Vegan Gluten free Zucchini Lasagna with creamy Tofu Herb Ricotta and Red Lentils! Grain-free, can be nut-free. 15 G of Protein. Can be made ahead. Soy-free option Jump to Recipe
Sometimes you need a hearty lasagna, all the layers and fix ins, but less the gluten! This Zucchini Lasagna fits right in.
With layers of your favorite red pasta sauce, some super creamy tofu herb ricotta, zucchini, and red lentils for added texture and protein, this lasagna comes together quickly, needs just 1 food processor. No need to cook the lentils! Just mix them into the marinara sauce or sprinkle them when layering. There is enough moisture to cook them and enough baking time! Make sure to use the split red lentils. Or use veggie crumbles or other vegan meat subs.
Ingredients for this Zucchini Lasagna
- A favorite store bought marinara sauce or herbed pasta sauce or homemade.
- Thinly sliced zucchini
- dried split red lentils for texture and protein. Use cooked lentils if using whole lentils, or use veggie crumbles or other vegan protein additions.
- For the Tofu Ricotta, you need tofu, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, almond flour oregano, garlic, basil and spinach.
How to make Zucchini Lasagna with Step Pictures
Make the tofu ricotta in a food processor.
Slice the zucchini and assemble the rest of the ingredients.
Start layering with pasta sauce, red lentils, a layer of zucchini noodles, tofu ricotta, pasta sauce and repeat.
Can I make this Zucchini Lasagna in advance
You can make the tofu ricotta ahead of time. You can assemble the lasagna and freeze(covered nicely to reduce exposed surfac). Freeze for upto 1-2 months. Thaw for an hour then bake when needed
The baked Lasagna can also be frozen for upto a month.
Can I make the lasagna oil-free?
Yes, just omit the olive oil from the tofu ricotta. Saute the pasta sauce in broth.
Can I make this soy-free?
Use my vegan mozzarella cream or alfredo and mix in finely chopped basil and spinach.
Recipe Card
Vegan Gluten free Zucchini Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta
Ingredients
- 28- ounce marinara sauce or herbed pasta sauce or make my recipe linked in the notes
- 3 medium zucchini squash, thinly sliced with a mandolin or knife
- 1/4 cup red lentils , dry Split red lentils, washed and soaked for 5 mins in warm water if needed
Tofu ricotta:
- 14- ounce block firm tofu , drained and pressed dry for 10 minutes
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- zest of half a lemon optional
- 1/4 cup almond flour or omit for nutfree
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 4 oz fresh or frozen(thawed) spinach
- Garnish: pepper flakes ,basil, extra virgin olive oil, vegan cheese shreds
Instructions
- Make the marinara if not using store bought. Press the tofu, Preheat the oven to 400 deg F (205 C). Grease a 9 by 9 inch baking dish.
- Make the Tofu Ricotta: In a food processor, add the tofu through pepper and process until evenly blended.
- Add basil and spinach and pulse a few times to incorporate. Taste and adjust flavor with additional salt or lemon.
- Assemble: Spread 1/4 cup or more marinara in the baking dish. then sprinkle 1 tbsp of the lentils. (Alternatively, mix the soaked and drained red lentils in the marinara sauce, and then ladle the sauce in the pan).
- Add a layer of zucchini. Then add dollops of the tofu ricotta and spread evenly. Then add another layer of the marinara (sprinkle 1 tbsp lentils if you didn't mix them in the sauce). Layer with zucchini again and repeat. You can ad other layers such as roasted veggies/mushrooms or veggie sausage etc as well.
- I usually reserve a bit of ricotta for the top layer and swirl it into the marinara sauce, or use dollops of my vegan mozzarella. Add garnishes such as pepper flakes, olive oil and basil.
- Cover and Bake at 400 deg F for 30 minutes, then uncover and continue to bake for another 20 to 35 mins. (Depends on the thickness of the zucchini and the moisture content of the zucchini and pasta sauce). Check with a toothpick if the zucchini is cooked through and there isn't too much liquid on the edges.
- Let it rest for 15 mins, then slice and serve. Store: Cool and Refrigerate for upto 3 days or freeze for upto a month.
Notes
Nutrition
Donna
Question: I have family coming in October. Can this recipe be made ahead of time and frozen. Thank you for responding. Loved reading all the wonderful comments!
