Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Since I got a little heavy in yesterday’s post about body weight, image and happiness,...

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Since I got a little heavy in yesterday’s post about body weight, image and happiness, I figured I’d keep it light and short today.

And don’t tell yesterday’s recipe, but: this one is much more exciting!

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Going vegan this month has so far, been much easier and much more intuitive than omnivorous eating is for me.

However, last week, I was craving something really hearty. As a stress eater, I’m liable to cook up a triple decker grilled cheese if I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

So, I decided to “vegan-ize” my favorite comfort food: lasagna.

This lasagna is simple, easy to make, and has the exact consistency of traditional lasagna.

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

What replaces the cheese? Cashew cheese! Cashew cheese is a vegan’s savior. It’s easy to make (once you’ve let your cashews soak, of course) and can be substituted into so many cheese dishes. This cashew cheese is seasoned with Italian herbs, so it works fabulously in this traditional Italian-American dish.

This lasagna has that rich tomato taste with a lovely butteriness that comes in from the roasted rutabaga slices.

It’s kind of a spin on my ever-so-popular sausage and kale butternut squash lasagna. It’s just a lightened up version.

I actually popped it into the freezer after I made it last week so that when I got home from Florida (yesterday), I could reheat it and have it for dinner.

If you’re meal planning for the week, this is a great option – and it lasts in the refrigerator for a bit longer than a meat dish would, since it’s vegan!

And here are some process shots to show how it’s layered and comes together easily:

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

The final result, pre-oven:

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Nutritional Information & Recipe

Weight Watchers SmartPoints*: 12 points

*These points were calculated using the official Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculator. We are in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, we are providing this information based on popular demand.

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 large rutabaga or 2 small rutabagas peeled
  • 3.5 cups tomato basil sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 cups chopped kale
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • For the cashew cheese:
  • 1.5 cups cashews soaked in water for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) and drained
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  • Slice halfway through the rutabaga, just to the center (careful not to go further.) Spiralize the rutabaga, using Blade A.
  • Place a medium pot over medium-high heat, add in the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, lower heat to low to keep warm on the stovetop.
  • Place all of the ingredients for the cheese into a high-speed blender or food processor and process until creamy. Taste and adjust with more salt, if needed. Set aside.
  • Place a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil. Once oil is shimmering, add in the kale, garlic, red pepper flakes, shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted.
  • Gather all of your prepared ingredients to build the lasagna. Take out a casserole dish (I use 4.2 quart) and add about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom. Then, add a layer of the rutabaga on top. Then, add a layer of the cheese mixture. Then, add in a layer of the kale mixture. Top with tomato basil sauce and spread it around with the back of a spatula or otherwise. Top with a layer of rutabaga. Then, add the cashew cheese. Then, add a layer of kale mixture. Then, add in a layer of the tomato basil sauce. Top with a layer of the rutabaga and then, top with the remaining tomato sauce.
  • Cover the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. After 40 minutes, poke the top layer and if you can easily pierce through the rutabaga, it’s done. If you can’t, bake another 5 minutes.
  • Once the lasagna is done, carefully cut into 4 very large pieces or 6 medium pieces.

