Vegan Rainbow Lasagne
Veggie-packed vegan rainbow lasagne! Vegan comfort food which happens to be wholesome and healthy. The colours makes it the perfect dinner centrepiece too!
Traditional lasagne is often brown and aesthetically unappealing. But this rainbow lasagne is packed with vibrant colors and flavors which are mood-boosting!
This recipe was inspired by Gather and Feast’s ridiculously beautiful Rainbow Lasagne. However, my recipe is vegan and a little more simple.
This lasagne still requires a bit of work through chopping and mixing. However, I think the effort is worth it!
Table of contents
What’s in this lasagne?
This rainbow vegan lasagne has 6 main elements including:
- Wholemeal lasagne sheets (most dried pasta is vegan, just check the ingredients)
- Pumpkin layer
- Vegan tofu ‘ricotta’ and kale layer
- Beetroot layer
- Tomato sauce
- Dairy free bechamel sauce
For possible ingredient substitutions, check out the section ‘Ingredient Substitutions’ towards the end of this post.
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Is the lasagne worth the time?!
I won’t lie, like all lasagne recipes, this one takes some TIME to prepare so it’s best for a weekend dinner. In my opinion, the effort is worth it – I find it SO satisfying to enjoy a colorful lasagne at the end of the day!
Most of the preparation is just chopping and blending vegetables. I’ve designed the recipe to be as streamline as possible and to minimise washing extra dishes!
The recipe provides around 8-9 serves. It feeds a family well (if you have sides) and there’ll be leftovers.
If you’re a young professional like me, this lasagne is PERFECT meal prep food! It freezes very well too!
Shortcuts for making this rainbow lasgana
There are a few shortcuts to cut your time in the kitchen:
- Make the ricotta layer while the pumpkin and beetroot are baking. Since this is one of the lighter coloured layers, I’d recommend blending this first. When it comes to blending the pumpkin and beetroot, you don’t have to clean your food processor!
- Saute the onions and garlic for the vegan tofu ricotta and tomato layers in one saucepan. Divide it into two when you need to add the kale for the ricotta layer and tomatoes for the tomato layer. Or use onion and garlic powder instead!
- Use store-bought tomato marinara pasta sauce instead
- Make the bechamel layer on the stovetop while the pumpkin and beetroot are baking or cooling.
How to layer this lasagne
There’s no single way to layer your vegan lasagne. However, I will show you exactly what I did:
- Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the base of the casserole dish.
- Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
- Spread all the pumpkin filling on the lasagne sheets.
- Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
- Spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the lasagne sheets.
- Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
- Spread the vegan tofu ‘ricotta’ kale filling on the lasagne sheets.
- Spread a little of the bechamel sauce on top.
- Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top.
- Spread the beetroot filling on the lasagne sheets.
- Arrange 2 lasagne sheets on top
- Spread the remaining tomato sauce on top.
- Spread the remaining bechamel sauce on top
- Bake the lasagne until it’s bubbly. Then ENJOY your vegan rainbow lasagna!
Ingredient substitutions
If you’re allergic or don’t like any of the ingredients, you may simply omit that particular layer! I’d recommend increasing the other layers to compensate.
If you can’t have pumpkin, tofu or beetroot, simply substitute it with any of the following ingredients:
- Lentils
- White beans or chickpeas, pureed
- Carrots, finely chopped
- Cauliflower
- Potato
- Zucchini
As always, my savory recipes should be used more like a GUIDE rather than a rule book that you can’t steer from :).
