Tofu lasagna for the win!

I’ve experimented with removing meat from various dishes to make them vegetarian friendly. Lasagna is a family favorite, so I thought I’d see what I could do. Granted, vegetable lasagna is delicious, but I wanted a vegetarian lasagna recipe that offered a good punch of protein. The result is this tasty tofu lasagna with spinach. I hope you like it!

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Tofu lasagna ingredients:

• 1 block tofu (firm or extra firm)
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• several handfuls of fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional, or more to taste)
• 2 24-ounce jars pasta sauce (I prefer Rao’s roasted garlic or tomato basil)
• 1 box oven ready lasagna noodles (any no-boil variety, you’ll need 12 noodles)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

First prepare the tofu.

I get the best results if I drain and press the tofu for a couple of hours beforehand. My method:

• Set out a dinner plate.
• Take several paper towels and fold them into a small padded rectangle a little bigger than the block of tofu. Place it on the plate.
• Remove tofu from the packaging and drain off the liquid. Set it on the prepared plate and top with another bunch of folded paper towels.
• Invert another dinner plate and place it on top. I usually weigh it down with heavy bowls.
• I put it all in the fridge for an hour or two, inverting it (but not the bowl) midway through. If you’re pressed for time, start the tofu pressing before you do anything else, do as much prep as you can, and grab the tofu when you’re ready for it.

Prepare the filling.

Combine the tofu, ricotta, garlic, spinach, basil, black pepper, and crushed red pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth.

It’s fine to use frozen spinach. Just let it thaw and squeeze out excess moisture before adding it to the food processor. Not a fan of spinach? Leave it out. It’s delicious with more or less spinach.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.

Pour about half a jar of sauce into the bottom of the pan and tilt it back and forth to cover the bottom. Arrange four noodles on the sauce. Spread half the tofu mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with about a third of the shredded mozzarella. Pour the rest of the jar of sauce over the top.

Repeat the layers: four noodles, half the tofu mixture, another third of the shredded mozzarella, half of the next jar of sauce.

Top with the final four noodles, pour over the remaining sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining shredded mozzarella.

As I empty each jar of sauce, I like to add a few tablespoons of water to the jar, shake it up, and pour it over the pan. This cleans out the jar and gives a little extra liquid to help the noodles cook in the oven.

Cover tofu lasagna tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until bubbly, about 5 more minutes.

Let it rest about ten minutes before serving.

Serve tofu lasagna with garlic bread and salad. Enjoy!

It’s great with whatever you would typically serve with regular lasagna. It also freezes well.

This is a tasty dish. I realize that many people dislike tofu, but keep in mind that it takes on the other flavors in the dish. In this case, since it’s blended with the ricotta, there isn’t a funny texture. You wouldn’t even know the tofu is there.

Have you adapted any recipes to be vegetarian? I’d love to hear about your experiments!

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• chocolate cake: an old family recipe
• home state themed gift ideas
• fabulous salmon quinoa protein bowls
• The Mystic Jesus by Marianne Williamson: book club discussion

Fondly,

Crysti