Vegan White Lasagna puts a twist on classic lasagna, swapping the marinara for a vegan alfredo sauce and layering a savory mushroom spinach ricotta filling between every noodle. It’s so creamy and delicious, you’ll never notice it’s 100% dairy-free!
Want more vegan lasagna recipes? Then you’ll have to try my Vegan Lasagna Rolls, this Butternut Squash Lasagna, and my Vegan Lasagna Soup!
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“It is a very rare recipe indeed that the whole family enjoys. I have a very picky two-year-old. Everyone loved this!!” – Anna
As your resident vegan comfort food expert, it’s my job to show you that lasagna is one of the most comforting recipes of all time. It’s exactly why my Vegan Lasagna recipe has over 400 5-star reviews!
My Vegan White Lasagna puts a creamier spin on the classic tomato-based comfort food but is just as amazing. I swapped the marinara sauce for homemade vegan alfredo sauce and the meaty filling for mushroom spinach ricotta. Every slice is cheesy, ooey gooey, and meant to be scooped up with a slice of vegan garlic bread!
Why you’ll love this white lasagna recipe
- A creamy twist – My alfredo lasagna is made with two white sauces—vegan alfredo and cashew tofu ricotta—to take the creaminess to the next level.
- Packed with plants – The cheesy filling has sautéed spinach and mushrooms, while the creamy vegan ricotta is made from cashews and tofu. I even used white beans in the alfredo sauce for extra richness and some sneaky plant protein.
- Kid-approved – If your kids aren’t into tomatoes but love any cheese-based dish, they’ll love my vegan ricotta lasagna. They won’t even notice it’s dairy-free!
How to make a vegan white lasagna
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Start by making the vegan alfredo sauce
Sauté the aromatics in a small pan over medium heat until translucent. Add them to a blender along with the soaked cashews, white beans, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, and water. Blend until smooth.
Next, make the mushroom spinach ricotta
Sauté the onion and mushrooms in a large skillet until softened. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook until fragrant. Finish by stirring in the spinach, then set aside.
Pulse the cashews in a food processor until crumbly. Add the tofu, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt, then pulse until smooth. Stir in half of the mozzarella cheese at the end.
Stir the ricotta into the mushroom spinach mixture.
Assemble the lasagna
Spoon some of the alfredo onto the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer the lasagna noodles on top, then add half of the mushroom spinach filling. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the alfredo sauce over the filling.
Repeat these steps until you have a final layer of noodles and alfredo on top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over top.
Boil vs. no-boil lasagna noodles
You can make this lasagna with both or no-boil noodles. I like to boil the noodles, then lay them on a piece of parchment paper afterward to prevent them from sticking.
Bake the lasagna
Cover the dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey.
Let the lasagna cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving with fresh parsley on top. Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
I like layering sliced Italian vegan sausages or leftover pieces of seitan “chicken” over the mushroom and spinach filling when I want an extra filling meal. The veggies in the filling are pretty flexible, too. You can swap the mushrooms or spinach with kale, broccoli, frozen peas, zucchini, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, or anything else you like.
Yes, you can fully assemble the lasagna in the casserole dish, then keep it covered and in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. I wouldn’t let it sit for longer than 24 hours, though.
Another option is to make the alfredo and ricotta filling in advance, then store them in separate containers in the fridge. That way, all that’s left to do is assemble the lasagna and bake it when you’re ready.
Sure! Just use gluten-free lasagna noodles instead.
Raw slivered almonds work just as well as cashews in the vegan ricotta. If you need a nut-free alternative, replace the cashews with another brick of tofu.
Yes, it freezes quite well! Wait for it to cool after baking, then cover the dish with foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, bake the lasagna (covered) in a 350ºF oven from frozen, adding an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time. Remove the foil at the end and continue baking until the top gets melty and bubbly.
