When I initially think of lasagne, I think of a giant serving dish with gooey cheese, meat sauce and layers of pasta. Super healthy right?

But since I don't believe in deprivation, I'm an advocate of swapping your favorite dishes into a lighter yet delicious version. This dish still gives you that feeling of comfort food so it has been one of my go to's for a while now when I'm wanting something hearty. You get a serious helping of veggies and plant protein to make it packed with nutrition, fiber and no gut clogging materials. I even used brown rice lasagna to make it easier to digest than some wheat products, so it's not only free of animal products but also gluten.

Here is everything I used with the exception of some Italian seasonings not pictured.

My veggies of choice were tomatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms. Some vegetarian lasagna recipes use tofu as the "ricotta" but I opted out. Instead, I used a mix of some mini portobello mushrooms and one chopped vegan Italian sausage as the "meat" of the dish. Again, totally your personal preference!

Once everything is chopped and sliced, START LAYERING!

Topped it off with some crushed cashews and almond based cheese for a textured crust.

Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 min- 1 hour.

Full Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box gluten free lasagna sheets
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar marinara
2 zucchinis
5 mini portobello mushrooms
1/2 cauliflower head
1 tomato
1 head broccoli
1 vegan Italian sausage
Cashews
Italian seasoning
Vegan Cheese * Optional*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer bottom of dish with marinara sauce. Add first two sheets of pasta as base. Do one layer over veggies and coat with marinara, diced tomatoes, and seasoning. Repeat for about 6 layers (the more veggies you add to each layer, the less layers you will have). Cover last pasta sheets with some marinara sauce and crushed cashews. Add optional vegan cheese. Bake covered for about 30 minutes and then uncovered for another 15-30 minutes. You can broil the top layer for a few minutes at the end if you prefer a crispy crust!

**Note that it will have more liquid in the pan than regular lasagna! Meat and cheese have no water content, vegetables do :)