Vegan Lasagna Stew

Lasagna stew is everything you love about traditional lasagna but served in a comforting soup bowl. This vegan lasagna stew, contributed by Kim Campbell, is a plant-based twist on a contemporary classic.

Hearty red lentils, warming flavors from tomatoes and Italian herbs, and a creamy vegan tofu ricotta cheese topping make this recipe an exciting twist on traditional lasagna. You may never return to layered lasagna again!

About PlantPure Comfort Food by Kim Campbell

Discover new whole food recipes and plant-based recreations of traditional family dishes—with no oil, often no gluten, and lots of rich, satisfying flavor

Good health begins in the kitchen, and great recipes make switching to—or maintaining—a plant-based diet easy. In PlantPure Comfort Food, Kim Campbell—Director of Culinary Education and Development at PlantPure and daughter-in-law of Dr. T.Colin Campbell, the “science father” of the modern plant-based nutrition movement—offers comfort food recipes to satisfy a wide range of palates, making a plant-based lifestyle more accessible than ever.

PlantPure Comfort Food is available wherever books are sold

Recipe is excerpted from PlantPure Comfort Food. Copyright © 2022 by Kim Campbell. Reprinted with permission from BenBella Books. Learn lots more about Kim Campbell and PlantPure Comfort Food following the recipe box.

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If you like Italian inspired soups, you may also enjoy:

• Hearty Pasta Vegetable Soup
• Italian Pasta and Bean Soup
• Italian Vegetable Stew with Gnocchi

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• Vegan Italian Recipes
• Globally-Inspired Vegan Stews for Fall & Winter Meals
• Hearty Plant-Based Pasta and Noodle Soups

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Yield: 4 to 6

Vegan Lasagna Stew

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Lasagna stew is everything you love about traditional lasagna but served in a comforting soup bowl. 

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Stew

• 1 onion, diced
• 8 ounces mushrooms (any type), sliced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup dry red lentils
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted (see tip in Notes)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 24-ounce jar low-sodium marinara sauce
• 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water
• 8 ounces (7 to 8) whole-grain lasagna noodles (gluten-free if necessary), uncooked and broken into pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Vegan Ricotta Cheese

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 14-ounce tub extra-firm tofu, drained
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. In a large pot, cook the onion, mushrooms, and zucchini in a small amount of water over medium-high heat until tender.
2. Add the garlic, dates, lentils, nutritional yeast, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, tomatoes with their juices, marinara sauce, and broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the lentils are tender, 15–20 minutes.
3. Add the lasagna noodles and continue cooking until the noodles are tender, another 10–15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly before serving.
4. Combine all the vegan ricotta cheese ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy.
5. Ladle the stew into bowls and top with the vegan ricotta cheese and fresh basil.

Notes

Toast the fennel seeds by placing the seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat and stirring continuously for about 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and fragrant.

More about PlantPure Comfort Food 

From enchiladas to pho bowls to buffalo pot pie, the possibilities for plant-based eating are endless—and delicious! This third PlantPure cookbook offers over 100 reinventions of comforting culinary classics, including:

• Southern Style Polenta and Greens
• Lasagna Stew
• Spinach Quesadillas
• Chickpea Tikka Masala
• Samosa Burritos
• Pad Thai Zoodles
• Sweet Potato Spice Muffins
• Apple Cranberry Crisp

Plus, Campbell offers helpful suggestions on how to swap out flavors and ingredients to truly make these recipes your own, as well as detailed guidelines for swapping meat, dairy, and egg for whole plant substitutes in your own family’s favorite dishes.Food is a vital part of who we are.

It’s what brings us together, connects us to tradition, and feeds us, physically and spiritually. Create for your family a new tradition of delicious, sustaining, health-promoting whole plant foods. Give them the gift of a plant-pure table.

Kim Campbell is the author of the PlantPure Nation and The PlantPureKitchen cookbooks. She developed more than 250 delicious whole food plant-based recipes using no processed oils.

Kim is also the director of culinary education and development at PlantPure, where she develops new food products and delivers educational programming. Kim graduated from Cornell University with a BS in human service studies and a concentration in nutrition and child development. 

She taught in elementary and middle school classrooms for over ten years. Her passion has always been nutrition education for children, families, and adults. Kim has been a plant-based cook for more than thirty-five years, cooking for her family and friends.

Her love of culinary arts goes back to her early childhood growing up in a large traditional family. Kim is gifted at creating traditional American cuisine using100 percent accessible plant-based ingredients. She builds flavors and textures that are familiar to most people, helping to make the transition to a plant-based diet easier for people.

See more vegan soups and stews on this site.