If lasagna is your ultimate comfort food, you need to try this easy Instant Pot Vegan Lasagna! With no-boil noodles and a “bake” time of just 20 minutes, it’s a quick and easy alternative to traditional lasagna. And with an addictively rich yet healthy homemade ricotta, it’ll become your new favorite lasagna recipe.
Todayโs recipe share from my cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, so be sure to order it for even more delicious and easy instant pot recipes!
Table of contents:
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Tips for making this recipe
3. Watch! How to make this lasagna
4. Recipe card with notes
Why you’ll love this recipe
Lasagna is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods, and I love veganizing it. You might think itโs difficult to do so, but with a a hearty vegetable filling and an easy homemade cheese spread that takes just five minutes to make, you wonโt be missing any of the meat or dairy!
And while I enjoy an oven-baked lasagna, I also love making one in my Instant Pot. Itโs perfect when you donโt have a large group to feed, as the smaller pan size for the Instant Pot makes it a perfect meal for a few people.
Tips for making this recipe
- As with many of the pot-in-pot recipes for the Instant Pot, you will need a 7-inch round pan and the Instant Pot steamer rack (also known as the trivet; it comes with your Instant Pot) for this recipe. My recipe calls for a 7-inch springform pan (I use this for cakes as well), but if you have a 7-cup round glass storage dish, that would work as well.
- The recipe calls for sautรฉing the vegetable filling in the Instant Pot using the Sautรฉ function, but if you donโt mind dirtying up another pan, you can also sautรฉ the vegetable filling in a skillet on the stove.
- If you want to keep this recipe even simpler, feel free to use store-bought vegan cheese instead of making the Basil Tofu Ricotta (but again, it takes five minutes to make).
Watch! How to make this lasagna
VEGAN LASAGNA RECIPE | The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook
And for more mouth-watering videos, check out myย Youtube channel!
If you make this recipe, or any of my recipes, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! I love seeing your recreations!
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Vegan Instant Pot Lasagna (from The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook)
If lasagna is your ultimate comfort food, you need to try this easy Instant Pot Vegan Lasagna! With no-boil noodles and a "bake" time of just 20 minutes, it's a quick and easy alternative to traditional lasagna. And with an addictively rich yet healthy homemade ricotta, it'll become your new favorite lasagna recipe.
Ingredients
VEGETABLE FILLING
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup finely chopped zucchini
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly cracked black pepper
LASAGNA ASSEMBLY
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce of choice or Fiery Arrabbiata Sauce (recipe in my cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook)
- 6 to 8 individual no-boil or oven-ready lasagna sheets
- Basil Ricotta (recipe follows), or 2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella or other cheese
- 1 cup chopped spinach or shredded Tuscan (lacinato) kale
- 1/2 cup shredded vegan mozzarella, for finishing (optional)
BASIL RICOTTA (makes about 2 cups)
- 1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons white or yellow miso paste
- 3 โ4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 15 fresh basil leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Make the Basil Ricotta: Drain the tofu and blot away the excess water with a few paper towels. For a smooth ricotta, crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until you have a creamy, smooth texture. Taste for salt, acidity, and cheesiness, adding more salt, lemon juice, or nutritional yeast, respectively, as needed. For a chunkier ricotta, place the tofu in a large bowl and break it into smaller chunks using a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together until the consistency resembles ricotta cheese.
- Make the vegetable filling: Select the Sauteฬ setting on the Instant Pot and, after a few minutes, add the olive oil, followed by the onion. Cook the onion for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, zucchini, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, tossing frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Add the basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and cook for 30 seconds. Select the Cancel setting and remove the inner pot.
- To assemble the lasagna: Pour the marinara sauce into a large measuring cup and add 1โ2 cup water to equal 2 cups, stirring to incorporate (thinning out the sauce with water ensures the noodles will cook evenly).
- Pour 1โ2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a 7-inch springform pan, spreading evenly with a silicone spatula. Top the sauce with half of the oven-ready lasagna noodles, breaking them into pieces and fitting them to cover the sauce in a mosaic-like pattern.
- Add another 1โ2 cup of the marinara sauce on top of the noodles. Using a silicone spatula, spread one-third of the basil ricotta (or shredded cheese) on top of the marinara sauce, followed by half of the vegetable filling and half of the spinach or kale.
