'I've been vegetarian for 14 years – meat eaters love my delicious lasagne recipe'

Pleasing my meat-eating friends and family with my vegetarian cooking is a common challenge but this hearty recipe never fails - and it always has people reaching for more

I’ve been a vegetarian for around 14 years but even before I took the plunge and went “official” with my diet (so to speak) I never liked to prepare or cook meat.

I experimented with a few easy but stereotypically meaty dishes like shepherd’s pie, spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne, ‘chicken’ tikka masala and, over the years, managed to get them pretty perfect - if I do say so myself.

When hosting though, I’ve noticed one dish in particular always goes down especially well. Reader, a chef I am not but I do love to host and want my guests to have tasty food they truly enjoy. I certainly don’t want them to feel like they’re missing out just because I don’t want to buy or cook meat.

I’ve tried, tested and adapted recipes from countless blogs and websites over the years and found that lasagne - with quite a few tweaks implemented to make it vegetarian and/or vegan friendly (Italians, please forgive me) - is phenomenally popular among my meat-eating friends and family, and many of them have even asked for the recipe to try it out themselves.

It’s probably just as easy as a standard lasagne but it’s one suited for all dietary choices - win, win. It’s made with green lentils which, in my humble opinion, should be added to most veggie mince-based dishes as they just bulk everything out, they're packed with protein and they ensure each dish is a really comforting, filling experience.

Here’s how to make my favourite vegetarian lasagne for yourself:

Ingredients:

Serves four to six people - depending on how greedy your guests are

• 1x 500g bag of vegetarian mince (I prefer Quorn’s but any will suffice)
• OR, to make it vegan, use 1x 400g tub of white mushrooms and 1x 250g tub of chestnut mushrooms (rinsed and blended until they're small and crumbly)
• 1x 400g tin of green lentils (drained and rinsed)
• 2x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1x large onion, finely chopped
• 2x garlic cloves, crushed (or half a teaspoon of granulated garlic)
• 3x tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1x tablespoon tomato puree
• 1x teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2x teaspoons of dried Italian seasoning
• 1x teaspoon of dried basil
• 1x vegetable stock cube
• 1x tablespoon nutritional yeast (I use Bosh!)
• 200ml of cold water
• 1x pack of lasagne sheets (most dried pasta available at supermarkets is vegan as it's made without eggs, but most lasagne sheets do contain eggs. Double check the pack if you’d like to make a vegan version of this - the Free From sections often have vegan lasagne sheets)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 100g of grated cheese (you can choose grated vegan cheese if you wish)

For the cheese sauce:

• 200g cashew nuts
• 200g block of firm tofu
• 500ml unsweetened oat milk
• 6x tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1x teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of dried onion granules
• ½ teaspoon of garlic powder/granules
• Pepper for taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add the chopped onion and stir on a low heat for a few minutes until it starts to soften, then throw in the chopped garlic and continue cooking.
2. Add the mince and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for a few minutes then add the drained green lentils and stir. Sprinkle the dried herbs in, then mix together to ensure the flavours permeate the entire dish.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix together, then pop in the tomato puree. Lightly season again with salt and pepper.
4. Crumble the veggie stock cube over the top, add 200ml of water then stir through, bringing to a gentle simmer. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, making sure to stir regularly then set to one side.
5. For the cheese sauce, add the cashews to a blender and process until they’re fine and crumbly. Tear the tofu into chunks then add, alongside all the other ‘cheese’ sauce ingredients. Blitz until it’s smooth and well combined. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water. Set to one side.
6. Assemble the lasagne. Simply spoon a layer of the mince ‘meat’ mixture into the base of an ovenproof baking dish, then cover with a few sheets of lasagne (2-4, depending on the size of your dish), then spoon a layer of the ‘cheese’ mixture on top. Repeat this process until you have at least three layers.
7. For the final layer, ensure the cheese sauce is spooned over the lasagne sheets, then top with a sprinkle of the grated cheese.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pasta has softened or the topping is golden brown and bubbling. Allow it to stand for five minutes before cutting to allow the filling to settle, then enjoy!

Let us know in the comments below if you’re going to give this recipe a try.