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 gray 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 ⅓ 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 ⅓ 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
- ¼-1/2 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!
Nutrition
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Mama doce says
This recipe is very nice !
It takes a little bit of time, but the result is perfect. Colorful and tasty as we love it !
Thanks a lot for your advices ☺
Anthea says
Soo glad you enjoyed the lasagna and that it was well worth your time! xo
Przemointhekitchen says
Delicious. I don’t remember how much time I spent in the kitchen - I know it was a long time, but it’s worth it!
Firstly: very very very tasty!
Secondly: the portion was satiated and low in calories, which is generally a plus.
Anthea says
Happy to hear you enjoyed the lasagna and that it was worth it! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Laura says
It is colorful and delicious ❤️. It’s a bit of work, but worth it because of the taste and the colors. Organizing myself to multitask was fun; it was the first lasagna I have ever made and my first vegan bechamel!
Anthea says
Aw glad you found it all fun and good on you for making your first bechamel! Thanks so much for your feedback! xo
Rosemary Barnett says
This looks beautiful. I was thinking of making this my centre piece surrounded by roast vegs. As long as it doesn't fall apart (crumble) when cut into serving slices. Cant wait to eat this.
Anthea says
Thanks Rosemary! Sorry for the late reply. I hope you had the chance to try this out :).
Annalisha says
I want to make this to bring to thanksgiving. Only vegan that will be there so I want to impress! Did you use fresh or dried herbs?
What kind of vegan cheese did you choose for the bechamel sauce?
Anthea says
I used dried herbs but either will work. For the cheese, I used mozzarella-style!
Anthea says
No worries at all!! Let me know how you go!
Lisa says
Hi, I was just wondering if you used fresh lasagna sheets, oven-ready, or regular uncooked? Thanks!
Anthea says
Hey! I used regular uncooked lasagna sheets 🙂
Nikita says
Absolutely loved this!! So colorful, full of flavor and if organised, it’s quite easy and quick to put together!
Made it for my family who aren't vegan and they went crazy over eat and said it’s the best vegan lasagna they’ve ever had and requesting me to make it weekly!
Love your recipes Anthea!! Will definitely try others xx
Anthea says
I'm so glad to hear this Nikita and thanks for making me smile! It's the best when non-vegan people enjoy recipes like these!! Have a lovely week Nikita xo
Akira says
I hate cooking, it's often overwhelming so taking this recipe on was a huge job. I think it took me an hour and half from start to finish, and that was with combining the beetroot and pumpkin layers on the same sheet pan since they take the same time to roast. Whilst it was time intensive,
I'm not Vegan, so I substituted the vegan cheese for actual cheese. I also hate kale so I switched it out for Spinach, but of course I forgot to add the Tofu.
Overall, this tasted delicious but I probably would skip the Bechamel sauce next time.
Anthea says
Thanks for your comment Akira! Yes, this is definitely not a recipe I'd recommend for people who hate cooking as it's time consuming! But glad you used those tips to speed up the process.
Glad those swaps worked for you too!
Amy says
This was absolutely amazing and i loved the colours incorporated into this dish! I generally find it hard to find a vego/vegan dish that is simplistic yet intricately delicious, however I found one in this recipe!! definitely recommend trying this for anyone wanting to do a meal prep or to try something different! 10/10!!
Anthea says
Aw I'm so very glad to hear that Amy! Thanks sooo much for your lovely and thoughtful feedback!!
Cobie says
Best home cooked meal ever!!!
Anthea says
Thanks so much Cobie xo
Alicja says
Loved it! Fun to make when you have some time and looking for a mindful way to spend your time and wind down 😉
Also would make a great dish for kids - to encourage them to eat more veggies!
Anthea says
So glad to hear!!! And definitely a mindful activity. I'll definitely be serving it to kids next time :). Thanks for your lovely comment!
Anne says
What are the measurements of your casserole dish? The beetroot ingredients seem like a very small amount for the layer I see pictured in your assembly lasagna. Wondering if your dish is small or a square?
Thanks!!! Prepping all my ingredients for this right now for assembly tomorrow!!!
Anthea says
I used a 28x15cm rectangular casserole dish so one beetroot + onion was enough to cover it. And I added some water which makes it look more bulky. Hope that helps!
chunkyonchia says
Oh my, this is beautiful! I love the colour of that beet <3
Anthea says
Aw, thank you so much Sarah! The natural colours of food are so beautiful aren't they?! xo
Patricia says
That looks beyond delicious.
Anthea says
Aw thank you!
Angela says
This is so pretty Anthea - like all your recipes. I look forward to making it when the the weather cools down so I can put the oven on.
Many years ago (pre vegan) I had this amazing rainbow vegetable slice at a cafe when I was on holiday. I've never been able to replicate it (I'm not very creative in the kitchen. I'd rather be in the garden : ) ). Your recipe for the lasagne is gorgeous but any chance you can create this slice without the pasta? A challenge if you will. I know that you're clever enough : ) I'm not.
Anthea says
Thanks so much for your ongoing support and kindness Angela! You could try replacing the lasagna sheets with thinly sliced zucchini - leave it uncooked when you layer it and it'll bake it in the oven! I haven't tried it for this recipe but I served a pasta-free lasagna at a pop-up dinner last year and it was a huge success!
Lesley Reade says
This looks amazing and I am looking forward to making it for a pot luck. Just one question...did you cook your lasagna before placing it in the casserole? Also, can this be premade and then cooked on the day you want to eat it? Like can I make it the night before?
Anthea says
Thank you! I didn't have to cook my lasagna sheets before placing it - the liquid from all the veggies and heat cooks it! And yes it can be premade and cooked the day you want to eat it - if the lasagna looks 'dried out' by the time you want to cook it, just pour some water in the corners 🙂
Valerie says
That is gorgeous!!!
Anthea says
Thank you!
Isabella says
Oh my God, I love this! The colours are so amazing AND it's all plant-based!!! 🙂 Thank you for sharing this. I will definetely make this.
Thans so much, yours
Isabella
Anthea says
Aw, thanks Isabella! xo