Awesome 100% Paleo Lasagna Recipe | Paleo Newbie (2024)

November 1, 2013

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Awesome 100% Paleo Lasagna Recipe | Paleo Newbie (1)

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Have any unusual holiday food traditions at your house? Ours is lasagna on Christmas Eve. My boys can’t wait to come home to it again this year (2013). Here’s the challenge: pasta’s not paleo…

This upcoming holiday season will be my first since going paleo.

My beautiful boys are looking forward to sitting down to their once-a-year Hallmark moment beside the yuletide fire with mom serving their favorite homemade holiday dish (we’re part Italian) of my full-on pasta and cheese lasagna.

My boys know I’d do absolutely anything for them. But in this case, I’m feeding them the paleo version.

They’re 20 years old, for crying out loud. They can man-up and eat my caveman cooking this time for goodness sake.

And you know what? They’re going to absolutelylove it !!!

Here’s why…I invested some time coming up with this 100% paleo lasagna, and I’ve got to say it’s incredibly good! I mean hard-to-tell-the-difference-from-the-real-thing good!

OK. So maybe I’m full of myself. But my Italian heritage is on the line here. I have a rep in my family for baking amazing lasagna. How can I not try to be as great with my 100% paleo version?

First I spent some time investigating the “nut cheeses.” I found out cashew cheese is a favorite with vegans. That can work for my lasagna.

It’s no secret paleo people have used nut cheeses in recipes before, but I really wanted the flavors to go perfectly together. I added salt, garlic and onion to it and was impressed with the flavor and consistency. I wanted something like ricotta cheese.A little blending in the food processor with some almond milk (I tried it with coconut milk, but didn’t like flavor) and bam! I’m in heaven.

I used zucchini as my lasagna noodles. I’m in love with everything zucchini right now, and it was awesome! Note: when you buy the zuchinni look for the fat ones. They’ll slice up into the wider noodles you want.

And I think you’ll find the rich and hearty meat sauce is to die for. It adds layers of authentic Italian flavor to every delicious bite of this gluten-free and dairy-free lasagna.

You need to try this one. It’s much easier than it looks. Granted you have to make the nut “cheese,” but after a good soaking in water and a quick whirl in the food processor, it’s done!

And for this one, you don’t have to cook the noodles – you just need to slice them. And only the “cheese” and sautéed mushrooms are “extra” steps. But it’s so worth it.

I promise you won’t be disappointed. It’s truly lick your fingers good.

I’m doing my happy dance right now. That’s kinda scary, but I wanted to let you know this paleo lasagna recipe is the real deal :)

Buon Appetito!

Awesome 100% Paleo Lasagna Recipe | Paleo Newbie (2)

Awesome Paleo Lasagna Recipe

by Trina

Paleo and gluten-free lasagna recipe made with a meaty Italian sauce, zucchini, and a nut cheese – so close to the taste and texture of a traditional pasta lasagna, i think you'll be amazed!

Print Recipe

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

Main Dish

  • 1 lb mild or hot Italian sausage casings removed (we used hot)
  • 1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef
  • 1/2 cup onion chopped small
  • 1 28-oz can San Marzano peeled tomatoes and sauce
  • 1 15-oz can of tomato sauce
  • 1 6-oz can of tomato paste
  • 2 8-oz packages of sliced mushrooms
  • 2 10-oz packages of frozen spinach (thawed)
  • 4-5 medium-sized zucchini
  • 1 1/2 cup of cashews
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 3 cloves of garlic pressed or minced

Seasonings for Lasagna Sauce

  • 1 tsp of dried basil
  • 1 tsp or dried thyme
  • 1 tsp of dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1-2 Tbsp of fresh chopped parsley leaves
  • Optional: Add red pepper flakes as desired

Seasonings for Cashew Cheese

  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp dried onion
  • 1/4 tsp dried garlic
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Day before: Soak cashews in water (no need to refrigerate)

  • In a large pot, add 2 tsp of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic over medium heat, or until onions are tender

  • Add Italian sausage and beef in pot, cook until meat is browned

  • Drain fat

  • Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste

  • Add remaining lasagna sauce spices

  • Allow sauce to simmer in pot while continuing below (best if simmered 30 mins to 1 hour)

  • In a frying pan with a little olive oil, sauté mushrooms (with any kind of seasonings or parsley if you like)

