Weeknight Stovetop Lasagna

All the delicious, comforting flavors of traditional lasagna in less than half the time! This plant-based Stovetop Lasagna starts with bright Italian seasonings, meaty mushrooms, toothsome french green lentils, and tangy marinara. Cheesy cashew cream is stirred into the sauce, making it deliciously rich and creamy. Then, it's served over fresh, chewy lasagna noodles. Enjoy sprinkled with your favorite cashew parmesan and a side of veggies!

Please continue reading beneath the recipe card for additional help/info on this recipe.

Yield: 6

Author: Courtney Crary- Not Like Mama

Weeknight Stovetop Lasagna

prep time: 30 Mcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 60 M

All the delicious, comforting flavors of traditional lasagna in less than half the time! This plant-based Stovetop Lasagna starts with bright Italian seasonings, meaty mushrooms, toothsome french green lentils, and tangy marinara. Cheesy cashew cream is stirred into the sauce, making it deliciously rich and creamy. Then, it's served over fresh, chewy lasagna noodles. Enjoy sprinkled with your favorite cashew parmesan and a side of veggies!

ingredients:

For the Sauce and Pasta

1 yellow onion, diced
7 cloves garlic
2 cups dried mushrooms
1/2 cup french green lentils, dry (or black lentils)
24oz marinara sauce
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
32oz vegetable broth, low-sodium
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 box lasagna noodles, whole-wheat (or another large, flat noodle)

For the Cashew Cream

1/2 cup cashews (see notes if you do not have a high speed blender)
2 Tbsp white mellow miso paste
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup water

instructions:

How to cook Weeknight Stovetop Lasagna

For the Sauce and Pasta

Put the dehydrated mushrooms in a large glass bowl and cover with boiling-hot water. Allow to rehydrate in the hot water for 10-15 minutes. Then strain and dice (you can save and freeze the mushroom broth as a delicious addition to other pasta/soup recipes).
Heat a large pot over medium heat.
Add the onions to the pot. Saute, stirring frequently, until translucent.
Add the garlic, fennel seed, soy sauce, diced mushrooms and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and the mushrooms have slightly browned (about 4 minutes).
Use about 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth to deglaze the pot (scrape up any bits stuck on to the bottom of the pot)..
Add the Italian seasoning, vegetable broth, marinara sauce, canned tomatoes, and lentils. Stir to combine, then cover and bring to a gentle boil.
Allow to gently boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
While the sauce boils, prepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions.
Once the lentils are tender, stir in the cashew cream.
Serve the sauce in a bowl over 3 or 4 of the noodles. Garnish with vegan cashew parmesan, more red pepper flakes, or some fresh basil. Serve with a large, green salad like this one.

For the Cashew Cream

To a high speed blender, add the cashews, miso paste, nutritional yeast, and water.
Blend on the lowest speed, then gradually increase to the highest speed.
Blend on high for about a minute, until the cream is perfectly smooth. Depending on your blender, you may have to stop and scrape down the sides occasionally.

NOTES:

-If you do not own a high speed blender, soak your cashews in boiling hot water for 15-30 minutes. Doing so softens the cashews and makes them easier to blend into a cream.

-While you could use fresh mushrooms in this recipe, I've tried it both ways and have found that I prefer dried. I get the "Dried Forest Mushrooms" at my local Whole Foods. They're cheaper than fresh, come with a variety of mushroom types, and will keep in the pantry for a long time. I also just prefer their texture in this recipe. That being said, if you can't get your hands on dried mushrooms OR you prefer fresh, feel free to sub the dried mushrooms for about 4 cups of fresh.

-DO NOT use any variety of lentils other than French Green or Black/Beluga!! These are the only two lentil varieties that hold their shape well enough to be used as a meat replacement. While black/beluga lentils can be challenging to find, most stores do carry dried french green lentils.

-To crush your fennel seeds, simply put them in a sealed ziplock bag and bash them repeatedly with a rolling pin or other blunt object. Doing so releases the natural oils that are trapped in the seed, which have a VERY potent licorice flavor (not very nice to bite into). Fennel seeds that have been crushed have a much more subtle, pleasant flavor like you find in Italian cured meats.

