Welcome! I am so happy you chose to gather around my table. My name is Mia Swinehart and I am a registered dietitian with a passion for simple healthy recipes, women's hormonal health, and overall wellness!
Cozy vibes only! This vegan and gluten free lasagna is seriously the ultimate healthy comfort food. Layers of marinara, fluffy basil cashew ricotta, nourishing veggies, and gluten free pasta. Heaven, is that you?
Happy Friday! We made it! This week felt super long for me, as I’m still slowly recovering from the jet lag since returning from Bali. A 14 hour time difference plus 24 hours of travel has my body all out of whack. Luckily today I am starting to feel back to my normal self, and had some extra motivation to get this recipe up for you before the weekend!
While this recipe has a few steps, it’s surprisingly so simple to make! Plus, it makes a good-sized batch for yummy leftovers (or, to feed a crowd)!
This is going to be a new staple around here, without a doubt. We are huge pasta lovers (if you hadn’t noticed by now lol), and I love making healthier spins on the classics. You can’t go wrong with lasagna! Layers of straight up goodness.
For ease, I use a store bought marinara for this dish. Sort of cheating the system, but I’m all about simplifying things over here! You can use any marinara that you love. As for the noodles, I love Jovial brown rice lasagna, but again, use what you love/can get your hands on!
Got some extra veggies laying around that need to be used up? You can totally toss those in! Just cook them up with the zucchini, and make sure they’re pretty soft before going in the oven.
My favorite part of this dish is the cashew ricotta. You will be so shocked by the texture and taste this cashew-based mixture resembles the real deal. It’s light, fluffy, and super flavorful. I’m obsessed!
When serving this dish, I like to have this with a big side salad, or a side of roasted veggies for an extra nutrient boost. The perfect cozy meal!
I really can’t wait for you guys to try this one! Enjoy! xx
Super simple vegan and gluten free veggie lasagna with cashew ricotta and zucchini!
Ingredients
Scale
FOR THE CASHEW RICOTTA:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in filtered water overnight, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup almond or any dairy free milk
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp honey (agave if you don’t eat honey)
1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
~5 leaves of fresh basil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
For the Lasagna
1 (9 oz) package of gluten free lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions on box
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large zucchinis, thinly sliced into coins or diced into cubes
3 large handfuls of baby spinach
2 (25 oz) jars of marinara sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: red pepper flakes
Instructions
Start by making the cashew ricotta. Allow the cashews to drain well, then add all ingredients to a food processor and process until a ricotta-like texture is formed. this should only take a few minutes tops (you may need to scrape down the sides once or twice). Set aside.
Next, make the lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in baby spinach until just wilted, then turn off heat and set aside.
Assemble the lasagna: In a 9x13in casserole dish, spread out 3/4 cup of marinara at the bottom of the dish. Add 4 lasagna noodles (they can overlap), then spread with a layer of cashew ricotta, some of the veggie mixture, and 1 cup of marinara.
Repeat layers until all noodles are used up, ending with a layer of marinara sauce. Optional: sprinkle top with red pepper flakes.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!
Made this last night for my husband and toddler, and everyone loved it!! I formerly had a go-to vegan/GF lasagna, but this one will be replacing it. I used no-boil GF lasagna noodles from Jovial. I ended up with 3 layers of noodles, and because I used no-boil noodles, I added an extra 1 1/4-ish cups of sauce (so I used up both 25 oz jars of marinara sauce). I added an extra 1/2 cup to the bottom of my pan and then an extra 3/4 cup or so to the top. I also doubled the spinach and that worked just fine. Because of the noodles I chose, I baked for 55 minutes. The cashew ricotta was supreme. Thanks, Mia, for another great recipe!
This recipe was awesome!! Love the cashew “ricotta”, such incredible texture!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Lily!! I’m always amazing how much it resembles real ricotta! Glad you loved it 🙂 Stay safe and healthy this week!
THIS LASAGNA IS BOMB! The ricotta is so delicious and we love making that for other recipes too! Love how super simple and easy this one is!
★★★★★
Made this last night for my husband and toddler, and everyone loved it!! I formerly had a go-to vegan/GF lasagna, but this one will be replacing it. I used no-boil GF lasagna noodles from Jovial. I ended up with 3 layers of noodles, and because I used no-boil noodles, I added an extra 1 1/4-ish cups of sauce (so I used up both 25 oz jars of marinara sauce). I added an extra 1/2 cup to the bottom of my pan and then an extra 3/4 cup or so to the top. I also doubled the spinach and that worked just fine. Because of the noodles I chose, I baked for 55 minutes. The cashew ricotta was supreme. Thanks, Mia, for another great recipe!
★★★★★