Vegan Million Dollar Spaghetti
This vegan version of the southern and midwestern classic, million dollar spaghetti, has layers of spaghetti noodles, vegan cheeses and a veggie-loaded and meaty marinara sauce.
Servings: 14 servings
Calories: 438kcal
Ingredients
For vegan ricotta cheese
- 1½ cups raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup water
For veggie-loaded and meaty marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 1 medium carrot (cut in a ⅕th inch dice)
- 1 medium bell pepper (any color, cut in a ⅕th inch dice)
- 1 medium zucchini (cut in a ⅕th inch dice)
- 1 Italian eggplant (cut in a ⅕th inch dice)
- ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
- 6 oz canned tomato paste
- 12 oz vegan beef substitute
- 7 oz vegan Italian sausage (approximately two links, crumbled)
- 28 oz plum tomatoes (place tomatoes in a bowl and break up the whole tomatoes roughly with your fingers)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Other ingredients
- 16 oz spaghetti
- 1 cup vegan parmesan cheese
- 8 oz vegan mozzarella shreds
- 2 tablespoons parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
Make vegan ricotta cheese
- Place cashews, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, if using, and salt and ground black pepper in a blender bowl. Add 1 cup water and blend into a smooth sauce.
Make veggie-loaded marinara
- Place olive oil and garlic in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium and saute the garlic until it becomes very aromatic and begins to turn a light golden, which should take just a few seconds.
- Add the onions, bell peppers and carrots to the pan. Add salt and ground black pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onions are soft,
- Add the zucchini and eggplant. Mix and add the wine to the pot, if using. Let the veggies cook until they are almost tender and most of the moisture has left the pot.
- Stir in the tomato paste followed by the vegan sausage and the vegan meatless beef. Mix well. Add the canned plum tomatoes and oregano to the pot with a cup of water. Mix and let the sauce come to a boil. Stir the optional red pepper flakes into the sauce for a bit more spice.
- Turn heat to low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes.
Assemble and bake spaghetti
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain out all water from the pasta.
- Place the cooked, drained spaghetti in a bowl and add a cup of the marinara sauce to it. Toss the spaghetti with the marinara.
- Spread half the spaghetti noodles evenly in the baking pan or lasagna pan. Then layer half the vegan ricotta, half the vegan parmesan and half the vegan mozzarella over the spaghetti.
- Layer the remaining spaghetti in the pan. Ladle all of the meatless marinara, remaining ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella shreds over the spaghetti.
- Cover the pan tightly with a piece of aluminum foil lightly coated with oil, and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more. I like to turn on the broiler in the last couple of minutes to lightly brown the cheese.
- Let the spaghetti casserole stand 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1piece | Calories: 438kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 661mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1844IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 3mg