WRITTEN BY LAURA THOMPSON (GUEST WRITER)

Lasagne is a great family friendly recipe. Throughout my childhood it was one of my favourite meals and now as a Mama I love to make a delicious lasagne to share with my family. We are plant based so this recipe is but if you are a meat or dairy eater you could easily substitute the plant-based ingredients in this recipe for meat and dairy versions. I thought I would share my recipe for our family friendly vegan lasagne. 

This is a great way to get vegetables into your children. With all the yummy flavour of the tomato sauce they will not notice the extra vegetables added in if they are chopped up small enough. Or if like me you find that little one will sometimes eat only the veg and nothing else, I find that mixing everything together like in a lasagne means that they are guaranteed to get a bit of everything on their spoon and into their bellies.

The great thing about these recipes as well is lots of the ingredients are optional for taste, so if you know your family will not eat mushrooms or hates paprika – you don’t need to include them; only the ‘meat’, tomato sauce, pasta and ‘cheese’ sauce are required to make the lasagne.

The ‘meat’ sauce for this recipe can also be used in a variety of other dishes such as Spaghetti Bolognese, pasta bake or even cold in sandwiches to make a sort of ‘sloppy joe’ – the possibilities are endless.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 400g vegan mince
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 5-6 mushrooms
• 2 carrots
• 1 stick of celery
• 1tsp garlic puree (I prefer this as its quicker and easier than fresh garlic)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Lasagne sheets (I use 2-3 per layer)
• 2-3 tbsp tomato puree
• 100g vegan cheese
• About 150ml soya milk (this is rough as I just add a bit at a time to make the sauce)
• 2 tbsp mixed herbs
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (a cheesy, nutty powder full of B12)

Method

• In a large frying pan add the oil, chopped onion and paprika and lightly sauté.
• Slice and add the mushrooms.
• Chop small and add the carrots and celery.
• Sauté for a few minutes.
• Add the mince to the pan and cook according to packet instructions.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, herbs and 1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast. Mix and leave to simmer for a few minutes.
• Chop the vegan cheese up into small pieces.
• In a small frying pan add a drizzle of oil and then add the chopped up vegan cheese. As it starts to melt add a bit of soya milk at a time to create the sauce. Its ready when all the cheese is melted. Then you can add the rest of the nutritional yeast and mix it in well.
• Now it is time to assemble the lasagne. I like to start with lasagne sheets on the bottom but this can sometimes leave them tough and uncooked. You need to assemble 1 layer of lasagne then 1 layer of ‘meat’ sauce and keep going until all the sauce is used up. I don’t usually finish with a layer of lasagne sheets but some people like to. The final step is to drizzle all of your cheese sauce over the top. 

Bake in the oven for 25-30minutes at 200°C/180°C (Fan) (the exact time and temperature may vary slightly depending upon your oven)

I like to serve with sweetcorn and a slice of homemade garlic bread.

I hope you enjoy making this delicious family friendly plant-based lasagne. I can be found on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elle_jay_food/ , my blog https://ellejaycakesandbakes356902866.wordpress.com/ and on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/ellejaystar/