Dutch Oven Lasagna – WFPB – Vegan – Omnivore Approved
Wrapping up a whirlwind summer, we camped with friends last weekend and had a dutch oven potluck. I’d never really done much dutch oven cooking, but didn’t want to miss out the potluck! We’d recently made vegan lasagna that was a huge hit, and I figured it would be unique and convert to the dutch oven just fine, especially since there was nothing that needed to really cook through to make sure we didn’t get salmonella or anything. Just getting it nice and warm was enough!
It was a total hit with everyone, from those who appreciate healthy to those who had no idea it wasn’t packed with regular cheese!
Dutch oven care is something of an art. I found some great info on care and seasoning here. The primary thing you’ll see is that acidic food such as tomatoes can remove the seasoning of your dutch oven. I opted to line the dutch oven with two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil and had an almost spotless dutch oven when I finished. I don’t know if the dutch oven purists would do this but it worked great for me.
Finding all of the ingredients ended up trickier than I expected: my typical hummus go-to places (Costco & Sprouts) didn’t have the roasted garlic, but I did find it at Wal-Mart and King Soopers (Kroger). I also tried blending some roasted garlic from the Sprouts olive bar into regular hummus and that worked. But I have also used classic hummus in a pinch and it was still delicious.
It appears that whole grain lasagna noodles may be becoming a thing of the past . . . I happened to pick up a box on clearance at Sprouts a few months back. When I looked recently I could only find gluten-free noodles. Wal-Mart didn’t have any, and King Soopers did have some but they were on close out! So I bought the last six boxes they had and may be buying these or these on Amazon in the future! But certainly gluten-free or your noodles of choice are an option, I’ve even experimented using thinly sliced zucchini for some of the noodles with some success.
Everyone who knew it was vegan was asking what the cheese combination was. And I think everyone else assumed it was ricotta! You really would never guess this is devoid of animal products.
One of the beauties of this recipe for a dutch oven novice like me is a wide window of doneness. I practiced at home before the potluck and after 35 minutes or so it was fairly warm and the noodles were slightly more firm than I would have liked, but certainly would have satisfied my hungry kids had I not already had to go to a Plan B because we got a late start on a busy night. I added a few more coals, took the little boys on a bike ride around the block, and after another 20-30 minutes it was nice and hot and just right. Another time I needed to start it early and left it for more than 3 hours and it was perfect. I think as long as you put 2/3 to 3/4 of your coals on top, you avoid burning it and should be pretty safe.
I never pre-boil lasagna noodles, even the whole grain ones that say you should. I’ve found that if I soak them in some hot water while I prep the other ingredients, am generous with the sauce, and cook until the sauce is bubbly they turn out great every time. You can add the spinach in your preferred method, or leave it out. I always buy bagged leafy greens and freeze them so they are on hand for smoothies. These are nice because I can crush the frozen greens and the frozen greens are quickly in small pieces, no knife or cutting board required! But fresh spinach or a box of frozen should work just as well and feel free to be more or less generous according to your taste.
I assembled the lasagna at home several hours before cooking which worked perfectly. This is also easily made in a casserole dish in the oven, see notes in recipe.
| Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Cook Time | 45 minutes |
| Passive Time | 45 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 8-9 whole grain lasagna noodles or gluten-free if needed (12 for 9x13 casserole)
- 12-16 ounces white mushrooms, diced
- 3-4 cups fresh or frozen spinach or more or less to taste
- 8-10 cups marinara sauce
- 2 14oz packages Extra Firm or Firm Tofu drained and patted dry
- 1 10 oz container roasted garlic hummus classic hummus will work if needed
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup raw cashews soaked ahead of time if you don't have a high powered blender
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 TBSP tapioca starch
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
Ingredients
Tofu Ricotta
Moxarella Cheese, optional
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- Soak noodles in a casserole dish full of hot water while you prepare other ingredients (no need to boil!). You may wish lay dry noodles in a layer in your dutch oven or casserole dish to ensure you have the right amount of noodles for 3 layers.
- Saute diced mushrooms in water, or a splash of vegetable broth or oil. When mushrooms have browned, add spinach and stir til wilted. Add 6 cups marinara sauce and turn off heat.
- Mix your drained tofu, hummus, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until it resembles ricotta cheese.
- Make Moxarella Cheese by blending all ingredients on high until smooth. Pour into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until thickened to a melted cheese consistency.
- Layer your lasagna: a. 1 cup plain marinara (not the vegetable mixture) b. 2 1/3 noodles to evenly cover bottom c. 1/2 tofu ricotta mixture d. 1/2 mushroom/marinara mixture e. repeat a second layer of noodles, remaining tofu, mushroom/marinara d. final layer of noodles e. 1 cup marinara f. moxarella cheese
- Bake - we used about 30 charcoals, 8 on the bottom and the rest on the top and it was ready in about 45 minutes. Ideally it will be bubbling and the moxarella will be slightly browned. It's very hard to burn in the dutch oven, so it's best to cook it a little too long that too short.
To make this recipe in a 9x13 casserole dish, simply use an additional 1/2 cup sauce on the first and last layer and soak additional noodles to ensure you have enough for each layer. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.
Adapted from The Best Easy Vegan Lasagna and Moxarella Cheese