Jay’s a bit of a Garfield, in more ways than one, and one of those ways is his love for lasagna. I don’t think he’s ever met a lasagna he doesn’t like, and he loves my traditional vegan lasagna something fierce. So to keep my baby cat well-fed, I came up with this quick version of a lasagna that’s made in an Instant Pot. A Vegan Instant Pot Lasagna. This is not an approximation of a lasagna made in an IP with free-floating noodles – it’s a lasagna proper, layered and cheesy and filled with the tomato-ey goodness of my easy homemade marinara (although you can definitely use storebought). I pretty much made this the way I make a traditional vegan lasagna, except that this time, when I had Desi photograph it, I used gluten-free lasagna noodles. It works just as well with regular lasagna noodles. I wanted this recipe to be fuss-free so I didn’t make it inside a springform pan or anything like that–I just cooked it up directly in the IP liner, and it worked fine. The only downside of this is that you can’t quite slice it as neatly but who cares about that when it tastes SO good.
Why you will love vegan Instant Pot lasagna
It’s a lasagna! Except it is made in an Instant Pot, so it’s easier. But it tastes as delicious as any lasagna you will ever make. Hearty. Cheesy. Pops with delicious tomato flavor from the marinara. Takes minutes to assemble. You don’t have to make it all from scratch. Use storebought marinara and just make the cashew ricotta at home–and the vegan parmesan. Both literally take minutes to make, but you can always make them in advance. Bakes in the IP from start to finish in about half the time it’d take to bake a lasagna in the oven. You can also try making this recipe on the “crockpot” setting of the Instant Pot. Follow instructions in my vegan crockpot lasagna recipe.
Tips and steps for making the best Vegan Instant Pot Lasagna
If you have some time, make my five-ingredient homemade vegan marinara sauce. It’s super easy and it’s better than anything you can find on a store shelf. You can make it a couple of days ahead and refrigerate it. Same thing with the cashew parmesan and the vegan ricotta. You can stir them up in minutes, but you can also just make them in advance when you have a little time to kill. Then you’re all set to make your lasagna whenever you feel like it (that sentence just made me feel so warm and cozy inside! Lasagna + whenever = heaven) I use oven-ready lasagna noodles for this lasagna, and I advise dipping them in cold water for about a minute before layering them. This is a small extra step but it will guarantee your lasagna noodles come out tender and nicely cooked when you actually eat the lasagna. I like mixing some meatless meat into the marinara sauce for a protein boost. If you like a lentil marinara, use lentils instead. I just thaw the meatless meat, mix it with the marinara, and then layer it all on. Or you can brown the meatless meat in the IP first (in a tiny bit of oil), add the marinara, heat it all together, then remove most of the marinara and start layering. Ok, so here goes. Add a couple of ladles of the marinara into the IP liner, then add a cup of vegetable stock (or water). Layer on four lasagna noodles – place two noodles side by side in the IP liner, then place two more noodles criss-crossing them. Add a fourth of the marinara, a fourth of the vegan parm, a fourth of the cashew ricotta, and a fourth of the vegan mozzarella shreds (I used Daiya). Once again layer on four noodles–two side by side, then two more criss-crossing them, and proceed with layering on the other ingredients. You should have four layers and use 16 noodles in all, which is the number you’ll usually get in a box. Finish up with a final layer of marinara, parmesan and ricotta but don’t sprinkle on that final layer of vegan mozz yet. Add that only after your lasagna is cooked and you’ve released the pressure from the IP. Sprinkle on the mozzarella and cover with the lid and let stand another 10 minutes. Beautiful lasagna. Guaranteed.
Making the Instant Pot lasagna gluten-free
Noodles: I made this lasagna gf this time, and I used Barilla’s oven-ready lasagna noodles which are vegan. If you use a meatless beef, make sure you buy one that is labeled gf. I usually use Beyond Beef, which is both gf and soy-free. Impossible’s meatless pork and sausage are also glutenfree. You can also use brown lentils in your lasagna instead of meatless meat. Add 2 15 oz cans of brown lentils for this recipe. Drain them and stir them into the marinara just as you would the “meat.”
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