- Repeat the layers: Add 1โ2 cup of the marinara sauce, followed by one-third of the basil ricotta (or shredded cheese), the remaining vegetable filling, and the remaining spinach or kale.
- Finish with the remaining lasagna noodles (broken into pieces), the final 1โ2 cup marinara sauce, and the final one-third of the basil ricotta (or shredded cheese). If you canโt fit all of the lasagna noodles, just leave a few pieces out. You donโt want to layer them on top of each other because that might cause them to cook unevenly.
- Spray a piece of foil with nonstick cooking spray and tightly cover the pan. Wipe out the inner pot of any remaining vegetables and give it a rinse. Add 11โ2 cups water to the inner pot.
- For easy removal of the pan from the Instant Pot, create a foil sling (instructions are in my cookbook or can be found here).
- On the counter, place the pan on top of the steamer rack (with the handles facing up) and arrange the foil sling (if using) underneath the steamer rack. Carefully lower the steamer rack and pan into the inner pot using the foil sling or steamer rack handles.
- Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and set the cook time to 20 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release. If you want to broil the lasagna in your oven, turn on your ovenโs broiler.
- Open the pot and, wearing oven mitts, grasp the foil sling or steamer rack handles and carefully lift the pan out of the Instant Pot. Carefully remove the foil cover, taking care to not drip any condensation on the lasagna.
- If desired, top the lasagna with the 1โ2 cup shredded vegan mozzarella and place the lasagna under the broiler for 1 to 3 minutes (depending on the strength of your broiler and the distance between the heat and oven rack) to brown the top. You can also broil the lasagna without adding the vegan mozzarella. Garnish with fresh basil.
Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 1269mg | Potassium: 992mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2253IU | Vitamin C: 59mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 3mg
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Absolutely delicious. Enjoyed it very much. Thank you!
Hi Jutta, it’s great to hear you had success with the recipe. Thanks for the review!
A bit of a rebel here and not a strict plant based vegan vegetarian – I got a good deal on fresh spinach and deviated from the meal plan – which does look delicious. I made Nisha’s instant pot Lasagna (on her website and in the cookbook). I made the recipe as is with three deviations – I had some tomatoes that needed to be used so roasted them with garlic in my air fryer and added them to the Marina sauce; while I love my Instapot – I used the oven to cook the lasagna (350f for 1.5 hours) and finished with regular mozzarella cheese. No one missed the meat based lasagna sauce and really enjoyed the tofu ricotta! This is a keeper! Served with the Cabbage Carrot salad from this week’s menu plan finished the meal. Thanks
Thanks for sharing, Sharon! Awesome to hear you enjoyed the recipe :)
Hello !! First of all I am new to the site but I have made the red lentil curry like 6 times in a month and I love love love it !
I also made thรฉ cinnamon roll cake and gingerbread and they were scrumptious!
For the lasagna I wonder if I can do the same recipe and bake it in oven ??
This was so delicious! I left out mushrooms (allergy) and peppers (didn’t have) and doubled the zucchini. Since I was feeding a larger group, I doubled the whole recipe and stacked one pans on top of the other for the pressure cooking part. I did this in a Ninja Foodi and then used the “Crisper” function to finish each tray (5 min or so on 400 degrees). Got the technique from this blog: https://thesaltedpepper.com/lasagna-in-the-ninja-foodi/
Thanks for sharing, Giselle! Glad the recipe worked well for you :)
I can’t wait to make this. But two questions:
1) We can’t eat mushrooms. If I leave those out, do I need to add more liquid?
2) Can I use regular lasagna noodles or do they have to be no boil kind? If the latter, just cook it for longer maybe?
Hi Giselle, you can just leave the mushrooms out! And as for the no-boil noodles, you can boil the lasagna noodles until very al dente beforehand instead before cooking them.
Have you ever tried to make the ricotta filling with white beans? If someone is trying to avoid soy, how do you think the filling would turn out with all the same ingredients just replacing the firm tofu with a can of white beans?
Hi there Lena, we have not. We are hesitant to suggest anything because we haven’t tried it ourselves, but this recipe looks like it uses cashews and white beans to make a vegan ricotta.. so it may be of more help to you!
