A Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna that captures all the flavor of the season. Creamy pumpkin bechamel sauce is layered between no-boil lasagna noodles with delicious vegan creamed spinach. Soy-free recipe.
Healthy might not go hand in hand with holidays, but here's a dish that might just make you change your mind. My vegan Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna. It has all the deliciousness of a traditional vegan lasagna with seasonal flavors.
This is a creamy, indulgent, decadent dish, but it's also packed with stuff that's really, really good for you. There's pumpkin, in the velvet pumpkin bechamel sauce, and you get your serving of greens in the savory creamed spinach.
Best of all, there's nothing artificial in here -- no vegan cheeze, no fake meat. It's all pure, unprocessed food, and it has all of the flavors of fall.
To make this lasagna even more ridiculously easy, I use no-boil lasagna noodles. In fact, you'll be surprised at how quickly this comes together. You do need to put the creamed spinach and the pumpkin bechamel together, but both are very simple recipes with just a handful of ingredients, so it'll all come together in no time at all.
I've shared this recipe with you before, as a lasagna for two, and at the time many of you made it and loved it. But we are not two in our home anymore, and since leftovers of this lasagna are amazing, I decided to double the recipe into a regular-sized lasagna. To adjust it down to a smaller serving, use the recipe slider (point the mouse at the number of servings).
Tips for making the perfect Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna:
- What makes this lasagna super easy to make is that most of the ingredients come canned or packaged. I use canned pumpkin and frozen spinach. Since you need a good bit of each, this works out really well and cuts down on cooking time. You can do this the hard way and start from scratch, but why would you?
- You might think you have too much of the pumpkin bechamel when you make it, but bear with me. You will use it all up, and you really want the pumpkin to shine here.
- I like making my own cashew cream for the creamed spinach simply because it gives me the consistency I want, and it takes all of two minutes to measure out a cup of cashews, a cup of water, and hit the blender button. But if you really don't want to do this, use cashew milk or even almond milk.
- The first time I made (and shared) this lasagna, I used grated potatoes for the topping. I've since revised that idea and I prefer to use breadcrumbs mixed with an Italian herb mixture or oregano. They bake up nice and crispy and golden, and they complement the rest of the lasagna beautifully. You can use panko bread crumbs for an even crispier topping. Or, if you're making this with gluten-free lasagna noodles, use gf breadcrumbs.
- Nutmeg is the spice of choice for this recipe, and it is great with both the pumpkin and the spinach. You need 2-3 teaspoon of nutmeg, which might seem like a lot, but remember, this is a family-sized lasagna with about 8 hefty servings. And the nutmeg is one of the few flavorings here, in addition to the garlic and onion in the creamed spinach and the herbs in the breadcrumbs, so be bold with it.
- Remember to bake the lasagna covered for 30 minutes, and uncovered for 30. You need the liquids inside to steam at the beginning so they cook the noodles. It's an important step.
Ingredients for the lasagna:
- Lasagna noodles (I use no-boil for convenience)
- Parsley or basil (optional, for garnish)
- Vegetable oil
- Unbleached all purpose flour
- Pumpkin puree (canned)
- Almond or other nondairy milk
- Nutmeg
- Raw cashews
- Onion
- Garlic
- Spinach
- Breadcrumbs
- Oregano (or Italian seasoning mix)
More vegan pasta recipes
- Vegan Wild Mushroom Lasagna
- Vegan Sausage Breakfast Lasagna
- Vegan Penne alla Vodka
- Butternut Squash Farinata
- Vegan Zucchini Pasta
Vegan Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients
- 15 no-boil lasagna noodles (can use wholegrain or gf lasagna noodles)
- 2 tablespoon parsley (or basil. Chopped, for garnish. Optional)
For the pumpkin bechamel:
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (use rice flour for a gluten-free version)
- 30 oz pumpkin puree (two cans)
- 4 cups almond milk (or any nondairy milk)
- 2 teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the creamed spinach:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 8 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour (use rice flour for a gluten-free version)
- 16 oz spinach (I use frozen. Thaw before use)
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the breadcrumb topping:
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoon oregano (or an Italian herb mixture)
- 2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the pumpkin bechamel:
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Over medium heat add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour becomes very fragrant, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the nondairy milk, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Add the pumpkin puree and continue to whisk. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes. You want it to be thick but fluid, about the consistency of pancake batter. If the sauce gets too thick, add some more nondairy milk.
