As an Italian, I love lasagna. As a busy eco-preneur, wife and mother, I love easy recipes too. So, here is a wonderfully easy lasagna that also tastes great! It comes from the Whole Foods Market collection of recipes and is vegan besides! I’ve added some variations to the recipe in italics. Bon apetito!
SIMPLE VEGAN TOFU LASAGNA
Serves 8
For the best presentation, choose a mix of red, yellow, green or orange bell peppers.
Ingredients:
Natural cooking spray
1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic granules (I prefer to use fresh garlic–2 to 3 cloves)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (25-ounce) jars vegan marinara sauce (when I buy ready-made sauce, I look for organic versions without added sugar)
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped (feel free to add additional veggies–my favorite to include is spinach)
12 no-boil dried lasagna noodles (I prefer to use rice pasta noodles)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a (9- x 13-inch) baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much water as possible, changing the paper towels once or twice as needed. Transfer tofu to a large bowl and add yeast, garlic, salt and pepper and mash with a fork. (If you prefer, you can add these ingredients to your food processor and make a tofu puree.) Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Add peppers and continue simmering until tender, about 10 minutes.
Spoon enough marinara sauce into prepared dish to cover the bottom and then arrange 4 noodles on top. Spread one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles and then spoon more sauce over the tofu. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with sauce. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.
If you do not require a true vegan dish, you can sprinkle goat/sheep feta on top during the last 5 minutes of cooking with the foil removed.
