamel from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley and that made for a really nice, creamy replacement to the mascarpone and other cheese in between the layers. You could probably also use vegan cheese shreds or a vegan cream cheese like Tofutti.
Whether you’re doing the vegetarian cheesy version, or something totally cheese-less and vegan, this is one of my favorite fun and interesting and plant-forward ways to eat a big ol’ saucy, bubbly pan of lasagna.
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Common Questions About This Vegetarian Lasagna
Can I chop all my veggies at one time? Yep! You could chop all your veggies in the food processor at the same time if you have a big enough food processor! However, I prefer to do it in batches because a) my food processor doesn’t fit all these veggies at once, and b) that allows you to put the softer stuff together, and the firmer stuff together, which helps them all chop more uniformly.
Can I freeze leftovers? You can! We’d recommend just storing leftovers in a freezer-safe container.
What can I substitute for mascarpone? You could use ricotta cheese instead.
Can I make this lasagna vegan? We tried making this without cheese and it received a thumbs up me but not from Bjork. We liked the vegan bechamel though from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley – this worked really well as a creamy cheese replacement.