If you love a classic vegan lasagna, you have got to try this beyond-delicious vegan crockpot lasagna! A protein-packed marinara sauce with eggplant, vegan sausage and tempeh is layered with perfectly al dente lasagna noodles, vegan parmesan cheese and a yummy vegan ricotta for a cozy, satisfying meal.
A crockpot is my favorite kitchen apprentice, especially in winter when I use it to cook up delicious recipes like slow cooker chana masala and creamy curried crockpot chowder. And ever since I learned how to use a slow cooker to make one of my most favorite foods -- a vegan crockpot lasagna -- I am more in love than ever!
I no longer own a separate crockpot because I am trying to cut down on the number of appliances in my kitchen. So I make this lasagna on the crockpot setting of my Instant Pot. It works beautifully with the only drawback being that the tall, round Instant Pot liner makes a taller lasagna. Also, because you have to cut the noodles and fit them to the shape of the IP liner, you won't get layers that are as neat and distinct. But the lasagna will be just as delicious.
A traditional six-quart crockpot with an oval shape would create a lasagna with a more traditional shape and depth. So if you have one, use it.
Table of Contents
Why you should make lasagna in a crockpot
- It's yummier. A slow-cooked lasagna is even more delicious than one baked in the oven. That's because the slow cooking gives the many flavors a chance to truly infuse, and it also gives the lasagna noodles enough time to cook to the perfect al dente texture.
- It's ready when you are. You can set the vegan crockpot lasagna to cook in the morning or early afternoon and go about your day. It will be ready and waiting for you whenever you want to eat it.
- It works great as a make-ahead recipe. You can assemble the lasagna up to three days ahead and refrigerate it. Place it in the slow cooker at least five hours before you plan on eating it. If you can do without your crockpot liner for longer, you can even freeze the uncooked, assembled lasagna for up to three months.
Why you'll love this recipe
- It's protein-packed and healthy. There are 19 grams of protein and six grams of fiber in each serving of this slow cooker lasagna. And there is so much more nutrition, with the eggplant, tempeh and protein-packed, homemade vegan cheeses.
- It tastes simply amazing. There are so many layers of flavor in this vegan crockpot lasagna recipe, and the marinara sauce, with eggplant, tempeh and vegan sausage, is amazing. Desi was a little skeptical about this lasagna the first time I made it because of the tempeh, which not everyone in our home, ahem, loves. But you don't even taste the tempeh -- it melds into the marinara sauce. In the end, Desi was the biggest fan!
- Everyone, especially kids, will love it! Lasagna is everyone's favorite, and this crockpot version will have everyone singing your praises and asking for more!
Ingredients
- Eggplant: Use two small Italian eggplants or a large globe eggplant.
- Vegan sausage. Any brand is fine, crumble before use.
- Tempeh: You can leave this out but it adds a lot of healthy protein.
- Tomato paste
- Tomato puree. If using canned plum tomatoes, crush the tomatoes with your fingers.
- Herbs: garlic, garlic powder, oregano and basil
- Spices: paprika (or red pepper flakes) and ground cumin
- Nutritional yeast. For a cheesy flavor to the ricotta
- Lasagna noodles. Use no-boil, oven-ready lasagna noodles or regular lasagna noodles. If using regular noodles no need to cook first. Add an extra cup of water to the marinara while cooking it.
- Vegan mozzarella shreds. If you are wondering why my vegan mozzarella shreds look yellow, it's because I didn't have any on hand and used vegan cheddar shreds instead. It worked perfectly well because the flavors of vegan cheeses don't vary as much as real cheeses do.
- Vegan parmesan cheese
Variations for special diets
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free lasagna noodles for this vegan crockpot lasagna. Also ensure that the vegan sausage you use is gluten-free.
- Soy-free. Skip the tempeh. The rest of the recipe is soy-free.
- Nut-free. If you are nut-free, use 14 oz firm tofu instead of cashews to make the vegan ricotta cheese. Also substitute the vegan parmesan with 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs tossed with the rest of the ingredients in my vegan parmesan cheese recipe.
- Keto. Use sliced zucchini instead of lasagna noodles--I love this low-carb vegan lasagna with zucchini. You can also find keto noodles that are vegan online, such as these hearts of palm lasagna noodles.