Vegan White Lasagna
Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
- 6 large cloves garlic minced
- 15- ounce can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
Mushroom Spinach Ricotta Filling
- 16 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced or chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup raw cashews or raw slivered almonds, or 1 more tofu block
- 14.5 ounces firm tofu drained (no need to press)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
The Rest
- 1 box lasagna noodles about 12 large noodles
- 8 ounces vegan mozzarella shredded cheese optional
- 1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese optional
- fresh chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
Make the Alfredo Sauce
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil (I use my tea kettle). Pour the hot water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until fragrant and the onion is translucent. Remove from heat.
- Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water. Add them to a high powered blender along with the white beans, onions/garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and water. Blend until very smooth and set aside.
Prepare the Mushroom Spinach Ricotta Filling
- Thaw the spinach and squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside.
- Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for 1 more minute, until fragrant. Stir in the spinach, then remove from the heat.
- Add the cashews to a food processor and process until fine and crumbly. Add the tofu in chunks, lemon juice, garlic powder and salt. Pulse until well-combined and smooth. Stir in half of the mozzarella cheese, if using.
- Stir the ricotta into the mushroom spinach mixture.
Assemble Lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
- Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. I like to lay the noodles on parchment paper after they are done cooking, so they don’t stick together. Alternatively, use no boil noodles.
- Spoon about 1/2 cup of the alfredo sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Layer with 4-5 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the mushroom spinach filling and drizzle 1/2 cup of alfredo sauce on top. Arrange another layer of noodles on top, then the rest of the mushroom spinach filling and 1/2 cup of alfredo sauce. Finish with a final layer of noodles, then pour the remaining alfredo sauce on top and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan, if using.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with a little fresh parsley, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
- For gluten free, use gluten free lasagna noodles.
This is a mild dish that is very good and so far reheats well. I will absolutely make it again.
My changes:
– I used the Vegan Alfredo Sauce https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-alfredo-sauce/ as opposed to this version with white beans.
– I added zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper to the onion/mushroom/spinach sauté – heavily seasoned with ” Salt Free” (I didn’t have Italian seasoning).
-Due to the heavy increase in veggies/ricotta mix, I omitted the final layer of noodles – this was to the top of the dish as it was.
-Finally, I added nutritional yeast to the ricotta as well.
Really enjoyable. Messy to assemble, but that is what I get for going with the more heavy liquid alfredo sauce and trying to add far more vegetables.
I have never had white lasagna in my life. Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I love your creativity with the recipe! Thanks for sharing your experience.
So good!!! Thank you! My new fav vegan dish
You are welcome, Wendi! Thank you for sharing your glowing review! Happy cooking!
I usually love your recipes but this one was so dry. I made it exactly as it said to. Maybe I did something wrong because everyone else on here seems to love it.
Great lasagna recipe! I used chopped vegan chicken instead of beans and increased the baby spinach.
Another hit from Nora!
I love your ideas! Thanks you for your fabulous review and feedback!
I love this yummy white lasagna! I run a program called the Vegan Volunteer Corps in Chicago and we feed 50 people living in a homeless shelter every month a full course plant-based meal. Will be making this lasagna for our March 10th meal. I’m sure they will love it!
That sounds fabulous, Sherry! Thanks for the program and for feeding people! What a giving act! I hope everyone enjoys the lasagna!
Hi!!
Would canned spinach work instead of the thawed frozen type?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried it but it should work just fine. Enjoy!
Making this for Sunday dinner tomorrow, quick question, are the cashews that are ground for the ricotta filing soaked before grinding??
Thank you, the recipe looks awesome!!
I hope you love the white lasagna! No, they are not soaked first for this recipe. Enjoy!
I am thinking about making this white lasanga – it looks amazing and the reviews are fantastic. Question: Is there a way to incorporate canned pumpkin into this recipe in order to make it a pumpkin lasagna?
You might be able to, but I’m not sure! Sounds good.
I made some adjustments to this recipe to use up what I had on-hand, and it turned out delicious! I added sautéed zucchini and used a ready-made vegan cashew Parmesan sauce that was just sitting in my fridge in place of the Alfredo (had to water it down a bit to make it work). I also used no-boil gluten free noodles that worked pretty well for this recipe (the top ones were a just little chewy). Definitely a tasty option for dinner!