I have made this over and over and over. It sounds complicated but is SO simple. It is my Fiance’s favorite dish. I have stackable pot in pots I use them to make 2 lasagnas in my instant pot at once (no foil needed, they came with a lid and a great hinged “metal sling”). He eats 1/2 per meal so I leave him with four fabulous lasagna meals until we see each other the next month. Sometimes I include the veggie layer and sometimes I don’t, but I always include layers of spinach for that hit of leafy greens. He is vegetarian so still eats cheese, but not when I’m over! He loves this ricotta, & it’s SO easy to make! We are getting married in days and this instant pot lasagna WILL be the first meal I cook him as a married couple (breakfast on your own LOL). My only other changes are: I always use dried basil, (never have fresh on hand); I never use lemon zest, (never have organic lemons, but I have tried adding a couple of drops of lemon oil. Did not notice a difference; I use veggie broth instead of oil to saute my veggies; I don’t add any vegan cheese (just use the tofu in the recipe); and sometimes I leave the salt out. Definitely in my rotation
Thanks for sharing, Dana! And congratulations on the wedding :)
Great review and tips for others. Glad to know about making two at a time!
Dear Nisha,
I’m a retired attorney (Yale Law) who took a lot longer than you to get into cooking! I recently bought your book.
My daughter, who is a vegan, and I have made this recipe twice. We both love it! In fact, we love it so much we’d like to make more by using a much larger pan and making it in the oven. We can certainly increase the ingredients proportionately, but wanted to ask you for any thoughts on making this recipe in a larger pan in the oven. In particular, (i) what temperature and time would you use for the oven, (ii) would you do anything to keep it as moist in the oven, and (iii) would you adjust the relative quantities of any of the ingredients? Thanks a lot for any help you may be able to provide. Best, Alvin
From Nisha: “Hi Alvin, great to hear from you and I love that you’re using your newfound free time to enjoy cooking. I’m glad you both enjoyed this lasagna :) I haven’t tried this myself, but here’s what I think based on my experience baking lasagna in the oven. If you double the ingredients, that should make a good size for a 12-inch oven-proof skillet (like a round skillet lasagna) or a square 9×9 pan. I think you’d probably need to triple the recipe to fill a 13×9 pan. I’d lightly spray a piece of foil and cover the lasagna, then bake at 400F for 30 minutesโthe foil helps keep the lasagna moist and prevents the noodles from drying out. Then take off the cover and bake for another 10-20 minutes, or until a paring knife inserted in the noodles comes out with minimal resistance, almost like al dente pasta. I hope that helps!”
I loved the presentation of this–round lasana!! I wound up baking mine, and like others have stated, it came out very watery (I had wrapped the bottom of the pan with foil and it still leaked). I ‘m not sure you need to add as much water to the marinara, or any at all. The veggies are full of water (I even tried to drain them after sauteeing to prevent the watery-ness) and I have made other lasagnas with oven ready noodles and have never had to add extra water to the sauce.
The texture is great and the veggies were delicious! The lemon in the ricotta was too strong for me. I love lemon and was excited to try it, but next time I’m leaving that out.
Thank you for sharing, NIsha! Your recipes are always so interesting.
Made it with whole wheat pasta in my dutch oven @ 375 degrees for 45min just like another reviewer suggested. The ricotta was soooooo good! I used every bit in my dish and what was left in the nutra bullet I licked clean :)
Awesome, Renee. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
I’m not sure why, but we found that 20 minutes was nowhere near long enough for this recipe in the Instant Pot. We cooked it for 40 minutes at high pressure instead.
After the natural release, we sprinkled some more vegan mozz shreds on top, and then we used the air fryer lid to broil for 5 minutes at 400ยฐF. Definitely could have broiled it for 10 minutes if we wanted.
Let it sit for about 15 minutes to cool, but it still slid apart. Probably needed to cool 30 minutes or more.
This recipe was so tasty! I actually took the suggestion from the comment section for baking at 375 for 45 minutes and did that in a dutch oven (so I can’t speak to how it works in an Instant Pot), and it turned out perfectly. I only let it set for about five minutes outside the oven because I was too hungry to wait longer, and it was completely set! I loved the tofu basil ricotta which was a shock for me because I never really liked the dairy version to begin with, but the texture and flavor was great. Thanks so much for this awesome lasagna recipe!
Thatโs so great to hear! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating alongside your review? Star ratings are big help to readers who are thinking of making the recipe. Thanks!
hii, was wondering if I could use an oven instead of the instant pot?
Hi Ally, we havenโt tried this ourselves but think you could try 375ยฐF for 45 minutes. Let it rest on a wire rack for 15-30 minutes to help set up, then unclasp it. Hope that helped!