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Ingredients

Method

  • STEP 1

    Pour 800ml boiling water over the dried porcini and leave for 10 mins until hydrated. Meanwhile pour 1½ tbsp oil into a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt. Cook gently, stirring for 10 mins until soft. Remove the porcini from the liquid, keeping the mushroomy stock and roughly chop. Set both aside.

  • STEP 2

    Add the garlic and thyme to the pan. Cook for 1 min, then stir in the tomato purée and cook for a minute more. Pour in the red wine, if using, cook until nearly reduced, then add the lentils, reserved mushroom stock and cans of tomatoes. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer with the lid on.

  • STEP 3

    Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan. Add 1½ tbsp oil, then tip all of the mushrooms into the pan, including the rehydrated ones. Fry until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are deep golden brown. Pour in the soy sauce. Give everything a good mix, then scrape the mushrooms into the lentil saucepan.

  • STEP 4

    Stir in the Marmite, then continue to cook the ragu, stirring occasionally, over a low to medium heat for 30-45 mins until the lentils are cooked and the sauce is thick and reduced, adding extra water if necessary. Remove the thyme sprigs and season to taste.

  • STEP 5

    Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. To make the white sauce, heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan, whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste, then slowly whisk in the soya milk. Cook until you have a creamy sauce, about 10 mins. Season to taste, adding a good grating of nutmeg.

  • STEP 6

    Spread a third of the ragu on the bottom of your ovenproof dish, then top with six lasagne sheets, followed by another third of the vegan white sauce, then another third of the ragu. Top with the remaining lasagne sheets, then the remaining ragu and finally, spread over the rest of the white sauce. Sprinkle over the nutritional yeast, if using, and bake for 45 mins-1 hr until the pasta is cooked.

Can I freeze vegan lasagne?

Lasagne freezes very well. It can be frozen as individual portions or one large serving. Disposable foil trays are useful for this, or enamel pie dishes. Make sure you cover the top tightly with cling film or foil.

Assemble the layers of the lasagna as per recipe and then wrap tightly and store in the freezer for one month. The lasagne can be defrosted overnight and then cooked as per the recipe.

Can I make vegan lasagne in advance?

You can assemble the lasagne up to 1 day ahead, then chill in the fridge. On cooking, add an extra 15 minutes to the time

How to reheat frozen vegan lasagne

After removing from the freezer, we’d suggest covering the lasagne with foil and initially cooking at 160C/ 140 fan/ gas 3 for around 40 mins. Then take the foil off, turn the heat up and cook as per the recipe or until cooked all the way through.

Are lasagne sheets vegan?

Many brands of lasagne sheets are made with durum wheat flour and water and do not contain egg. Check the ingredients to ensure the sheets you buy do not contain any egg and are suitable for a vegan diet.

How do you make vegan bechamel sauce?

Vegan bechamel sauce is surprisingly easy to make and is thickened in the same way to a traditional dairy bechamel. Any non-dairy milk can be used, we have used soya milk, but you could easily use almond milk, or rice milk, or even oat milk. Just make sure you do not buy a sweetened variety of milk. Flour and olive oil make a good roux which will thicken your bechamel sauce. For further flavour try adding a bay leaf and some grated nutmeg and don’t forget to season generously. Your finished lasagne will benefit from a smattering of nutritional yeast flakes for an extra cheesy flavour.

Variations on vegan lasagne

Although Bolognese is a crowd pleaser, everyone enjoys theirs differently. Some prefer a more vegetable laden sauce whereas others enjoy the umami flavour of marmite and nutritional yeast flakes. We have several recipes for vegan Bolognese which you can substitute into this recipe, including an amazing jackfruit bolognese. You could also try this more traditional vegetarian bolognese which uses Quorn in place of the mince. Just substitute a plant based milk for the dairy in the sauce. If you love this recipe, you may also enjoy these vegan meatballs. The addition of miso and porcini adds a rich depth of flavour to the beans.

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