Makes 2 pans (9 x 13 x 2)
- For sauce
- 2 cans 15 ounce crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 cans 15 ounce tomato sauce
- 1 can 15 ounce diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 can 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 2 teaspoons granulated onion
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- For spinach layer
- 2 10 ounce packages frozen, finely chopped spinach – thawed
- For noodles
- 24 sheets oven ready lasagna noodles – more or less depending on what fits your pan
- For Beans
- 3 15 ounce cans of refried beans
- 1 cup of filtered water – use only enough to make the beans soft and spreadable
- For Cashew Cheese
- 3 cups cashews
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels optional
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare pans with a spritz of cooking spray. It does help the lasagna come out more cleanly.
For sauce – blend all the ingredients together in a bowl. No need to cook the sauce. Taste and adjust to your liking if required.
Make sure spinach is thawed. Squeeze water from it prior to adding to the loaf.
Fit noodles in your pan. Make sure you have 3 layers. If opting for traditional noodles that require pre-boiling do that here. Boiled for 6 minutes or so and then remove from the water. The sauce in the lasagna will soften the noodles up the last little bit and firmer noodles are easier to handle. Allow cooked noodles to cool slightly before handling. I set them on a large sheet pan and separate layers with parchment paper.
Blend beans with water so the mixture is spreadable. The texture of refried beans varies widely, so add only enough water to make the mixture loose enough to spread with a spatula.
Blend the cheese ingredients excluding corn with a Vitamix or other blender. If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews for 2 hours up to overnight prior to blending or quick soak in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain soaked cashews before blending.
Layers from bottom to top. start with a sauce base, then noodles, then spinach separated with just a little sauce, then noodles, followed by refried beans spread evenly, then noodles, then cheese sauce with the frozen corn thrown into the cheese sauce (if using), more noodles on top of the cheese and lastly, a generous topping of sauce. Make sure to cover the top layer of noodles well so they don’t get burnt or crunchy in any exposed areas.
Place pan in your preheated oven. I often use a pan liner underneath if the lasgna to collect any spillage when the pan is to the top. Cover with a large sheet pan or you can use foil. I typically spray these with a little cooking release spray, so they come off more easily. Bake for 45 minutes. Take the tray (or foil) off and bake 10 more minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. This is really important if you want everything to stay together when you cut it. If you’re in a hurry, at least put it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. The freezer might work too, but hot glass in a freezer is a risk, so be careful if trying that.
Cut into squares and serve. This is really good. Hope you enjoy. Please let us know if you tried this and tell us what you think.