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This Meatless Meat Lasagna delivers all the rich flavors of the Italian classic, thanks to layers of richly seasoned plant-based red sauce, layers of ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese with lasagna noodles. This meaty lasagna gets all of its flavor from whole foods and no meat substitute products.
It’s the ultimate comfort food dish and it’s perfect for weeknights meals as well as special family dinners like the holidays.
Recipes like my Vegetarian Pot Pie and Mushroom Stroganoff are great for when you want a classic comfort food meal with no meat. Whether you’re a meat eater or a vegetarian, this is one of my vegetarian recipes you’ll want in your recipe box!
We appreciate your support
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Does it taste like meaty lasagna?
Yes! This meatless meat lasagna with ricotta cheese tastes just as good as a regular meat lasagna. But with less fat, grease, and calories. Even the meat eaters in my family agree!
So whatever your reason for wanting to eat less meat, whether you’re vegetarian, looking to eliminate red meat due to heart-health reasons, or maybe you don’t want to try those meat substitute products, you’ll love this meatless meat lasagna recipe.
What can I substitute for meat in lasagna?
When I first made this meatless sauce from ATK, I thought it would be great for lasagna, and it’s been on my list of things to make for you for a number of years. Well, I finally made it and I think it’s amazing!
It might just be the best substitute for meat that I’ve found.
The sauce, and therefore the lasagna, uses whole foods with lots of umami flavor like mushrooms, chickpeas, and tomatoes.
How to make
This easy meatless meat lasagna recipe has two basic steps. Make the sauce. Then assemble the lasagna. The sauce makes a nice big pot full of rich red pasta sauce. But, if you want, you could actually double the sauce recipe so you can use some of it in the lasagna, and have leftover sauce for pasta.
Both the sauce and the lasagna freeze well, so they’re great for meal-prep. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Lol
First, you’ll make the sauce. I included the sauce directions in the recipe card. You’ll have more sauce than you’ll need for the lasagna. If you want to see photos of how to make the sauce, hop over to the meatless meat sauce post.
Once you have your sauce made, you’ll be ready to start making the lasagna. It’s actually really easy to make. Just some layering. Then, bake it up in the oven.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and 2/3 of the mozzarella. Set aside.
Lightly coat a 12×8 or 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon ½ cup of the sauce in the dish.
Top with 3 lasagna noodles, breaking the noodles to fit as needed. Spoon ¼ of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with 1 cup of sauce.
Top with 3 more noodles, pressing down a bit on the noodles, and continuing to layer like this until all the cheese is used. Add last 3 lasagna noodles, and remaining sauce. Dot the top with remaining chopped mozzarella and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
Cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Let stand, covered, on a rack for 20 minutes before serving.
Storage and reheating
It’s Great for Meal Prep, and there are a few ways you can go about making it ahead.
To prepare ahead of time and bake later: Assemble the lasagna in an oven-safe container. Cover unbaked lasagna tightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven as directed, and bake an additional 10 minutes (or a total of 60 minutes).
For leftovers: Leftovers means easy weekday lunches! Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat them in the microwave or in a 350° F oven until the bubbly and warmed through.
Can I freeze it?
It freezes really well. Store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month.
I like to store in individual servings. Have you seen these {affiliate link} Souper Cubes for storage? I love them!
When you’re ready, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat as desired.
Serving Suggestions
Complete your lasagna meal with your favorite green salad and crusty bread https://lifecurrentsblog.com/no-knead-parmesan-rosemary-bread/ .
Changes to the recipe
Add in some veggies like spinach, zucchini, or red peppers. Especially roasted red peppers would be awesome.
Feel free to add more cheese to the top. And switch up the cheese using cottage cheese instead of ricotta if you like.
More lasagna recipes
I’m a sucker for a great lasagna. Maybe that’s because it’s so easy to make a complete meal out of them, and they make such great leftovers.
Be sure to check out some of my other lasagna recipes as well.
with roasted butternut squash
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Recipe
Meatless Meat Lasagna
Ingredients
Sauce (you won’t need the whole amount for the lasagna):
- 10 ounces cremini mushrooms trimmed
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided use
- Salt and pepper
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1¼ teaspoons dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Lasagna
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella shredded
- 5 & ½ cups meatless meat sauce
- 15 no-boil lasagna noodles
- ½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make sauce:
- Pulse mushrooms in two batches in food processor until chopped into 8- to 1-inch pieces, 7 to 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (Do not clean workbowl.)10 ounces cremini mushrooms
- Heat 5 tablespoons oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and fond has formed on bottom of pot, about 8 minutes.6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, Salt and pepper
- While mushrooms cook, pulse onion in food processor until finely chopped, 7 to 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (Do not clean workbowl.) Transfer onion to pot with mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.1 onion
- Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes in bowl, and set aside.5 garlic cloves, 1¼ teaspoons dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add tomato paste to pot and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is rust-colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and push vegetables to sides of pot. Add garlic mixture to center and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.6 ounces tomato paste, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, 2 cups vegetable broth
- While sauce simmers, pulse chickpeas in food processor until chopped into ¼-inch pieces, 7 to 10 pulses. Transfer chickpeas to fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well. Add chickpeas to pot and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.15 ounce can chickpeas
- Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Make lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and 2/3 of the mozzarella. Set aside.15 ounces ricotta cheese, 8 ounces mozzarella
- Lightly coat a 12×8 or 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon ½ cup of the sauce in the dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, breaking the noodles to fit as needed. Spoon ¼ of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with 1 cup of sauce.5 & ½ cups meatless meat sauce, 15 no-boil lasagna noodles, ½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- Top with 3 more noodles, pressing down a bit on the noodles, and continuing to layer like this until all the cheese is used. Add last 3 lasagna noodles, and remaining sauce. Dot the top with remaining chopped mozzarella and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Let stand, covered, on a rack for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Debi
Lasagna is one of my favorite meals – I make it once and get several days of delicious leftovers. The Meatless meat sauce in this is so good. Hearty without being greasy. I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we do! ~ Debi, author, Life Currents