It’s National Lasagna Day! There’s nothing better than a big hearty plate of lasagna, especially if it’s vegan! I decided to go rogue this time and roll up my noodles. It still has 8 delicious servings and all the tastes you crave, but it’s a fun way to shake up a traditional take on pasta.
These lasagna roll ups are stuffed with the most velvety almond ricotta that’s easy to make the day ahead and can be used for plenty of other delicious recipes and meal ideas. I’m actually kind of obsessed with it right now! Don’t let the homemade vegan cheese scare you. It’s a neat process if you’ve never done it before, and it’s totally worth having homemade lasagna roll ups afterwards! Watch the full how-to video or keep scrolling for the recipe.
vegan lasagna roll ups with almond ricotta
Rolled up lasagna means all the flavour and twice the fun! Filled with a fresh creamy almond ricotta, this is a perfect option to whip up any night of the week.
Ingredients
almond ricotta
- 1 C blanched sliced almonds (no skins)
- 1/3 C water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp finely chopped basil
tomato sauce
- 1/2 C finely chopped white onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 C canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp finely chopped basil
lasagna roll
- 8 lasagna noodles
- 4 C baby spinach
- 1 large yellow zucchini (or 2 small)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
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In a high-powered blender, combine the almond ricotta ingredients together except the basil. You will fold this in after the mixture is blended.
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Once the mixture is smooth, fold the finely chopped basil into the almond mixture with a spoon and place a double layer of cheesecloth over a large mixing bowl. Pour the almond mixture into the cheesecloth.
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Take the excess ends of the cheesecloth and tie it around a wooden spoon or something you can lay on top of the mixing bowl, suspending it in the mixing bowl. It shouldn’t be touching the bottom of the mixing bowl. Refrigerate this, allowing the excess water to strain from the almond cheese for 24 hours. After 24 hours, you can remove it from the cheesecloth and place it in a new clean dish.
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To make the tomato sauce, heat a pan over medium and sauté white onion for 2 minutes with olive oil.
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Add minced garlic and dried oregano, and sauté for another minute.
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Stir in tomato paste until the garlic and onions are well coated, then add crushed tomatoes, sea salt, and ground black pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
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Add fresh basil, cover, and simmer for another 20 minutes.
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While the sauce is simmering for its last 20 minutes, preheat oven to 325°F.
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Boil the noodles in salted water for about 5 to 6 minutes until half cooked. Drain and set the noodles aside on a damp towel or damp paper towel to prevent them from sticking until you prepare the lasagna rolls.
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Thinly slice yellow zucchini with a mandolin.
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Heat another pan over medium heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and add spinach and zucchini together with nutmeg, sea salt and ground black pepper. Sauté for about 4 minutes. There will be a bit excess water from the vegetables, but just drain it from the pan before adding vegetables to the lasagna rolls.
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To assemble the rolls, take 1 tablespoon of almond ricotta and spread it across each lasagna noodle out to the edges. Layer spinach and zucchini on top. Roll the lasagna noodle snuggly.
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Pour half the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9” x 9” glass baking dish. Place lasagna rolls 4 across and pour the remaining sauce over each row of lasagna rolls.
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Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
The almond ricotta should be prepared one day in advance to give it time to set.
This looks awesome! I am going to be trying this out really soon! Love a vegan twist on a classic!
This was an amazing meal! Thank you for the yummy recipe.
I am the only vegan in the house and finding recipes that meet the tastes of my omnivorous hubby and 3 teenaged boys can be a challenge. This was loved by all, and I’m making it again tonight. 🙂
The almond ricotta was so delicious that I reserved some to use as a spread on my sandwiches.
I’ll adjust tonight’s recipe a bit for the tastes of my family and to save a bit of time.
I’ll do a traditional layered style instead of the rolls, and not use as much tomato sauce as last time.
It was yummy goodness and I’m so happy to be a member of your blog.
I love your attitude and style on your videos, and the recipes I’ve tried have not failed to please all appetites.
Thanks for being awesome!
Tara
Oh my! It won over all those boys! amazing. Thanks for leaving this great feedback and comment and we’re so happy you’ve loved the recipes 🙂 Thank you so much!