Vegan Richa Support
yes!
Gail
Oh my, this is delicious and that tofu ricotta is spot on. Thank you.
Vegan Richa Support
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed.
Lulie
Made with everything from the garden. 💖💖
Vegan Richa Support
wow! i wish
ramona
Just made this tonight and my husband and I LOVED it!!! This will be one of our repeat recipes!! Thank You.
Vegan Richa Support
awesome news
Erika
Delicious way to eat zucchini.
Vegan Richa Support
I thought so!
Maryellen Zedlar
This recipe is soooo delicious! Full of flavor. My family loved it and we will for sure be having it again. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome!! Do leave a rating too!
deb
Even though it is 98° outside I looked in my fridge – zucchini and tofu. Went to my go to site – Vegan Richa and found this recipe.
Totally worth it! I’m going to make it again and again and yes that vegan ricotta is a hit. I think it also adds a ground beef texture. so yummy!
Healthy, low calorie, and filling!
Richa
❤️❤️❤️
Dana
This is the best vegan lasagna I have ever made!
Seriously taste like the real thing. I added extra layers of butternut squash that I had cut using a mandolin. My family loves it!
Richa
Awesome
Rachel Benson
Omg-it is an awesome recipe!! Loved it!! It smelled wonderful while it was cooking. It was very hard to wait 15 minutes for it to settle (LOL) . Thanks for posting it.
Liz
We made this last night and it was so good! I was expecting it to be tedious to make but it was actually really quick. Thank you for making it easy to go vegan!
c torres
This was better than I expected. It was perfect and so easy to make. I’m not a cook and you have mad it so easy for people like me to make a delicious easy meal. thank you!! will share and can’t wait to make this again!
Vegan Richa Support
wow – so inspiring
Siuwai Man
Made this tonight! So good. Will make again. Thanks for sharing.
Vegan Richa Support
Yay!!
Abhaya
GREAT Recipe! Have made this 3 times so far and every time it turns out so well.
Richa
Yay
Amy Bosnoian
Sooooo delicious!!! My boyfriend, who usually hates anything I make vegan, loved this. You can’t even tell there’s tofu in it. Make this recipe! You will not regret it! Also super healthy!
Richa
Yay
nancy
I love this recipe. I have made it many many times. It is hardy and beautiful italian flavors and my hisband loves it too. i double the recipe and bale in 9 x 14 pan and we have it for 2 days some work involved but worth it It is in the oven right now and he keeps asking when will it ready smile. House smells great and it is very cool out today. wanted to comment because i am so grateful for a healty vegan lasagna xo
Vegan Richa Support
sounds perfect – nothing like comfort food
Duda
I found it very tasty. The tofu ricotta is so fluffy and light and I much prefer it to real ricotta.
Vegan Richa Support
yay! mission accomplished
Kristin Kania
This was fantastic!!! I’ve made it a couple times now, and it just comes out perfectly and smells heavenly. I like to top it with some black olives. Great recipe, thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
perfect . thank you kindly, I”m so glad that you enjoyed it
Lyla
Perfect way to use up all my CSA zucchini. Any time I’m looking for a certain type of recipe I google vegan Richa plus what I’m looking for and she always has something amazing to offer and exactly what I’m looking for!
Richa
Awesome! Do add a rating when you make again!!
Rishika Agrawal
Hi Richa, made this today. The tofu ricotta is delicious but my lasagne was a bit too tomatoe-y perhaps because I used canned tomatoes.
It felt amazingly light and my husband and me could have eaten the whole dish (I made it oil free ) between us. To make it more filling will add lasagne sheets next time and perhaps some more veggies too.
Thanks again for your wonderful recipes.
ADF
Delicious! Was really impressed with how easy it was to make and how flavoursome it was. Definitely a keeper!
Mandy Ross Screven
Made this again tonight and we absolutely love it! So simple and so very tasty. I use your tofu ricotta recipe in many other recipes as well, it is perfect!
Vegan Richa Support
that’s amazing. glad to hear. thank you for the amazing rating!
Cynthia
You’re killing it!! Thanks for the delicious recipe Richa.
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you so much!
Rochelle
What size pan did you use? 8 x 8? Will a lasagna pan work? Would I double the recipe?
