Almond ricotta lasagna

Baked pasta dishes are some of those classic comfort foods I grew up with. Mom-mom’s lasagna and Grandpa’s baked ziti were holiday staples. Cheesy, ooey, goodness! In fact, lasagna is a Christmas Eve tradition in our family. Mom-mom always makes three or four trays of her homemade goods for our big-eating crowd of a family.

Ever since going dairy-free years ago, I have been cooking and baking with plant-based dairy alternatives, and even making my own nut “cheese” and “cheesy” sauces from time to time, my most famous being my creamy vegan mac. When I don’t venture to make my own nut-milk cheese I opt for some of my favorite plant-based brands, such as Miyokos and Kite Hill. Kite Hill specifically came out with an almond milk ricotta-style cheese I’ve had my eye on for a while and I finally had the hankering for a good old lasagna, so I threw it in my last online Whole Foods order. Since most plant-based cheeses have little to no protein, I wanted my lasagna to have a little more heft to it, so I happily found lentil pasta lasagna sheets, also a Whole Foods win. These lasagna noodles happened to be no-boil, which is an amazing time saver for a busy momma like me! Of course, because I like all my meals to be veggie-centric, so I decided to incorporate both spinach and cauliflower in my lasagna.

I riced a small head of cauliflower by running it through the shredder attachment on my food processor. You could certainly buy pre-riced cauliflower, but my ever budget-conscious self would like to point out it’s much cheaper to rice it yourself (although I have NO judgment if you do buy it pre-riced!). The riced cauliflower is a perfect grainy textured complement to the ricotta cheese, so it mixes together quite nicely. A sprinkling of dried oregano, a pinch of nutmeg, some salt and black pepper, and a bit of tomato sauce completes the cheese layer.

For the tomato sauce, any favorite organic jarred sauce will do, but if you have homemade sauce simmering on the stove or a previous batch stored in the freezer, by all means use your own labor of love. A quick layering of the sauce, pasta, cheese, and spinach, and this lasagna goes right into the oven, baking away until dinnertime. Normally I would suggest allowing the lasagna to cool slightly and set before serving, but when I pulled the piping hot dish out of the oven, garlicy, tomatoey, cheesy aromas wafting in the air, hubby and I could hardly wait to cut into it and plop huge squares onto our plates. What was meant for a crowd of 4…or maybe 6, was quickly eaten by two hungry parents (no judgment please, hubby and I have huge appetites!). But really what I mean to say is the lasagna was that good that we polished off that glass dish like it was our last meal.

I hope you enjoy this lasagna as much as we did! And even if you’re a die-hard dairy eater, I guarantee you won’t miss the cow’s milk dairy in this lasagna. The almond milk ricotta was on par with the taste and texture of whole dairy ricotta. Props to Kite Hill!

Almond ricotta lasagna

1 8 oz. box no-boil lentil lasagna sheets, such as Whole Foods brand
2 jars marinara sauce, such as Whole Foods organic marinara, OR 4-6 cups homemade marinara sauce
1 8 oz. container Kite Hill almond milk ricotta
4-5 cups spinach
1 small head organic cauliflower, riced (about 3-4 cups)
1 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Pinch of nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Prepare the cheese mixture: In a large bowl, combine the riced cauliflower and almond milk ricotta cheese. Add in the dried oregano, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and about ½ cup of the tomato sauce and stir to combine
3. Next, assemble the lasagna: In a large glass baking dish, pour about ½ cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom and spread around to the edges. Place a row of lasagna sheets to fill the entire bottom of the pan in one even layer. Then gently spread half of the cheese mixture in an even layer over the noodles, being sure to spread all the way to the edges. Sprinkle over 2 cups of the raw spinach leaves. Then spoon over and spread about ½ to 1 cup of the tomato sauce. Add the second layer of lasagna, starting with the pasta,  remaining cheese, the rest of the spinach, and then another ½ to 1 cup of tomato sauce. Finally, add the third and final layer of lasagna noodles and top with the remaining tomato sauce, or as much as desired.
4. Cover the lasagna with foil to seal all the way around the edges. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling and the noodles are fully cooked through.
5. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli or a tossed salad, and most importantly enjoy!