How to make vegan crockpot lasagna
1. Heat the olive oil and garlic together in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the eggplant with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute until the eggplants are quite tender but not yet done.
3. Add the crumbled tempeh and vegan sausage to the saucepan.
4. Mix well and saute for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste and tomato puree to the saucepan. Mix well.
6. Add the dried basil and dried oregano and mix in.
7. Add ground cumin, paprika and 2 cups water to the marinara sauce. Mix well and bring to a boil.
8. Lower heat to the point where the marinara is simmering and cook 10 minutes or until the sauce looks bright orange or red. Turn off heat.
9. In a blender, place the ingredients for the vegan ricotta cheese. Add 1 cup water.
10. Blend into a very smooth paste. The ricotta should be thick but easily pourable. If needed, add a bit more water.
11. Lightly coat the crockpot liner or Instant Pot liner with olive oil. Pour a cup of the marinara in the bottom and spread evenly.
12. Layer on lasagna noodles over the marinara. I needed three oven-ready lasagna noodles for each layer. If using an Instant Pot liner, like I did, you will need to break the noodles into half. Score the noodle with a knife in the center and then make a quick snap to break in half. Don't worry if it's not perfect, just layer the noodles and no one will know!
13. Layer ¼ of the lasagna sauce over the noodles...
14. ...followed by ¼th of the vegan ricotta cheese...
15. ...followed by ¼th of the vegan parmesan followed by ¼th of the vegan cheese shreds. Repeat with two more layers of lasagna noodles. Finish with a final layer of marinara, ricotta, parmesan and vegan cheese shreds.
16. Drizzle a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over the top of the lasagna and cover the crockpot. Set to cook for five hours on the "normal" crockpot setting in an Instant Pot or on the "medium" setting in a traditional crockpot.
Tips for success
- Make sure the marinara tastes perfect to you. A lasagna can be very forgiving because there are so many layers of flavor in it, but the marinara ties it all together. Canned tomato puree can taste different from one can to the next. If yours is too tangy, add a teaspoon or two of sugar when cooking the marinara. Add more or fewer herbs or garlic according to your taste.
- Cook the marinara until it turns a bright red. Don't rush this, you want all the flavors to mix together.
- Cut the eggplant into small pieces and crumble the tempeh and sausage. You don't want large chunks of anything in the marinara, but you also want a little bit of texture in your vegan crockpot lasagna.
- Make sure the lasagna noodles are completely covered with the sauces. This will ensure that the noodles cook and don't have crispy edges where the liquid didn't touch them.
- Wait 30 minutes or longer before opening the crockpot. This will give the layers time to set up and will make it easier to cut the lasagna.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the marinara sauce in this recipe with lentils instead of vegan sausage. Use two 15-oz cans of brown lentils (drained). This will make the recipe even healthier and add heart-healthy protein.
Yes. Just add an extra cup of water to the marinara sauce.
I don't recommend rushing this lasagna--you are cooking it in the slow cooker for a reason and the longer this lasagna cooks the better it tastes.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: Place the lasagna in an airtight container and freeze for up to four months.
- Reheat: Pop the crockpot lasagna in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius, or in the crockpot on the "medium" setting. Warm through.
More vegan lasagna recipes you'll love
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Vegan Crockpot Lasagna
Ingredients
Ingredients for marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic (crushed and minced)
- 1 large eggplant (finely diced)
- 14 oz vegan sausage (crumbled or cut into small pieces)
- 8 oz tempeh (crumbled)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 28 oz tomato puree (if using canned plum tomatoes, crush the tomatoes with your fingers)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika (or red pepper flakes)
- 2 cups water (add one more cup if using regular lasagna noodles)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Ingredients for cashew ricotta
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews (soaked 30 minutes, then drained)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1½ cups water
Other ingredients
- 12 lasagna noodles (either oven-ready or regular lasagna noodles* are fine. You can use gluten-free noodles or whole-wheat noodles as well).
- 8 oz vegan mozzarella shreds
- 1 cup vegan parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make marinara sauce
- Heat the olive oil and garlic together in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the eggplant with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Saute until the eggplants are quite tender but not yet done.
