Insanely Delicious Dairy Free Lasagna

A wooden spoon holding up a big piece of dairy free lasagna

When you went dairy free, did you think lasagna was off the table?  You’re in luck, because I’ve got an insanely delicious dairy free lasagna that even your cheese-loving pals will enjoy!  It’s made with just eight ingredients and tastes amazing.

How to make dairy free lasagna

If you take a quick glance at the recipe, it might seem like a lot of steps – but I promise, this is easy to make!  A lot of things are done simultaneously so it doesn’t take a ton of time to prep this.

To make this, you’ll only need 8 simple ingredients:

  • Olive oil
  • Mushrooms
  • Spinach
  • Lasagna noodles
  • Onion
  • Ground beef (can skip this if you’re vegetarian)
  • Pasta sauce
  • Fauxcotta (a ricotta substitute)

Once you’ve got all your ingredients, there’s three prep steps for this dairy free lasagna:

1) Prep your lasagna noodles – I get the water going at the start and add them in when it’s boiling, that way they’re cooking while I’m prepping the next two things

2) Prep your veggies – For this, you’ll sauté the mushrooms and spinach in the olive oil.

Spinach and mushrooms in a saute pan

3) Prep your meat sauce – You’ll saute the ground beef and onion (shown below) then mix it up with pasta sauce.

Ground beef in a saute pan

After that, you’ll just layer the ingredients and bake! 

Layering lasagna noodles in a baking dish

Here’s how I like to layer them:

Layer 1:

  • Little pasta sauce that you’ve set aside, spread on the bottom of the dish
  • 3 noodles
  • 1/2 fauxcotta
  • 1/2 spinach/mushroom mixture
  • 1/3 meat sauce

Layer 2:

  • 3 noodles
  • 1/2 fauxcotta
  • 1/2 spinach/mushroom mixture
  • 1/3 meat sauce

Layer 3:

  • 3 noodles
  • 1/3 meat sauce

What is Fauxcotta and where do I get it?!

Fauxcotta is a ricotta substitute made by Barrett’s Garden.  It’s a tofu base that’s pre-seasoned with Italian herbs like oregano and basil.  I think it’s extremely similar to ricotta when used in lasagna or stuffed shells!

A container of fauxcotta cheese

Currently, the product is primarily available in the Northeast.  If you visit the Barrett’s Garden website and click on “about” it will bring up the locations where you can find it.  If you happen to be local in Central Massachusetts, we grabbed ours at Matchstick Market in Clinton (a weekly market with plant-based foods, artisanal products, and local artists – really cool).

If you can’t find any near you, you can try using one of the other ricotta substitutes on the market that you can find locally.

Dairy free pasta sauces

I used a jarred dairy free sauce to make this recipe easy, but you can also certainly use your own favorite homemade sauce.

You do have to be careful with jarred sauces as some do contain dairy.  Here are some of the options on the market that appear to be dairy free at the time of this post.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but just a few examples that I’ve come across!

*Important:  Please always check the label when you purchase, as manufacturers can frequently change formulations and add new allergens.

A spoonful of dairy free lasagna

Allergens in this lasagna

This lasagna is free of dairy, nuts, and fish.  It also does not naturally contain egg, though some people who are sensitive to eggs will want to note that certain pasta products are made in shared facilities with egg – just something to double check on the label.

The recipe does contain soy and gluten (but you can find modifications below).

A large casserole dish full of dairy free lasagna

Dietary Modifications

Here are easy ways to modify this recipe if you need to fit certain allergy eliminations or dietary preferences:

Gluten free – Use gluten free pasta noodles rather than traditional lasagna noodles.  An easy substitute! (All the other ingredients I chose for those were gluten free).

Vegetarian – Just leave out the beef!  The spinach and mushroom add lots of heartiness to this – the recipe will work just fine without meat.

Soy free – The ricotta substitute (Fauxcotta) used in this lasagna is soy based, and is by far the closest thing I’ve found to regular ricotta.  However, that presents a bummer for those of ya’ll allergic to soy!  Here are two recipes you might be able to use as a substitute:

I hope you enjoy this dairy free lasagna recipe as much as my family did!  If you give it a whirl, be sure to leave a recipe rating.

A spoonful of dairy free lasagna
4.8 from 10 votes
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Dairy Free Lasagna

Need a dairy free dinner that will please even the pickiest eaters? Try this insanely delicious dairy free lasagna recipe!  

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword dairy free lasagna
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 9 servings
Calories 370 kcal
Author Dairy Free for Baby

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped baby portabella mushrooms, chopped roughly
  • 5 ounces baby spinach, chopped roughly
  • 9 lasagna noodles
  • 1 pound ground beef (recommend 85/15)*
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce (double check dairy free)
  • 16 ounces Barrett’s Garden fauxcotta (or another dairy-free ricotta substitute)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Also, fill a large pot with water and set it over high heat on the stove, as you’ll use this to boil the lasagna noodles.

  2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.

  3. Stir in spinach and cook for another 2 minutes, until the spinach is lightly wilted. Set the veggie mixture aside in a bowl.

  4. By this point, your water should be boiling. Place the lasagna noodles in and cook according to package directions. Drain them when done.