Hi Nina. Innovative thinking, and your meal sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your great ideas, feedback and review!
As always, this was another fantastic recipe from Nora! I was feeling lazy and tried this lasagna with no boil noodles (with no egg). I did cover it with foil to bake and it came out perfect!
It’s so fantastic the lasagna came out perfect for you! Thank you for your great feedback and review!
This lasagna is SO GOOD! It’s even better than your standard lasagna with red sauce. The beans are a great addition.
I’m making this for Thanksgiving. Looks delish.
Hi Nora – I am preparing this vegan lasagna dish this morning for an upcoming event – would I freeze this dish after I assemble the entire dish and wait to bake just before serving? I was just a little confused about freezing after reading the vegan Alfredo sauce recipe?? Thank you for you prompt reply!!
Yes, you can freeze the assembled unbaked lasagna. Bake it as normal before serving but add a few extra minutes to the baking time. Hope this helps!
Loved this. I sautéed mushrooms and onion as 1 layer, skipped the ricotta entirely and used some vegan mozzarella shreds. This was fabulous, thank you Nora!
You are welcome! I’m so glad you loved the lasagna! Thanks for your wonderful feedback and ideas!
Should the cashews be soaked before making the ricotta?
Hi Jennifer. No, the cashews are not soaked for this recipe.
Nora, can I make this lasagna the day before using uncooked noodles? In nonvegan lasagna one can do this as the noodles will cook up just perfect after it sits all night refrigerated. It is so much easier to spread sauce and cheese mixture onto uncooked noodles versus cooked without tearing them when assembling the lasagna. I am planning to.prepare this for our Christmas dinner. We love going outside the box and bring new tastes and dishes to our table for holidays after growing up with ALL the traditional menu items. Please reply. I follow you on IG and have made so many of your delicious recipes, never ever being disappointed.
I haven’t tried it but you can certainly try it out! I’m not sure the noodles will get soft enough, but it’s possible. Thank you for enjoying my recipes, I hope everyone loves the lasagna!
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I was wondering if you have tried freezing this? I’d love to be able to make a double batch, pop one in the freezer and one in the oven.
Yes, it freezes quite well. You can absolutely do that. Thank you!
can this recipe be made without cashews? My partner and I have a nut allergy but would still love to make this dish. Is there anything we could substitute for those ingredients?
It’s a little hard because there are cashews in both the alfredo sauce AND the ricotta. But, you might be able to. You could make my almond vegan ricotta instead, and try substituting either raw slivered almonds or sunflower seeds for the cashews in the alfredo sauce. It will be a bit different but would work quite well!
It is a very rare recipe indeed that the whole family enjoys. I have a very picky two-year-old. Everyone loved this!!
Hi Anna. I’m glad you all enjoyed the lasagna! Thank you!
Another fabulous recipe!! Nora, your recipe’s never let my Husband and I down, your blog is always a go to for us! I added some vegan chicken in as well and it was delicious. Super easy! And so glad you noted about cooking the lasagna noodles first, that has been an issue when making lasagna previously. Absolutely will be making this lasagna again!!
Thanks so much! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Hi Nora,
Would the mozzarella topping you use in the “best vegan lasagna” work well for this recipe also? I’d prefer that in lieu of a store bought variety.
Thanks!
Yes, that would work for topping this lasagna as well. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious! My 23 yr old son said ” not bad” which is the greatest of compliments from him. Thanks for another winner.
You’re welcome! Glad he approved!
I made this, and oh my goodness! It’s delicious. Thank you for such a great recipe.
You’re welcome! Glad you like it. 🙂
Nora, do you have a recipe for the vegan alfredo sauce?
Yes, I link to it several times in the post and the recipe card, but here it is again: Vegan Alfredo Sauce.
Thank you, Nora! It wasn’t highlighted on my computer . . . but, you certainly did include the link. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Nora, love your recipes! Can you substitute uncooked lasagna noodles?
Thanks
Thank you so much Henrietta! Unfortunately the lasagna noodles need to be cooked first in this recipe, sorry! I just couldn’t get it to work with uncooked noodles.