Vegan Kale and Rutabaga Lasagna

with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • Oops! You have us piercing easily through the butternut squash to tell if the recipe is done. You really mean rutabaga. This is an interesting recipe, and I like rutabaga a lot and can have it, but not the cashews or kale. I thought I'd make it non-vegan, with real cheese, and use bok choy instead of kale and make a smaller trial version to see how it is. It sounds like it would work that way, too.
    • If you'd like a non-vegan version, you'll like this recipe: inspiralized.com/2014/10/28/winter-kale-sausage-and-butternut-squash-lasagna/
    • I think you could use any greens that can be cooked (chard, beet greens, spinach, even New Zealand spinach)
  • I can't wait to try this! It looks delicious! I just wanted to let you know that I think in step 7 it should be rutabaga not butternut squash :) Keep up the amazing work! My family loves your recipes!
  • I have a son who is allergic to cashews, but not almonds so I made "almond cheese" by soaking almonds overnight in the fridge, and then blending them in my food processor with a little olive oil or water to the a texture that is similar to ricotta cheese." I season it with fresh or dried herbs, depending on what I have on hand and use it to top spiralized raw zucchini noodles with a raw marinara sauce (a few sun-dried tomatoes soaked and drained pureed with fresh tomatoes, scallions (or onions or shallots), a bell pepper, and lots of fresh herbs (or dried) and black pepper and red pepper flakes. Leave it kind of chunky. Kind of like gazpacho, but thicker because of the sun dried tomatoes. Makes for a fantastic summer farm market dinner! Ali, I LOVE your spiralizer and use it at least 1-2 times a week to make "kugel," pastas, and salads.
  • I am allergic to yeast products and all dairy, along with wheat, corn, soy and a lot of the leafy green vegetables. Can you still make the cheese without using the nutritional yeast? I love my machine and your recipes too. I think I will try and use Bok Choy also. I so miss my cheese. So appreciate the Cashew recipe. Could you also use almonds?
    • I think cashew cream can turn out fine without the nutritional yeast, you just gotta make it thicker and add more seasonings and so forth. It won't exactly taste cheesy, but it will be delicious; I add the stuff to almost all my recipes, and I'm an omnivore. You might be able to enhance the taste by adding a non-dairy butter. But the almonds lack the flavor and texture that make a sauce cheesy on their own. Maybe if you mixed them w something else?
    • Almonds would definitely not work for cashew cheese. The cashew texture is necessary. Almonds are much harder and would not have the creamy consistency. If you can't have cashews the closest thing I can think of is maybe hazelnuts. You need something with the same soft texture that cashews have
  • I think bok choy would release too much liquid for this recipe. What would you think about using shaved Brussels sprouts, or can the bigger ones be spiralized? Nutritional yeast is what gives the cashew cheese the cheesy flavor.
  • I'm confused. On my Inspiralizer, it's blade D that slices the way your picture shows. Are there two versions. I seems that I've been confused by this before--A/D flip-flop in the recipe. Is there something I don't get? Thanks.
      • OK. It's me. As I was double-checking my blades while contacting product support, I realized in a "flash of insight" that I was reading the letter of the blade while looking down from the top. If I look at it from the side where the actual blade is, it's (as you well know) A ! Sorry for the bother, but thanks for the help and for the speedy reply. Makes all the difference when there really IS product support. Anyway, I'll be making the Lasagna today. Thanks again! Carol
  • I cannot have cashews either, here are a couple of different "cheese" variations I use for my lasagna. Adapted from Kimberly Snyder's recipe :) Can't wait to try this! •Ricotta Cheese: •2 cups pine nuts •2 Tbs. lemon juice •2 Tbs. low sodium tamari •½ cup water •1 medium garlic clove •Parmesan Cheese: •1 cup walnuts •2 Tbs. nutritional yeast •1 tsp. Italian seasoning •½ tsp. Celtic or Himalayan sea salt
  • This looks delicious, can't wait to make it for my vegan daughter! Can I assemble it in the morning, refrigerate it and bake it at dinnertime?
  • To me, rutabagas look the most like noodles in terms of color. When I slice them for spaghetti, they look the most like fettuccini. Love them!! The kale is so great for its terrific eye nutrition even if you're young. You'll be happier when you get older and are not getting cataracts and AMD like your friends.
  • Hi Saw this first thing this morning and its on the dinner menu for tonight!!! Can't wait to try it!! Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe Ali!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Cannot get over how satisfying this looks! I absolutely love spiralizing rutabagas, so I know this would be a winner. Cashew cheese is the BOMB!
  • I made this last night. Amazing!
  • I made this recipe on Tuesday. I had never cooked with a rutabaga. It turned out very tasty. I would make this again.
  • Just made this. I used a turnip and sautéed Bok Choy with onions and garlic. Used roasted fire tomatos in the marinara sauce. I added sautéed ground turkey meat for protein for me. Layered everything together and baked. It is so good. Thanks for the recipe. Turnip turned out good on the spiralizer.
  • This looks like comfort food at its best. Can't wait to dig into my own.
  • Ali, Do you think it would be okay if I prepped this today and placed it in the fridge overnight and baked it tomorrow?
  • I made a version acceptable for my eating restrictions based off this one and like the one at Houlihan's (which I can't eat, unfortunately) OMG!!!! Amazing! I used butternut squash, spinach, Rao's Sensitive marinara (since I can't have onions/garlic), Trader Joe's Almond Milk shredded cheese, and sausage. It was soooooooo good - out of this world!!
  • Kale's out of season now, but I had lots of New Zealand spinach in my garden so I used that instead. I also used homemade tomato sauce. It took over an hour in the oven though. I finally had to leave and just turned the oven off and left it in there. It wound up with the top not wanting to cut, but the other layers cutting just fine. I worder if it would have cooled better with shredded cheese on top. I'm allergic to milk but sometimes use goat cheese to make up for it.
  • I just made this lasagna using turnips instead of rutabaga because that's what the store had in stock. And oh my hot lord, this is phenomenal! I love the savoriness and umami from the tomato sauce, the cheesiness from the cashew cheese, and the cooked vegetable noodle really takes on the texture of lasagna noodles. Easy to make and so amazing, thank you, Ali!
    • Hi Nisha! Thank you so much for your comment. We love that you enjoyed the dish.
  • I actually don't have a spiralizer, but I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for rutabaga recipes. I used a mandolin to thinly slice the rutabaga. This is the BEST vegan recipe I have ever made. WOW. Thank you!
  • I made this recipe with ingredients I had on hand - spinach instead of kale and traditional cheese. I must say that rutabaga is a very tasty substitute for lasagna noodles. The texture and firmness is more like al dente lasagna noodles than any other vegetable noodle I have had. And the taste is subtle enough not to overwhelm the recipie. This is a winner and next time I have to use all ingredients in the recipe.
    • This is wonderful to hear! We're so glad you liked the rutabaga noodles. They're amazing!