- Add the crumbled tempeh and vegan sausage to the saucepan. Mix well and saute for a couple of minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and tomato puree to the saucepan and mix. Stir in the basil and oregano.
- Add cumin powder, paprika and 2 cups water to the marinara sauce. Mix well and bring to a boil. Lower heat to the point where the marinara is simmering and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce, when it's done, will look bright orange or red. Turn off heat.
Make vegan ricotta cheese
- In a blender, place the ingredients for the vegan ricotta cheese. Add 1½ cups water. Blend into a very smooth paste. The ricotta should be thick but easily pourable. If needed, add a bit more water.
Assemble and cook lasagna
- Lightly coat the crockpot liner or Instant Pot liner with olive oil. Pour a cup of the marinara in the bottom and spread evenly.
- Layer on lasagna noodles over the marinara. I needed three oven-ready lasagna noodles for each layer. If using an Instant Pot liner, like I did, you will need to break the noodles into half. Score the noodle with a knife in the center and then make a quick snap to break in half. Don't worry if it's not perfect, just layer the noodles and no one will know!
- Layer the lasagna in this order:¼ of the lasagna sauce over the noodles.¼th vegan ricotta cheese¼th vegan parmesan cheese¼th vegan cheese shreds.Repeat until you have four layers.
- Drizzle a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil over the top of the lasagna and cover the crockpot. Set to cook for five hours on the "normal" crockpot setting in an Instant Pot or on the "medium" setting in a traditional crockpot.
- Let the lasagna stand 30 minutes to set up. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Recipe notes
- If using regular noodles, there's no need to cook them first. Add an extra cup of water to the marinara sauce while cooking it.
- Make sure the marinara tastes perfect to you. A lasagna can be very forgiving because there are so many layers of flavor in it, but the marinara ties it all together. Canned tomato puree can taste different from one can to the next. If yours is too tangy, add a teaspoon or two of sugar when cooking the marinara. Add more or fewer herbs or garlic according to your taste.
- Cook the marinara until it turns a bright red. Don't rush this, you want all the flavors to mix together.
- Cut the eggplant into small pieces and crumble the tempeh and sausage. You don't want large chunks of anything in the marinara, but you also want a little bit of texture.
- Make sure the lasagna noodles are completely covered with the sauces. This will ensure that the noodles cook and don't have crispy edges where the liquid didn't touch them.
- Wait 30 minutes or longer before opening the crockpot. This will give the layers time to set up and will make it easier to cut the lasagna.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free lasagna noodles. Also ensure that the vegan sausage you use is gluten-free.
- Soy-free. Skip the tempeh. The rest of the recipe is soy-free.
- Nut-free. If you are nut-free, use 14 oz firm tofu instead of cashews to make the vegan ricotta cheese. Also substitute the vegan parmesan with 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs tossed with the rest of the ingredients in my vegan parmesan cheese recipe.
- Keto. Use sliced zucchini instead of lasagna noodles. You can also find keto noodles that are vegan online.
- Refrigerate: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
- Freeze: Place the lasagna in an airtight container and freeze for up to four months.
- Reheat: Pop the lasagna in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius, or in the crockpot on the "medium" setting. Warm through.
Sue
My crockpot has “low” and “high” settings, which one should I use?
Ida
Gosh, what a most phenomenal recipe!!! I was a little concerned when I tasted the sauce prior to assembly but the lasagna came together with flavor and consistency PERFECTION. The only changes I made were with the ricotta as I had firm tofu to use. I a combo of tofu and cashews. Non-vegan husband had seconds and mentioned that this was the best lasagna ever. Such a hit!!!
Vaishali
Hi Ida, that’s so awesome to hear! Thanks for letting me know and so happy you loved the crockpot lasagna!
Clifford
OK, so I didn't make it yet, but I am going to preemptively give it 5 stars for creativity, as well as for the stars I'll be seeing from the figurative smack upside the head my wife will give me when I say the words "Crock Pot Lasagna".
Vaishali
😂🤣hope you try it!
Joan
🤣 Love it.
Vaishali
Thanks!