Calories

561.34

Fat (grams)

10.08

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.83

Carbs (grams)

110.60

Fiber (grams)

20.73

Net carbs

89.87

Sugar (grams)

13.25

Protein (grams)

22.02

Sodium (milligrams)

1493.91

Cholesterol (grams)

2.69

Watching your sodium intake? The majority of the sodium in this recipe comes from the canned goods (marinara sauce, tomato sauce, vegetable broth, etc). While shopping, select the brands with the lowest sodium amounts available. This will help keep your sodium intake far below this estimated amount.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @notlikemama on instagram and hashtag it #notlikemama

Created using The Recipes Generator

I love lasagna, but let’s be real- it’s not a quick and easy dinner. Especially if you make everything from scratch. This stovetop recipe allows me to get my lasagna fix without the slog. The seasoning, along with the lentils, recreate the taste and texture of Italian sausage. The mushrooms add a nice chewy texture, and the cashew cream gives the soup a velvety finish.

Originally, my intent was to make this recipe into a Lasagna soup. I even had uploaded it to this website in it’s soup form. I now prefer it as more of a sauce-over-noodles situation because it reheats better that way! This recipe makes A LOT of servings, especially if you serve it with a side of veggies. I estimate six servings, but it may be more like 7 or 8. For a family of 2, that means lots of leftovers. When you reheat the recipe in its soup form, the noodles begin to disintegrate (as overcooked noodles tend to do). That being said, if you want to eat this as a soup, here’s how to do it:

MAKE THIS RECIPE AS A SOUP:

*Break the dry lasagna noodles up into bite-sized pieces.

*After adding the lentils, broth, and marinara to the pot, add two additional cups of water or broth (the broth created from rehydrating the mushrooms works great), cover partially, and bring to a gentle boil. Allow to gently boil for 20 minutes.

*Add the broken lasagna noodles to the pot and stir to combine. Partially cover, and continue boiling for 10 minutes or until the lasagna noodles are al-dente.

*The resulting soup will be fairly thick- almost like a stew. Serve in bowls topped with your favorite cashew parmesan and a side of veggies.

*If you have leftovers, when you reheat the soup it will turn into more of a “skillet lasagna” texture because the noodles continue to absorb the moisture like delicious sponges. It’s still tasty- just not so “soupy”.

RECIPE NOTES:

I’ve tried this recipe with fresh and dried mushrooms. I ended up preferring the dried, as they added a more distinct texture. Having worked on this recipe for over a year, trying many different versions, I’ve noticed that the brand of dried mushrooms you buy affects the amount of time they need to rehydrate. Costco used to sell a giant container of dried mushrooms. Those needed to soak in boiling hot water for 30 minutes. The dried mushrooms I’ve been buying from Whole Foods rehydrate in about 5 minutes. So, pay attention to your chosen mushrooms and let them bathe a bit longer if they’re still dense and hard to chew after 15 minutes.
This recipe reheats wonderfully for leftovers, especially if you store the noodles separately from the sauce. You will be one happy camper if you eat this for lunch throughout the week! The sauce alone will freeze very well in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Thanks to the soy sauce and miso paste, this soup was perfectly salted for my palate. Feel free to add more salt if needed.
As noted in the recipe card, DO NOT use any other kind of lentils than french green or black/beluga! Those are the ONLY two varieties of lentils that hold their shape enough to be used as a meat replacement. Other kinds of lentils will turn to mush after simmering for 30 minutes and no one wants that. You can find dried, French Green lentils with the dried beans in most grocery stores! Black/beluga lentils are harder to find, but both varieties will work great.
Repeating what a wrote in the recipe card again, it is important to crush your fennel seeds before using them. I didn’t know this when I first started cooking with fennel seeds. I made a spaghetti with them, and every few bites I would crush one of the seeds and the extremely potent taste of black licorice filled my mouth. After that, I realized that fennel seeds contain licorice-tasting oils and to release them, they must be broken. Once they’re broken, they have a much more subtle, pleasant flavor (like you find in Italian cured meats).
If you do not have a high speed blender, soak your cashews in boiling water for about 15 minutes! This softens the nuts and makes them easier to turn into a chunk-free cream.
It’s not necessary to roll the lasagna noodles up- I just thought they photographed better that way. Just put a few in a bowl and cover them with sauce!

This special recipe has been in the works for over one year and has seen many iterations. Once upon a time, it was a soup. Once, it had tempeh that required additional steps. Once, it had several additional ingredients. Now, it has been paired down and simplified to make it a truly simple, delicious recipe for any stressful night of the week. I’m confident that this recipe will impress your meat-loving friends and picky kiddos alike.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know by tagging me on Instagram @notlikemama ! I love to see your versions of my recipes!

May this recipe satisfy any craving for laborious traditional lasagna and become a new family favorite.

Happy Cooking,

Courtney