Vegan Richa Support
lasagna pan or 9X13 will be perfect for the recipe – no need to double
Richa
I used 9 by 9 inch. It will make a skinny lasagna in the 9 by 13
Belle
This turned out delicious! The tofu ricotta is really impressive, thank you so much!
Richa
thanks!
Abhaya Srivatsan
Loved it! Thanks for making it easier to turn vegan with these delightful recipes!
Also – what’s the best way to store excess ricotta? How long will it last?
Richa
Refrigerate in a closed container. it will keep for 3 days refrigerated
Anni
I made it a few weeks ago and it was delicious! Going to try it again now with some gluten-free lasagna sheets in between to give it more substantial for my hungry son. Thanks Richa!
Richa
thanks
Cecilia
This was pretty dang tasty! I’m going to add lasagna noodles next time, but it’s a solid dish. The omnivores in the house enjoyed it as well with a tiny cheese sprinkled on their helpings. (The 2.5 and 5 year old were none the wiser.)
Richa
thanks!
Monica
I have not tried yet. Is there anything I can use in place of the almond flour?
Richa
omit or use ground cashew
Judith
I made this for dinner last night, and it was SO GOOD. The tofu mix has the texture and taste of real ricotta. I have a 5-year-old daughter who does not like zucchini, refuses to eat tofu, and has said no to every prior lasagna attempt, and she loved this. I told her we would give it 5 stars, and she said “why not 100?”
Richa
yay!!
Patricia Aguilar
Let me start by saying that this vegan ricotta recipe within the recipe is the only way I will ever make ricotta again. It’s perfect. As for the lasagna, just, YUM! I added layers of parboiled lasagna pasta, and topped the dish with vegan parmesan. This is absolutely delicious.
Richa
aweesome
Suzanne
This is delicous! If I could give it more stars I would. Making it for the second time without the lentils. A definite crowd pleaser even for non vegans like us!
Richa
awesome!
Jennifer
This is amazing. Truly one of the best lasagna recipes I’ve ever had. Do not hesitate. It is total comfort food!!
Richa
yay!!
Esmé
I was totally impressed with the flavours of this dish. Before I took the vegan route, when I ate traditional cheese infused lasagna, my stomach always felt heavy and even queasy afterwards. Not so with this. It was filling and tasted wonderful, and my stomach was completely happy too. With recent cold nights, it really hit the spot. Thank you!
Richa
Awesome! Yes is feels decadent, but feels really good on the tummy.Satisfying but not overly filling
Susan
This is outstanding. I didn’t use enough marinara sauce and it is still delicious. Next time I think I’ll add some frozen artichoke hearts. I put some red pepper flakes on the top. Just love the tofu ricotta. Thank you so much!
Richa
Awesome!
neerali parag
Hi Richa,
This was the first time I made it, and it was So super delicious, made this for non-vegan friends this evening and they all loved it! but they had to wait for it!!! lol 🙂 next time I might cook the courgettes first.
Thank you for your lovely work.
XXX
Richa
Awesome! Just slice them thin and bake longer. The dish, oven and thickness add time. You can also lightly cook them before using!
Josie
This recipe looks amazingly delicious! My husband and I will make this weekend. Thanks so much.😊
Richa
Thanks
Jwiltz
This was very yummy😄. I has some tomatoes and zucchini that I gathered from the garden b/f the frost and I needed to use them up. When I saw your recipe, I knew it would be perfect. It was a very easy recipe especially if one doesn’t make the homemade marinara sauce. The only draw back was the long cooking time. Smelling it makes one crazy hungry, thus I only got 4 servings from it since we devoured it once it came out of the oven. Yummy, yummy lasagna dinner!
Richa
Awesome! Yes you have to cook the zucchini and the moisture out, but once done its amazing!
Lori
Hi, Richa, n need to precook zucchini slices? Thanks!
Richa
no, with the thin slices, they cook easily in the bake time. If they arent tender enough, just continue baking for another 15 to 25 mins
trish moon
…if you love this recipe it says on your site….love it …I’d give it 10 stars! It is going to be really hard to wait to make this. Thanks for an awesome recipe!…now to find zucchini 🙂
Richa
I had this in drafts since summer. found it and decided i better post it 🙂