Pumpkin Cashew Ricotta Lasagna
This pumpkin lasagna is layered with creamy cheesy cashew-tofu ricotta, rich sage pumpkin sauce, baby spinach, and gooey vegan mozzarella. It’s the perfect hearty, plant-based comfort food for colder months and it's super high in protein!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Sauce
- 1 cup dried red lentils cooked in 3 cups boiled water
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes blended
- 2 kg butternut pumpkin peeled and cubed 3cm
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil for baking pumpkin
- 100 g vegan butter melted
- 20 sage leaves torn
Cashew-tofu Ricotta or 800g Ricotta
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 500 g firm tofu
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Lasagna
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 box lasagna noodles about 12 noodles regular, gluten free or whole grain
Mozzarella Cheese or Shredded Vegan Mozzarella
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup tapioca starch
Instructions
Cook the red lentils.
- Add 1 cup dried red lentils and 3 cups of water to a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Whilst simmering, work on the pumpkin. Drain the lentils in a fine strainer. Set aside.
Mash pumpkin:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Peel the butternut pumpkin. Cut into small cubes around 3cm in size. Place in the baking tray and toss with olive oil. Cook for around 20-30 minutes or until pumpkin is soft enough to squash with a potato masher. Take pumpkin out and mash - it should be nice and soft.
- Make the SDT sauce:
- Place the SDT in a blender and add ½ cup of mashed pumpkin. Add ¼ cup to ½ cup water. Blend. If having trouble blending, add a bit more water, little by little.
Make the sage butter:
- Place butter in small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Once melted, add the minced garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add torn up sage leaves. Cook until the sage is crisp and butter has browned.
Make up pumpkin sauce:
- In a large pot, add the browned button/garlic/sage mixture. Add the mashed pumpkin blended up SDT and cooked soft lentils and give a good stir to combine. Add around ½ to 1 cup of water or veggie stock. Continue adding water little by little until you get a good consistency, not too thick (we don’t want mashed pumpkin), not too thin (we don’t want soup), it should be akin to a thick smoothie.
Make the cashew-tofu ricotta:
- You can use regular or vegan ricotta, but this cashew-tofu version is a delicious alternative. Start by blending the cashews in a food processor until they’re fine and crumbly. Add the tofu (broken into chunks), nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder. Blend until mostly smooth and well mixed. If the mixture is too thick, add a few tablespoons of plant-based milk to help it come together. Set aside.
Assemble the lasagna:
- Soak noodles in warm water for 5 minutes (even if they don’t need to be cooked). I found this beneficial so the noodles didn’t snap or break and also a good idea as this lasagna isn’t very “saucy” so this helps the noodles become moist. Spread about 1 cup of the pumpkin sauce over the base of a large baking dish (roughly 23 × 33 cm / 9 × 13 inches). Lay down 4 lasagna noodles. Spread half the ricotta mixture gently and evenly over the noodles (a spatula helps), then top with half the spinach. Spoon half of the pumpkin sauce on top. Add another 4 lasagna noodles. Spread the remaining ricotta, followed by the rest of the spinach. Top with 4 more lasagna noodles and pour the remaining sauce evenly over everything.
Bake the lasagna:
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Prepare the mozzarella (optional):
- While the lasagna bakes, make the vegan mozzarella if you’re using homemade. Otherwise, you’ll need about 2 cups of store-bought vegan mozzarella. Boil water and pour over cashews in a bowl. Soak for 5–60 minutes. Drain cashews and blend (using blender not food processor) with fresh water, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and tapioca starch until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and stir over medium heat until thick, gooey, and stretchy. Remove from heat immediately. Best used warm while stretchy.
Final bake:
- After 40 minutes, take the lasagna out of the oven, remove the foil, and either dollop or sprinkle the mozzarella on top. Return it to the oven, uncovered, and bake for another 20 minutes. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Storage:
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.