The Best Vegan Lasagna

1cup dried red lentils

(2) 25-ounce jars marinara sauce

1 cup raw cashews

14.5 ounce firm tofu patted dry

½ cup nutritional yeast

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice from about 2 lemons

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

3 cups baby spinach

1 box lasagna noodles (about 12 noodles) regular, gluten free or whole grain

2-3 cups vegan shredded vegan mozzarella

Cook the red lentils.Add 1 cup dried red lentils and 3 cups of water to a medium pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain the lentils in a fine strainer, and then add back to the pot and stir in the marinara sauce. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the Cashew-Tofu Ricotta: Add the cashews to a food processor and process until fine and crumbly. Then add the tofu in chunks, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, basil, oregano and garlic powder to the food processor. Pulse until well combined and pretty smooth. If it's too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to blend. Set aside.

Assembling the lasagna:Add about 1 cup of lentil marinara to the bottom of a large 9×13 inch casserole dish. Spread it around evenly. Next add 4-5 lasagna noodles (uncooked). Spread half of the ricotta on top of the noodles. Top with half of the spinach. Add about 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the spinach, then place 4-5 lasagna noodles on top. Spread the rest of the ricotta over the noodles, then the rest of the spinach. Place 4-5 more noodles on top of the spinach, and then pour the rest of the sauce over the top, evenly.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

While the lasagna is cooking, make your Vegan Mozzarella Cheese, if using. Alternatively, use 2-3 cups store bought vegan mozzarella cheese.

After 40 minutes, remove the foil and spoon on the mozzarella (or sprinkle the cheese all over). Place the lasagna back in the oven and bake for 20 more minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven, let cool for at least 15 minutes and serve.

Leftover lasagna will keep for about 4 days in the refrigerator. See notes for freezing instructions.

Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Cream Cheese Filling

8 ounces vegan cream cheese

1/3 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pumpkin Muffins

15 ounce can pumpkin puree

½ cup canola oil

½ cup soy milk

1 cup brown sugar packed

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Streusal

¼ cup melted vegan butter

1/3 cup brown sugar lightly packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup all purpose flour

• Preheat oven– Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease two muffin pans (or make 1 pan at a time). If you want to use paper liners, also make sure to spray the cups lightly with oil so the muffins don’t get stuck to the paper.
• Make the cream cheese filling– In a medium bowl, stir the vegan cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together until well combined. Set aside.
• Make the muffins– In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, oil, soy milk and brown sugar until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice to the same bowl, and stir until just combined with a wooden spoon.
• Add to muffin pan– Portion 2 tablespoons of muffin batter into the bottom of each liner and use a spoon to create a little crater in the middle for the cream cheese. Drop about 2 teaspoons of cream cheese mixture into the crater, then place more pumpkin batter on top, about 3/4 of the way full.
• Streusel topping– In a small bowl, combined all ingredients and mix with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the muffin batter.
• Bake– Bake for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool before serving. Enjoy!