A delicious autumn lasagne, with a creamy mushroom, tofu and spinach filling, with layers of silky butternut béchamel and tender lasagne sheets. This is a twist on a classic lasagne - a creamy and indulgent tasting vegan white lasagne - spinach and ricotta-style - without any tomato sauce.
This recipe makes 6 generous portions and prep is pretty simple too, so it's more than worth the extra effort and once you've tasted the delicious herby mushroom filling and the sweet, nutty butternut béchamel you'll be wondering when you can make it again!
You start by making the mushroom filling - a savoury base of mushrooms and garlic, with mixed herbs, white wine, crumbled tofu, toasted pinenuts and chopped baby spinach. The béchamel is a super simple blender sauce of cooked butternut with cashews, nutritional yeast and a few other seasonings - you could also sub in pumpkin for the butternut squash. These are then layered up between lasagne sheets and baked for 45 mins, until golden and crispy around the edges.
This lasagne is also pretty nutrient-rich - the tofu delivering protein, calcium and iron, spinach delivering good amounts of vitamin K and A. Butternut is rich in vitamin A and C - helping to boost iron absorption and keeping the immune system healthy too! Cashews contain good amounts of protein and fibre, but are also rich in minerals such as magnesium, copper, manganese and also contain some iron too.
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Mushroom, Spinach & Butternut Lasagne | Serves: 6 | Prep time: 25 mins | Cook time: 45 mins
You'll need
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Veg peeler
- Sauté pan
- Saucepan
- Colander
- High-speed blender
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Large baking dish (mine was 30cmx25cm)
Ingredients
Mushroom filling
- Olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 500g mushrooms (I used button and chestnut)
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
- 1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 block firm tofu, crumbled
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
- 150g baby spinach
- 1 tbsp chopped basil or sage
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- Pinch nutmeg
Béchamel
- 1 small butternut (500g once prepped) - dice and boil in salted water 10 mins
- 1 cup cashews
- 3 cups water
- 1 heaped tsp red or white miso
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pinch black pepper
- Pinch nutmeg
To assemble:
- 300g vegan dried lasagne sheets
- Dried parsley, chili flakes and nutmeg to garnish
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan and grease the baking dish with oil.
- Add a splash of oil to a sauté pan on medium heat. Dice the onion and cook for a few minutes until softened, then crush in the garlic, roughly chop the mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the herbs, mustard and white wine. Turn up the heat and cook until the liquid has fully reduced.
- Meanwhile, bring a medium pan of salted water to the boil. Then peel the butternut squash, remove the ends and chop down the middle. Scoop out the seeds, dice into 2-3cm pieces and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
- Once the wine has reduced in the sauté pan, crumble in the tofu and add the pinenuts, roughly chop the spinach and add to the pan along with the fresh herbs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir together until the spinach has wilted and place to one side.
- Add the cooked squash and remaining ingredients for the béchamel into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. If your blender can't blend hot liquids, run the butternut under cold water to cool fully before blending.
- To assemble the lasagne, spread 1/3 of the mushroom mix over the bottom of the greased baking dish. Top with 1/4 of the béchamel (~350ml) and top with a single layer of lasagne sheets*. Repeat this twice more, for a total of 3 layers of lasagne sheets, then spread over the final layer of béchamel. Sprinkle over a little dried parsley, chili flakes and ground nutmeg.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until fully cooked through and a little golden and crisp around the edges**.
- Allow to sit for 5-10 mins after removing from the oven to settle and this will make it easier to cut. Slice into 6 pieces and remove with a spatula. Serve up with a side salad or some sautéed greens and enjoy!
Notes
*If you lasagne sheets don't fit your baking dish you may need to break some of them. Score them first with a knife and this will make them easier to snap with your hands.
**All ovens are different, so if your lasagne is getting a little too golden towards the end of cooking, cover with foil for the remainder of the cook time. Or, for an extra crispy lasagne, don't cover bake for a further 5 minutes.
