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Maybe because I grew up eating it…but I have always loved my mom’s lasagna the best. We are creatures of habit, but anyone who eats her recipe always enjoys it, so it must be good by itself too!
Of course, I have been CRAVING this, in fact I had a pan in the freezer I had made before my son was born waiting for us.
Then of course food intolerances galore set in, and the gluten and dairy in it were out. I needed to recreate the cheese sauce with no dairy.
The results are a creamy and dreamy casserole free of all gluten and dairy!
For those of you still able to, you can use any lasagna noodles, and the dairy cheese mix to follow…OR try something new and just as delicious and totally dairy free!!
I have also noticed that a lot of people avoid making lasagna, making the wrong assumption that it is time consuming…not at all!! It is a really simple assembly that requires no special skills or methods…and is a snap to throw together.
Best of all, you can easily make a double batch, freeze one pan for later or share it with a lucky friend. This a favorite meal to send to friends in need!
VEGAN/VEGETARIAN?
Simply replace the ground beef with roughly 3-5 cups chopped veggies – onion, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach…whatever sounds good. You will saute the veggies in olive oil until tender, adding the spices and tomato sauce at the end.
Mom's Lasagna - Gluten & Dairy Free
Ingredients
- 1 box lasagna noodles (there is no real science here if you like yours really noodly, then add more!! If you get a box with mostly broken noodles, break them all up and layer pieces instead, lasagna is just a casserole after all! I used Tinkyada Lasagna Noodles to make it gluten-free.
- Red sauce:
- 1 pound ground meat or sauteed veggies for a vegan option
- 1 large jar favorite spaghetti sauce or 24oz crushed tomatoes and a can of paste Tonight used my homemade roasted vegetable blender pasta sauce!
- 2 t herbs of choice I added basil, oregano
- Garlic salt to taste start w/ 1 teaspoon
- CHEESE MIX I - DAIRY FREE VERSION
- 1 cup pine nuts soaked in cold water at least 2 hours or raw cashews
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 T nutritional yeast
- 8 oz mozzarella style vegan cheese such as Daiya cheese
- CHEESE SAUCE 2 - DAIRY VERSION
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
- 8 oz cottage cheese
- 8 oz grated parmesan or pecorino romano
Instructions
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Boil lasagna noodles following the directions (I used Tinkyada Brown Rice noodles- yum!), rinse with cool water, toss with a bit of oil to keep them from sticking, set aside. I have noticed I do not cook Tinkiyada noodles as long as they suggest, about HALF the time, so be safe and test a noodle!
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Brown the ground meat with some garlic salt.
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Add in the tomato sauce of your choice, along with the herbs.
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Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning to your personal taste. Choose your cheese sauce and prepare:
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Cheese Sauce I - Mix all the cheeses together in bowl.
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Cheese Sauce II - Puree all ingredients except the cheese in a food processor until they are silky smooth (and if you are feeling creative, add some herbs in here too for added pizazz. Oregano, basil, thyme, Italian Seasoning are all good options). When smooth, add the Daiya cheese, and pulse a couple of times to mix.
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Assembling: Put a ladleful of red sauce to coat the bottom of the pan...this is a little trick so the noodles don't stick to the bottom.
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Then layer the noodles, cheese sauce, red sauce, and repeat until ingredients are used up. NOTE: the layers don't need to be completely covered, it will all melt and blend together in the oven, promise, DOLLOPS WORK GREAT!!)
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I like to end with the red sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. Cover and freeze at this point if you are saving for later.
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Bake in a 350 degree oven for apx 30 minutes until heated through.
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This lasagna receipt isn’t dairy free. Why is labeled as such?
Hi Nicolyn! I am sorry if it seemed confusing, but there are TWO versions of the cheese sauce listed in the recipe, the first being dairy free. I like to provide options whenever I can since everyone has different dietary needs!
Hi,
Just wanted to let you know I am sharing your wonderful recipe tomorrow in my Gluten-Free Recipe RoundUp with a link back to your original post!
Have a terrific weekend!
Cathy from APeekIntoMyParadise.com
We love Lasagna and this would be a great recipe to try. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope you have a great week!
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Miz Helen recently posted…Chicken and Chilies Bake
This looks good Tessa! Thanks for sharing it at Savoring Saturdays!
Raia recently posted…Savoring Saturdays #3
Thank you for linking up at Tasty Tuesdays! Your post has been pinned to my Recipes from Tasty Tuesday board. I can’t wait to see what you link up next week!
Have a terrific weekend!
Cathy
APeekIntoMyParadise.com
#TastyTuesdays
Oooh, this is great. I haven’t seen a lasagna recipe with nut-cheese before.
Megan recently posted…New Year’s Resolutions – Week 6 Update
Wow this looks delicious. I never seem to get gluten free lasagna right. I will definitely try this recipe.
Thank you!
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets) recently posted…Kincao’s Gluten Free Curry Lime Cauliflower Recipe
I am allergic to all nuts (pine nuts included) can the nuts for the dairy free cheese sauce be left out or substituted?
Are you allergic to dairy too?
I have sinus issues which are aggrevated by dairy so I eat dairy free and currently gluten free. All these food issues are so much fun, aren’t they!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back later tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Wonderful lasagna recipe and I love how you have adapted it for special diets. The pine nut cream sounds really delicious!
I am so excited to find your blog. I recently discovered I may have food allergies and I am looking for helpful resources. Thanks for all of the information!
Ashley
Ashley, glad you found me! Please, let me know if i can help you in anyway, it is quite a daunting adventure in the beginning! I love to help people tweak things for their own allergies, so please don;t hesitate to ask!