These Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Rolls will keep your lasagne cravings at bay. Scroll down for the recipe.
I love lasagne, I really do. And often I'm inclined to say if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it. But, here I am taking a classic lasagne and rolling it up (quite literally) in to something simpler.
The thing is, lasagne is really a labour of love. You need a top quality tomato ragu (slow cooked for extra flavour), a rich and creamy bechamel sauce, fresh lasagne sheets and a good stint in the oven before its ready to eat.
It creates a lot of washing up, which quite frankly I could do without. But, I really love lasagne and so over the years I've come up with a way of getting my lasagne fix on a weeknight without slaving away over a hot stove.
This recipe takes lasagne sheets and rolls them up with a spinach and ricotta filling and a tomato sauce poured over the top for all the flavours of lasagne but in a much simpler, easy dish. Sure, it's not quite the same as a proper lasagne but it will help keep those cravings at bay!
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Ingredients
There are 3 components to these Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Rolls, (1) the sauce, (2) the filling (3) the pasta.
The sauce ingredients are:
- olive oil
- white onion
- garlic
- passata
- tomato puree
- balsamic vinegar
- mixed herbs
- salt and pepper to taste
For the filling you will need:
- spinach
- vegan butter
- vegan ricotta
- vegan parmesan
- nutmeg
For the topping you will need:
Of course we also need pasta sheets. The good news is you have two options: the first is to use dried lasagne sheets which are usually egg-free; the second is to make your own.
Find out how to make your own vegan pasta here.
If you use dried lasagne sheets you will need to cook them first so they are able to roll. If you make your own you will be taking this recipe from good to great! The choice is yours.
Instructions
There are quite a few steps to this recipe but I promise it's worth it. The full breakdown of instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Step 1: Make a tomato sauce by frying onion in a little olive oil, adding garlic then passata, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and mixed herbs and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as required.
- Step 2: Wilt the spinach in a sauce pan with a little vegan butter.
- Step 3: Once the spinach is cooked, squeeze out any excess moisture, roughly chop and add to the vegan ricotta and nutmeg. Stir until well combined.
- Step 4: Spread the spinach and vegan ricotta mix over each lasagne sheet and then roll up.
- Step 5: Assemble the dish by pouring the tomato sauce into an oven dish and placing each rolled up lasagne sheet into the sauce.
- Step 6: Top with the vegan mozzarella before baking in the oven for 25 minutes or until piping hot. Serve immediately.
Hint: If the mozzarella is browning too quickly cover with tinfoil while it cooks.
Variations
You can add protein to this dish by adding vegan mince or lentils to the tomato sauce.
Top Tip
Squeeze the spinach between sheets of kitchen roll to really draw out the excess moisture.
FAQ
Yes! Simply cover with foil to stop the mozzarella burning and reheat for 30-45 minutes or until piping hot in the centre.
There are two methods to freezing this recipe.
Freeze in a disposable oven dish which can be chucked straight in the oven from frozen. If you do this method you'll need to cook them for 60 minutes or until they are piping hot and the cheese has melted.
Freeze each lasagne roll individually on a sheet pan then transfer into freezer bags along with some sauce. You can then pull out as many lasagne rolls as you need at any one time. To bake from frozen cook for 60 minutes or until they are piping hot and the cheese has melted.
The recipe
Vegan Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Rolls
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 750 g passata
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the filling
- 400 g spinach
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 375 g vegan ricotta
- 50 g vegan parmesan grated
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg grated
To assemble
- 6 fresh vegan lasagne sheets or dried sheets that have been pre-cooked to soften them
- 125 g vegan mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6).
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion along with a good pinch of salt.
- Cook the onion on a medium heat for 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring frequently to ensure the garlic doesn't catch. Add the passata, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar and mixed herbs and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Taste and add salt and/or pepper as required.
- At the same time, wilt the spinach in a dry pan with the vegan butter.
- Drain any excess liquid and roughly chop before placing into a mixing bowl.
- Add the vegan ricotta to the bowl with a the freshly-grated nutmeg and season to taste.
- Once the tomato sauce has begun to thicken, pour it into a large oven dish.
- Lay out each lasagne sheet and spread the spinach and vegan ricotta mix over the whole length of the sheet.
- Roll each one up and place into the oven dish.
- Top with the mozzarella and bake for a further 25-30 minutes until the vegan cheese is bubbling and golden.
Nutrition
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More mid week meals
Check out the Dinner Recipe Archive for all the mid-week meal inspiration you need.
Xinmei @ Pudding Pie Lane says
Thanks for the simple recipe, it's always annoying having to go out and bu those small nitpicky bits and as students we can't always afford it - plus we'll probably lose that jar of basil lonnngg before it's finished 🙂
heather says
I am making something similar this weekend!
Emmyw says
Awesome heather! Please do let us know how they go and anything you do a bit differently!!!