- Stir in the nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Make the creamed spinach:
- Blend the cashews with 1 cup water.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic.
- Saute over medium heat until the onions turn translucent.
- Add the flour, and cook, stirring, about 2-3 minutes. Add the cashew cream and stir well.
- Add the spinach and continue cooking about two minutes. This will be thick, but if you find it is sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a tiny bit of water. Add nutmeg, salt and ground pepper, then turn off heat.
Assemble the lasagna:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spread a couple of ladlefuls of the pumpkin bechamel on the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.
- Layer five of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, then layer on half of the creamed spinach, spreading it evenly over the noodles. On top of the spinach, layer on approximately a third of the pumpkin sauce.
- Cover with five more noodles and continue layering with all of the remaining creamed spinach and a third of the bechamel.
- Place your last five noodles in the pan, and this time cover with just the remaining pumpkin bechamel.
- Top evenly with the breadcrumbs. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes remove the foil and continue to bake for 30 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Let stand 10 minutes, then serve the lasagna hot or later, at room temperature. If desired, sprinkle on some chopped parsley or basil before serving.
Recipe notes
- To make with regular (not no-boil) lasagna noodles, just prep your noodles according to manufacturer directions and use.
- You can also use gf noodles and gf breadcrumbs for a gluten-free lasagna. And use rice flour instead of all purpose.
Cal
I would like to try this receipe and bring to my daughters. Can i assemble this dis and cook it there the next day or do i have to cook it then reheat next day.
Thanks for your help
Cal
Vaishali
Hi Cal, you can assemble and keep overnight in the refrigerator and bake the next day. Hope you and your daughters love it!
Geno
I am a pumpkin fanatic, and especially love pumpkin in savory dishes. Therefore, when I saw this recipe I ran straight to the store and made this wonderful lasagna.
I do not eat onion or garlic, so I substituted hing for the garlic and grated carrots for the onion. I also added some crumbled tofu (for that ricotta touch)
It was simply fantastic. I will definitely be making this again!
Vaishali
Hi Geno, that's so lovely to hear, and such great additions as well. So thanks for sharing and the feedback.
Debbie kirby
I added fresh basil and oregano to the bread crumb topping about a handful, delishish.
Debbie kirby
Wow this is amazing. I love everything about this dish. Give it a try people, you will not regret it.
Irene
Thank you for this delicious-sounding recipe!
For the creamed spinach - if I don't want to make the cashew cream (i.e. one cup of cashews with water), how much almond milk should I use as a substitute?
Vaishali
Use 1 1/2 cups but add an extra tablespoon of flour when you make the spinach, since almond milk is watery.
Irene
Thanks, Vaishali! I found some cashews so will stick to your recipe as closely as possible for this first attempt. Sounds yummy, and am looking forward to trying it today!
Lauren
Thanks for sharing this recipe, it sounds delicious. If I want to make it the night before, do I need to freeze and then reheat it the day of or can I store in the refrigerator and reheat the next day? Also, how long would you suggest reheating it for?
Vaishali
The night before you can just refrigerate it. And reheat until the juices bubble.
Iris
Quick question... if I am making this with already cooked (bean) pasta (and some palmini lasagna flats) do you have a sense of how much milk to add to the sauce? I know I won’t need it to cook the lasagna noodles and I don’t want to end up with a soggy Thanksgiving main dish.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts - and for the yummy looking recipe,
Iria
Vaishali
You can cut down the milk in the bechamel to 2 cups. That should be enough to keep the lasagna succulent but not dry. You might want to adjust the amount of pumpkin down a bit too, so it doesn't get too thick -- your "sauce" should be quite thick, although spreadable.
Iris
Thanks so much!!
John Viragj
a new comfort food recipe...took some time to assemble (for me anyway) but hit the mark...you will not go wrong with this one...even for the meat eaters!
Vaishali
So happy you made it, John! Thanks for letting me know.