Creamy Squash Lasagna, Vegan + Gluten Free

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CREAMY SQUASH LASAGNA WITH SAGE, SPINACH AND BEANS. Vegan + Gluten Free

This Creamy Squash and Spinach Lasagna recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for the Fall and Winter season. This recipe uses a cashew cheese sauce to make it incredibly creamy. It also marries the flavours of squash, sage and spinach… a trio that was made for each other. It also has plant-based protein from the can of cannellini beans I decided to add last minute.

Like any lasagna, this baby requires a little prep and time in the kitchen to make all the magic come together. I roasted a kabocha squash earlier in the afternoon so when it was time to get cooking, I was ready:)

You could use regular noddles but I experimented and used lentil pasta lasagna noodles. They worked like a charm and would highly recommend playing with different gluten-free options.

WHAT YOU NEED

  • 1 squash (I used kabocha but a butternut would work perfectly)
  • 1 large sweet onion or yellow onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 5 cups of spinach
  • 1 can of cannellini beans
  • 1 box of gluten free lasagna noodles
  • 1 1/2 cups of raw cashews (soaked is best but not mandatory)
  • 3/4 cups of nutritional yeast 
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup of almond milk (or any milk would do)
  • 1/2 cup of fresh chopped sage or 1 tbsp of dried sage

WHAT TO DO

  1. Start by chopping your squash and getting it into the oven to bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until tender. I seasoned it with a little salt, pepper and olive oil.
  2. Once the squash is baked you can set it aside and allow it to cool. 
  3. In a large pot, get your water boiling to cook the lasagna noodles.
  4. Chop onion, add to a pan and sauté in a little olive oil over medium heat until the onion is soft and fragrant. Add 3 cloves of crushed garlic and sage then sauté for another minute.
  5. Boil your noodles until almost completely cooked. MAKE SURE TO NOT OVERCOOK! You don’t want them to be mushy or hard to deal with:)
  6. To make the cashew cheese sauce, in a high-speed blender, blend cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast and vegetable broth. You want the mixture to be thick and creamy, not runny and thin.
  7. Prep the squash by mashing it up a little so that it’s thick and chunky.
  8. Now it’s time to start building your lasagna. Start with a 1/2 cup of the cashew cheese sauce on the bottom of your lasagna baking dish. 
  9. Next, lay down one layer on lasagna noodle. Top with 1/2 of the squash mixture, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the beans and 1/2 of the spinach.
  10. Pour 1/2 of the cashew cheese sauce over top all the veggies and beans and start again.
  11. Lay down the second layer of noddles. Cover with the rest of the ingredients (rest of squash, beans, onion, and spinach).
  12. Lay down the third layer of noddles cover by the remaining cashew cheese sauce.
  13. I topped my lasagna with a pumpkin parmesan, found here. This step is optional:) 
  14. Bake the lasagna covered with tinfoil for 40 minutes then remove foil and bake for another 15-20 uncovered. Remove lasagna and allow to settle and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
  15. Serve and enjoy!

This dish makes the best leftovers! OMG, it was so good the next day served with a vegan caesar salad.