Vegan Crockpot Lasagna

5 from 3 votes

In this 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.

Prep Time30

Cook Time5 30

Total Time6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Saute pan or deep skillet or saucepan
Blender or food processor
Crockpot (slow cooker)

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

US Customary - Metric

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 cheese
¼th vegan parmesan cheese
¼th 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.

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.

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.
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.

Variations for special diets

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.

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 lasagna in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius, or in the crockpot on the "medium" setting. Warm through.

Nutrition