When you put the almond ricotta in the fridge to set and drain, do you have to cover it? Is there any chance of it molding? Can’t wait to try this! I miss ricotta 🙁
you can cover the bowl with a tea towel. It will not mold in that short amount of time.
I made this tonight but with tofu ricotta and it was great! I would advise people to adjust to their liking.. (:
Hi Lauren. How long does the ricotta cheese last in the fridge? Thank you!
Finally ended up making the entire recipe after a failed first attempt in which I made the ricotta, but just ended up putting it on a sandwich because it was so good, hahah. Thanks for always putting out such great recipes. This was delicious!
Hello Lauren! This recipe looks lovely and I can’t wait to try it! However, could I use raw cashews in replacement of the almonds in the ricotta recipe? Thanks:)
Lasagna noodles are vegan? I thought they have eggs in them?
Question, do the almonds have to be blanched? I know it would change the color but does that matter
the thinly sliced and blanched are just easier to get a smoother consistenc and less of a flavour so that more of the ricotta ingredients are prominent. I haven’t tried with whole almonds, or roasted but you definitely don’t want skins on them
This might be a stupid question, but I’m thinking about making this tomorrow and I haven’t made the "ricotta". What will happen if I make the recipe using the freshly made "ricotta"? Will it just become watery or will it affect the taste and texture?
it might be too watery and then end up making the whole lasagna too watery. However you could blend with less liquid in the blender and just work it a little more to get it as smooth as possible. Mind you I’ve never done it that way, I am just guessing… if you want to cut corners
So, I had to make some adjustments to fit what I had on hand, but the recipe for the almond ricotta was delicious! I would totally make it again.
What I changed: First I used pasta noodle instead of lasagna noodles and layered it like a lasagna. I used the almond ricotta right away and it was still good. I also didn’t have spinach or zucchini, so I subbed mushrooms.
This was so good, I can’t wait to make the recipe as is! I highly recommend anybody looking for a ricotta substitute to use this recipe.
Maybe it was just me but I would double the recipe for the ricotta. I spread it pretty thinly and only got 5 lasagna rolls out of it. Too bad, I was hoping for leftovers!
I know you hate substitution comments but if you used cashews (they’re cheaper where I live and my husband loves them) would you soak them or blanch? I don’t want to fuck it up hah
I’m making these tonight for my Grandpa’s birthday! I am trying to restrain myself from eating the whole batch right now. The recipe is perfect!
I made this in a square pan bc my Jovial rice noodles were all broken. I used purchased almond ricotta (Kite Hill). I love this recipe so much. I can’t wait to eat it all week!
I’ve been making this but using your artichoke spinach dip recipe instead of the almond ricotta – it’s a huge hit in our house just when we thought lasagna was only in our cheese eating past! Thank you for the continuous vegan inspiration!
sounds great!
This almond ricotta is great – my husband and I (who are not fully vegan, but working on it) both agreed that if we didn’t know it wasn’t we would have thought it to be real cheese! I may try serving this to some friends sometime that do eat cheese and see if they notice 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe!
These have easily become the fan favorite in my house. I made it first for my boyfriend’s birthday in April and everyone has been asking me to make it again ever since. I finally did tonight and it came out even better than the first time! Needless to say I will be making this for every special occasion that I am the chef for in the future 🙂
We made these last night. This will be a staple in our house. That almond ricotta is the bomb! Honestly, I don’t think our dairy eating friends would know the difference. We topped it with some cashew parmesan. So thankful for this one!
I made the ricotta with leftover almond pulp from making almond milk and it was super delicious- tangy, salty and sharp! It was a perfect way to use up the almond pulp. Thanks Lauren for your amazing talent!
I’ve been transitioning from vegetarian to vegan and lasagna is a staple in my meal prep. I used this almond ricotta recipe and it was AMAZING.
I actually ended up using it right away because I failed to read ahead haha, but it still worked out great!
Honestly, best lasagna I’ve ever made and it was 100% that ricotta. Thanks, Lauren!!