More vegan dinner ideas
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Vegan Rainbow Lasagne
Ingredients
Pumpkin layer
- 700 g pumpkin (butternut or kent variety), peeled and cut into 1 inch (3 cm) cubes
- 1 small brown onion, chopped roughly, or use 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3 cloves garlic, skin removed but kept whole, or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Beetroot layer
- 2 medium beetroots, peeled and cut into 1 inch (3 cm) cubes
- 1 medium red onion, chopped roughly, or use 1 tablespoon onion powder
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup vegetable broth (stock), or water
Tofu 'ricotta' kale layer
- 1 small brown onion, diced, or use 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 3 cloves garlic, skin removed but kept whole, or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups (100 g) kale leaves, packed
- 600 g firm tofu
- ¼ cup (12 g) nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup (65mL) dairy-free milk, as needed
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Tomato sauce (or use 850g of store-bought marinara pasta sauce)
- 1 small brown onion, diced, or use 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 800 g canned diced tomatoes
- Generous dash of oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegan bechamel sauce
- 1 cup (250 mL) dairy-free milk, plus more if needed
- ¼ cup (30 g) all-purpose plain flour, or flour of choice
- 1/4-1/2 cup (30-60 g) vegan cheese, grated or chopped roughly, optional
- ¼ cup (12 g) nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper, to taste
To assemble
- 10 pieces (250 g) lasagne sheets, dried and uncooked (gluten-free if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Pumpkin and beetroot layers:
- Add all ingredients under 'pumpkin layer' to one baking tray and toss until combined. Add all ingredients under 'beetroot layer' (except the water/vegetable stock) to a second baking tray and toss until combined.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pumpkin and beetroot are tender.
- When slightly cooled, add the roasted 'pumpkin layer' ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth and add water if the mixture is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove the mixture.
- Add the roasted 'beetroot layer' ingredients and water (or vegetable stock) to your food processor. Process until broken down. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove the mixture.
Meanwhile, make the 'ricotta' kale layer (note 1):
- Saute the onion and oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the garlic and kale and cook for 5 minutes or until the garlic is aromatic and kale is wilted. Add a dash of water or vegetable stock if the ingredients are burning.
- Add all the kale mixture and remaining ingredients under 'tofu ricotta kale layer' to a food processor. Process until smooth scraping down the sides if necessary. Add more milk if the food processor is struggling. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Tomato sauce:
- Saute the onion and oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes, oregano and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick and jam-like. Set aside.
Bechamel sauce:
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan over high heat. Whisk the sauce for 5-10 minutes while it thickens. There should not be any lumps of flour or cheese and the mixture should be a custard-like consistency. Add more milk if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
To assemble:
- In a deep casserole dish, layer all the all the fillings and lasagne sheets as desired (note 2). My dish was about 28x15cm.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If the top is browning too quickly and your pasta sheets are not tender, cover with foil and bake.
- Serve immediately or store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Make the ricotta layer while the pumpkin and beetroot are baking. Since the tofu is light-coloured, you don’t need to clean out your food processor after you removed the mixture and before making the other layers.
- See my blog post above for a step-by-step list and pictures of how I layered the lasagne!
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Eager to try this!! Would it be possible to substitute spinach for the kale?
Hi Nadia! Yes, spinach will work wonderfully!
Hi Anthea, we made this today! It took us roughly 2 hours, but it was worth every minute! The sauces were at the right consistency, the bechamel on the thick side, but we thinned down a bit with vegetable stock. We also added nutmeg which we love! Everyone loved it! And I am the only vegetarian in the family. Thank you for sharing with another great recipe 🤩. Greetings from Norway, Susana.
Hi Susana, I’m so glad that you enjoyed making and eating this lasagna! Thanks for your feedback about the bechamel and for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Tasty recipe which looks really pretty! Takes a bit of time, but enjoyed making it. Was definitely worth it and will make again.
Two minor adjustments would be needed next time. I used 2 tins of chopped tomatoes which I reduced. This didn’t make enough sauce to cover the lasagne sheets. 3 or even 4 tins are needed. It’s ambitious to say it needs 10 mins to boil down – needed at least 20 mins. Also the beetroot layer was very liquidy. I reduced it in a saucepan before adding it to the lasagne, otherwise it would’ve seeped through the whole lasagne.
But overall, it’s a fab idea.
This continues to be one of my family’s favourite recipes – so thought I should let you know just how much we love it! As others have said, it’s surprisingly easy to make and absolutely delicious – we’ve made it for friends as well who have all loved it too.
As a bonus, I often have leftovers of the tofu ricotta layer and use this to stuff pasta shells and cook in a marinara sauce which is also delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Belinda, aw that makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad that the recipe is a keeper for you, and that you find it approachable and tasty :). And I love that you also use the tofu ricotta for pasta shells – I want to do that too. Thanks soo much for your kind feedback!