  5. Meanwhile, while noodles are cooking, you’ll prepare the meat sauce. Wipe out the skillet you used for the veggies, and return to medium heat. Add your ground beef and red onions. Brown the ground beef, around 5-7 minutes. If needed, drain any excess fat from the skillet (this will depend on the fat percentage of the meat used).

  6. Set aside 1/3 cup pasta sauce, and then dump the remaining sauce into the skillet with the meat. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

  7. In a 13x9 baking dish, spread the 1/3 cup pasta sauce on the bottom. Add your first three lasagna noodles. Layer first with 1/2 the fauxcotta, 1/2 the spinach/mushrooms, and 1/3 meat sauce. Add your next layer of lasagna noodles and repeat. Then add the final layer and top with the remaining meat sauce.

  8. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • The ground beef is optional; you can skip if you're vegetarian.
  • I used Prego Roasted Garlic and Herb pasta sauce, which at the time of this post is dairy free.
  • To drain excess fat from the skillet, you can just push the meat/onion mixture to one side, tilt the skillet, and remove the grease with a large spoon.

Nutrition analysis (approximate per serving):

370 calories, 16 g fat, 4 g sat fat, 584 mg sodium, 34.5 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 24 g protein, Vitamin A: 40%, Vitamin C: 11%, Calcium: 31%, Iron: 24%

Share:  What’s your favorite Italian recipe?  Have you ever tried fauxcotta?  If you ate this dairy free lasagna, what’d ya think?

31 thoughts on “Insanely Delicious Dairy Free Lasagna”

  1. 5 stars
    I LOVE this and I’m totally going to look for that fauxcotta! I’d eat so much more lasagna if it wasn’t for all that cheese– it’s not kind to my belly 🙁 I’m excited about this!

  2. Out here on the west coast, Kite Hill ricotta is easy to find. It is an almond base. Looking forward to trying this recipe!

    1. Chrissy Carroll

      That’s awesome! I’ve never tried Kite Hill before but I hear it’s making it’s way out to my neck of the woods soon – I can’t wait to give it a whirl. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the lasagna!

      1. Hi there! Looks so yummy. If I were to make this ahead of time and refrigerate, how long/what temp would you recommend cooking at?

        1. I haven’t personally refrigerated ahead of time, but my educated guess would be an extra 10 minutes covered – so 45 min at 350 covered, then another 10 min uncovered. It shouldn’t be too much extra time, but will need slightly more going from refrigerator-cold (instead of cooking with just-cooked meat & noodles). I’d also recommend slightly undercooking the noodles if you’re planning to let it sit overnight. Good luck – let me know how it works!

  3. 5 stars
    I made this for my dairy free three year old who is suddenly picky about eating vegetables.

    I only made one change. Instead of mushrooms, I used about the same amount of shredded zucchini and lots of Italian seasoning.

    She absolutely loved it!

    Thank you so much for the recipe.

    1. Yay! So glad to hear your kiddo enjoyed it. I feel like three is the age where the pickiness starts. When my son was two, he’d munch on raw kale leaves if they were out. Now at 4, he tells me most veggies are “disgusting” lol.

      1. What would be the cook time if I used easy bake made lasagna? I know this is a dairy free recipe however I’d like to try it with that. Sounds delicious.

        1. Hi Martha! I’m not sure what “easy bake made lasagna” is – are you referring to the oven-ready noodles? If so, you should be able to just use those noodles without cooking and use the same amount of time as the recipe calls for. However, sometimes it’s worth using a little extra sauce with oven-ready noodles, so I might add a smidge more.

          If I’m misinterpreting your question, just let me know and I’m happy to answer again when I understand better!

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  6. 5 stars
    So my SO has alpha-gal and can’t eat any mammal or mammal byproducts. I gave this a try last night. I subbed the beef for ground ostrich, made my own tofu ricotta, and added vegan mozzarella to the layers and the top. OMG! I could’ve fed this to a random person and they would’ve never known it doesn’t have a drop of real cheese in it. This lasagna turned out amazing! Im in love!

    1. Ah, this post makes me so happy! (Well, not the part about the alpha-gal, but that you enjoyed it of course!) I’m so glad that you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂

  7. I really want to try this! I miss lasagna 😢 wondering if you can make a suggestion for a substitute for the spinach? My kid is actually allergic to spinach 😞

    1. Sure! You can use any green leafy vegetable that you like. Kale would make a good substitute in this case (or mustard greens). Depending on the type of green, it might need a little extra time being sautéed to become tender.

  8. Just made this and it turned out great! My only changes were using shallots (instead of red onion), Kite Hill ricotta (which is almond-based, like another poster mentioned above), and a dairy-free spicy arribbata pasta sauce for some extra kick. Thank you, thank you! I have not had lasagna in over 7 years. This was amazing!

      1. 5 stars
        This turned out perfect! I used Tofutti dairy-free ricotta, and I sprinkled some Wegmans dairy-free parmesan and fresh basil on top after removing the foil. First time making lasagna. 😊

    1. Chrissy Carroll

      Thanks for sharing your feedback! You’re definitely right to season to taste; depending on the dairy-free ricotta and the tomato sauce, it may certainly need some additional seasoning.

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