Vegan Polenta Lasagna Recipes

POLENTA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put 4 cups of water into a pot and set over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the polenta so no lumps form. Add a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a boil. Lower the heat and cook according to the package directions. When it is finished, stir in the butter and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.
• Spread a cup of the Slow-Cooker Bolognese in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Add half the polenta and spread it evenly over the sauce. Add a layer of 6 slices provolone and 3/4 cup mozzarella, then top with 2 cups of the sauce. Make another layer with the remaining polenta. Top with the remaining provolone, 3/4 cup mozzarella and remaining sauce. Sprinkle over the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 15 minutes more. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Pour in the red wine and cook until it is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Pour this mixture into a slow cooker.
• Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil into the skillet, add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up any lumps, until it is nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the milk and cook until it is mostly absorbed by the meat, about 5 minutes. Add this to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and Parmesan rind if using. Add some salt. Give it a good stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
• Skim off any fat on top and check the consistency. If it is too thick, add a bit of water. If it is too thin, cook for another 30 minutes with the cover off.

POLENTA LASAGNA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until golden, about 1 minute. Stir in basil and oregano; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce. Simmer sauce until flavors combine, about 20 minutes.
• Combine spinach and 2 tablespoons water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover and cook until spinach is wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and cool until easily handled, about 5 minutes. Gather spinach into a ball and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely.
• Combine chopped spinach, ricotta, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese in a bowl.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Divide eggplant, red bell pepper, and orange bell pepper between lined baking sheets. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes, until tender and browned in spots, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Bring 6 cups water to a boil; add salt. Pour in polenta in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low. Whisk until polenta thickens, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook, stirring vigorously every 10 minutes, until polenta is the consistency of porridge, about 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spread half the polenta evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Layer half of the spinach mixture, roasted vegetables, and sauce on top. Top with ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers with remaining polenta, spinach mixture, roasted vegetables, and sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool before cutting so layers hold, at least 20 minutes.

PESTO POLENTA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Oil an 11x7x2 inch baking dish.
• Arrange a single layer of polenta in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread a thin layer of pesto over the polenta. Spoon half of the sauce over the polenta. Top with another layer of polenta and sauce.
• Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Top polenta with cheese and pine nuts, and broil until cheese browns and nuts are toasted.

EASY VEGAN POLENTA (SUPER CREAMY!)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.
• Once boiling, add in salt and stir to dissolve, then turn heat to medium.
• While whisking, slowly and continuously pour polenta into your water over the course of about 1 minute. Take it slow! This ensures that there will be no lumps in your cooked polenta.
• Once all of your polenta is in the water, continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then turn heat down to low and cover. The polenta should be gently bubbling but not fully simmering. Set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to whisk the polenta every 5 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• After 30 minutes, test your polenta. It should be soft and porridgy, with no lumps or graininess. If you want your polenta slightly thicker, let it cook for another 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and stir in vegan butter. Taste again and add more salt or butter if you want more savory or salty flavor. Enjoy!
• Polenta is a great base for sautéed veggies like asparagus or wilted greens, or with roasted garlic and baby tomatoes. Optionally, garnish with fresh basil or parsley, vegan parmesan, and/or more vegan butter.
• Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding more water and/or vegan butter as needed to rehydrate. Or, save leftovers for making polenta fries!

POLENTA LASAGNA WITH SPINACH AND HERBY RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees and butter an 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet pan. Grease a rubber spatula with butter.
• Prepare the polenta: In a large pot, bring 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, then slowly pour in polenta, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking often, until polenta thickens, 8 to 12 minutes. Whisk in 4 tablespoons butter until melted. Whisk in spinach until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in 1 cup grated Parmesan.
• Scrape polenta onto the prepared baking sheet. Using the greased rubber spatula, spread the mixture into a thin, even layer to cover the entire pan, all the way to corners. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated Parmesan on top. Bake until polenta is firm and cheese has melted, 12 to 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cooled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or place in refrigerator until cool to touch, about 40 to 50 minutes. (Polenta can be baked the day before and refrigerated until needed.)
• When ready to bake the lasagna, heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Prepare the ricotta filling: In a small bowl, mix ricotta, parsley, basil, egg, black pepper, nutmeg and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix until well combined and set aside.
• Taste the marinara sauce. If it needs some zip, stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.
• Assemble the lasagna: Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut cooled polenta in half widthwise, creating 2 pieces roughly 9 by 13 inches each. Using a large spatula, gently place one half in prepared baking dish. (It is important for polenta to be completely cooled and firm; otherwise, the pieces may break when transferring to baking dish. If anything breaks, just reassemble it in the pan. It won't make much of a difference once it's covered in sauce and baked.)
• Spread about half the ricotta mixture in an even layer on top of polenta. Pour about half of marinara sauce on top of ricotta, sprinkle with about half of the shredded mozzarella. Repeat with remaining polenta, ricotta, marinara and mozzarella. Once assembled, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on top.
• Place baking dish on top of a rimmed sheet pan in case the lasagna bubbles over. Bake until cheese melts, about 30 minutes. If you like, you can broil lasagna for 2 minutes after baking until cheese starts to bubble and develop brown spots.
• Remove from oven and let lasagna stand for about 15 minutes to firm up before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.

VEGAN LASAGNA RECIPE

Steps:

• If you're making the vegan ricotta from scratch as per our recipe, then put your slivered almonds in a bowl, pour over some boiling water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 1 hour.

VEGAN POLENTA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut polenta into 18 slices.
• Put red peppers and spinach into food processor and pulse a few times until chopped.
• In an 8x8 baking dish, spread approximately 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce.
• Line the bottom of the pan with polenta slices (you should use 9 slices).
• Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the polenta slices.
• Spread the red pepper/spinach mixture on top of the polenta.
• Sprinkle more bread crumbs.
• Place the rest of the polenta slices on top of the red pepper/spinach mixture.
• Spread the rest of the spaghetti sauce on top of the polenta.
• Top with remaining bread crumbs.
• Cover the dish with foil.
• Bake for about 35 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes.

POLENTA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce into an 8" square baking dish to cover bottom, and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in sausage; cook 2 minutes.
• Add mushrooms, zucchini, garlic and Italian seasononing; saute 2 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently.
• Add marinara sauce; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
• Arrange 9 polenta slices over marinara in baking dish, and top evenly with half of vegetable mixture.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over vegetable mixture; arrange remaining polenta over cheese.
• Top the polenta with remaining vegetable mixture, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until bubbly.
• Let stand 5 minutes.
• Serve with a nice Chianti or other robust red wine.