Lasagna made with fresh vegan pasta layers of roasted tomato, eggplant, and zucchini. A quick cashew and tofu ricotta is spiked with fresh basil to substitute for ricotta cheese. Lastly, roasted tomato juices are poured over the top for the final stage of cooking.
This roasted tomato, eggplant, and zucchini lasagna with pesto tofu ricotta takes multiple steps but it is oh-so-worth it!
Once I have all my mise en place together the first step is to make the pesto tofu ricotta. I had previously written this recipe for quick wonton ravioli and I think the filling is perfect for this lasagna. You can find the pesto tofu ricotta recipe here- Pesto Tofu Ricotta
Next, make the vegetable filling. Cook the onion, pepper, eggplant, and zucchini in a pan until the veg is softened. Add the roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, basil, and half of the roasted tomato juice. Set aside to let cool.
We have the ricotta and the veg all sorted out and now we just need pasta sheets. You could use store-bought lasagna sheets if you’re in a pinch, but I recommend making fresh pasta if you have a pasta machine. Fresh pasta almost always uses eggs, which is a no-go here, but I believe you’ll be floored at how good my fresh vegan pasta dough is! Seriously, give it a try- Fresh Vegan Pasta Dough
Once you have all the elements ready it’s very easy to assemble and cook. The recipe is below!
Roasted Tomato, Eggplant, and Zucchini Lasagna with Pesto Tofu Ricotta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small onion peeled and cut into thin half moons
- 1 zucchini cut in half and then into thin half moons
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into thin strips
- 1 small eggplant peeled (optional) and cut into quarter moons
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 basil leaves
- 5 roasted tomato halves chopped
- 3 roasted garlic cloves chopped
- .5 Cup roasted tomato juice
- 1 recipe vegan pasta dough
- 1 recipe pesto tofu ricotta
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, eggplant, zucchini, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often until all the veg is softened.
- Add the roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, basil, and half of the roasted tomato juice. Cook for 5 minutes more. Set aside to cool and discard the bay leaf.
- Make the pesto tofu ricotta according to the instructions. Set aside.
- Make the fresh vegan pasta dough according to the instructions. Lay the pasta sheets out on a clean work surface and cut into 20 pieces that are 6” long and 3” wide.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cut pasta strips to the boiling water one at a time. Cook until the pasta floats to the surface. Scoop out each pasta sheet, drains and run under cold water or submerge in an ice bath.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Brush a medium baking dish with extra virgin olive oil. Line the dish with half of the pasta, leaving 2” of excess pasta to drape over the side.
- Spoon half of the vegetable mixture on the pasta. Spread half of the pesto tofu ricotta on top of the veg. Cover this layer with pasta strips trimmed to fit the pan. Add the other half of the veg mix and then the rest of the pesto tofu ricotta on top of that.
- Trim the rest of the pasta sheets to fit the pan exactly, lay them over the filling, then fold the draped edges of the bottom pasta layer over the top to seal.
- Drizzle the top with extra virgin olive oil and bake for 25 minutes. Pour the remaining roasted tomato juice over the lasagna and continue to cook for 20 minutes more. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
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