  • Set sautéed mushrooms aside

  • Place thawed spinach in bowl, squeeze as much water out of it as possible

  • Set spinach aside

  • Drain water from the soaking cashews, and pour cashews into a food processor

  • Add almond milk and spices to the food processor

  • Pulse or blend until cashews become a smooth and creamy consistency (something like ricotta cheese)

  • Add 2 cups of the cashew “cheese” into the bowl with spinach and blend together

  • Preheat oven to 350º F

  • Slice zucchini lengthwise, (first trim two opposite sides so it doesn't roll around on the board) Slice noodles about 1/4-inch thick (works by hand with a knife) don't worry about them all being the exact same thickness

  • Get out a 9" x 12" baking dish

  • Smooth a little bit of the lasagna sauce along the bottom of the pan

  • Place one layer of zucchini noodles lengthwise across the bottom of the pan

  • Add about half of cashew cheese and spinach mixture along the top of the zucchini noodles layer

  • On top of that, add half of the pan of sautéed mushrooms

  • Top with lasagna sauce enough to cover the top (don’t skimp, there’ll be plenty)

  • Repeat the above steps with a second layer of zucchini noodles, cashew cheese and spinach, and again with the sautéed mushrooms and lasanga sauce

  • Now bake uncovered for about 50-60 minutes (or until it starts to bubble around the edges)

  • Remove from oven, let stand a few minutes, slice and serve

Keyword dairy-free, gluten-free, zucchini, lasagna, paleo, no-cheese, no-pasta, Italian, awesome

Related

Awesome 100% Paleo Lasagna Recipe | Paleo Newbie (2024)

FAQs

Is lasagna a complex dish? ›

Preparing lasagna at home is a gesture of true love, involving many long, laborious steps, plus a hefty dose of patience, especially if making the pasta yourself. Mistakes are allowed as the dish is actually quite complex and perfection is never easy to achieve.

How to assemble lasagna reddit? ›

I usually put bolognese, white sauce then lasagna sheet till I get to the top. Which I put the rest of the white sauce and some cheese. I bake it straight away for 40mins in a 180 degree oven until the cheese is kind of golden brown.

What not to do when making lasagna? ›

In the spirit of learning and lasagna, here are the top mistakes everyone makes with lasagna.
  1. Overcooking the noodles. ...
  2. Boiling noodles without oil and salt. ...
  3. Letting your lasagna get too soupy. ...
  4. Using the wrong protein. ...
  5. Overloading the layers. ...
  6. Substituting cottage cheese for ricotta. ...
  7. Using preshredded cheese.
Aug 30, 2022

Is lasagna good or bad for you? ›

8. Is lasagne healthy? Lasagne is a classic comfort food, but can be high in saturated fat and salt, because of the bechamel sauce, mince and cheese. A large portion can contain over 1000kcals, which is half of what most of us need in a day.

What is the correct order to layer lasagna? ›

Quick Overview:
  1. The first thing that goes on the buttered tray is a layer of red sauce. This is so that nothing sticks to the bottom.
  2. After that, add a smaller layer of white sauce.
  3. Then finally a layer of pasta.
  4. Repeat the process: red sauce, white sauce, pasta.

In what order should lasagna be layered? ›

Begin Layering

After the initial sauce layer, add a layer of pasta sheets, ricotta mixture (or bechamel), sauce, and cheese. Then repeat the layers. Top the last layer of your lasagna with sauce and cheese. You can also alternate layers of sauce and ricotta cheese.

How many layers should lasagna have? ›

Let me break it to you: If you want to make a lasagna, three layers just won't cut it! For the perfect lasagna, you need at least 4-5 layers to really enjoy all those mouth-watering flavors. And, here's a pro-tip: make sure to season each layer generously, but not too much. The average lasagna has 8 layers!

What type of dish is lasagna? ›

lasagna, pasta dish of Italian origin, made with broad often ruffled noodles and a tomato or white sauce. Lasagna, in the singular, is a southern Italian variation of what northern Italians call lasagne, in the plural.

What is lasagna considered as? ›

As mentioned above, lasagne can actually be classified as a version of pasta (if the chef hasn't been too experimental with their recipe), so there are several similarities between the two, such as the use of the same dough.

What category is lasagna in? ›

Lasagna (US: /ləˈzɑːnjə/, also UK: /ləˈzænjə/; Italian: [laˈzaɲɲa]; also known as lasagne, Italian: [laˈzaɲɲe]) is a type of pasta, possibly one of the oldest types, made of very wide, flat sheets.

Is lasagne difficult to make? ›

Moral of the story is that making lasagna can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it but as long a you are using fresh and local ingredients it will always come out awesome.

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