If you love the creaminess and cheesiness of lasagna, but need an easier way to make, you will absolutely love these vegan lasagna roll-ups.
Lasagna is one of the most comforting foods on the planet. There’s something about layers of sauce, noodles and cheese that just make all of us fall in love with each bite. But these vegan lasagna roll-ups give you all of that amazingness with less work.
It’s no secret, that while lasagna is a food most people love, it’s also time consuming and trying to remember the ordering can be confusing for so many people
Luckily, this vegan spinach and ricotta lasagna roll-up recipe is so much easier to put together and even kids love helping.
We’re sharing all our tips for making the best vegan lasagna roll-ups you can imagine.
VEGAN LASAGNA ROLL-UPS INGREDIENTS:
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make this vegetarian lasagna roll-ups:
- spaghetti sauce- We highly recommend making our homemade spaghetti sauce recipe that is absolutely phenomenal. Alternatively, our favorite jarred sauce is Rao’s or Prego’s Farmers Market. You can use your favorite!
- meatless crumbles- we are using a frozen meatless crumble (Morningstar in these photos) for this recipe
- lasagna noodles- you want to use regular lasagna noodles for this recipe and not the oven ready versions
- fresh spinach- while many lasagna and lasagna roll-up recipes use frozen and thawed spinach, we prefer to use fresh spinach and cook it down ourselves. We prefer to chop this into small size because our kids are more willing to eat it without large stringy pieces
- vegan ricotta- We have made this with both Kite Hill and Tofutti. Kite Hill seems to be easier to find but also much more expensive. Either brand works well in this recipe
- vegan cream cheese- Because Kite Hill is easier to find, but more expensive, we decided to cut the cost by using half vegan cream cheese. We chose Violife for testing purposes. You can see our vegan cream cheese taste test for more information on choosing one. We love the creaminess the cream cheese added
- vegan mozzarella- In the photos, we use the new Follow Your Heart finely shredded. We have found recently that the melt is far superior to other brands and we enjoy the taste
- vegan parmesan – We used Violife once and Follow Your Heart once in testing and didn’t notice that much of a difference.
- seasoning – We have a seasoning blend that we would highly recommend staying with. The nutmeg is optional; however, it enhances the flavor in the dish so we definitely suggest adding it
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- spaghetti sauce- use your favorite jarred if not making homemade! You can also try switching up the sauces, like vegan cheese sauce
- meatless crumbles- you can use vegan ground meat or if you want to omit you can use lentils, beans, walnut meat, mushrooms, cauliflower, jackfruit and more depending on your tastes!
- lasagna noodles- we have not tested, but gluten free noodles should work with this recipe. DO NOT OVERCOOK when boiling the noodles to start
- fresh spinach- swap with frozen spinach – you will need to thaw and drain completely first
- vegan ricotta and cream cheese – you can do all vegan ricotta, like traditional lasagna recipes if desired and omit the cream cheese entirely
- vegan mozzarella- switch up with cheddar, smoked vegan cheese, or another favorite shredded as desired
- vegan parmesan – try adding nutritional yeast to the recipe instead of parmesan if you are having a hard time locating
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST VEGAN LASAGNA ROLL-UPS?
We highly recommend the following things:
- Only cook your noodles to al dente. This is a few minutes short of fully cooked. Because this gets baked and the noodles continued to get cooked, you don’t want to over cook them during the boiling phase because they they will be mushy once baked
- Take time to make the homemade spaghetti sauce – While there are some really great store brand sauces, nothing beats homemade. If you have the time, we highly recommend it.
- Use the best vegan cheeses – there are some really gross vegan cheese brands out there. We recommend using brands that you love! We personally used for this dish – Violife parmesan block, and Follow Your Heart Finely Shredded Mozzarella (this is new). See our vegan mozzarella taste test for inspiration! Kite Hill for Ricotta and Violife for the Cream Cheese. Definitely use your favorites though!
- Add extra sauce – if you make the homemade sauce, you’ll have more than you need. We love serving with even more sauce on the sauce.
WHAT BRANDS ARE WE USING?
- spaghetti sauce- We highly recommend making our homemade spaghetti sauce recipe. Otherwise – Rao’s or Prego’s Farmers Market.
- meatless crumbles- Morningstar in these photos
- lasagna noodles- Barilla
- vegan ricotta- We have made this with both Kite Hill and Tofutti.
- vegan cream cheese- Violife was for testing purposes.
- vegan mozzarella- Follow Your Heart finely shredded
- vegan parmesan – We used Violife once and Follow Your Heart once in testing and didn’t notice that much of a difference
Frequently Asked Questions:
Whew. This one isn’t easy. There’s noodles, ground crumbles, vegan parm, mozzarella, ricotta and cream cheese.
First, make sure your pasta noodles are gluten free.
Then, you want to make sure that you are also choosing a vegan ground crumbles that are allergen friendly too. Some have soy and wheat in them. Try Lightlife ground as an option
For the vegan cheeses, that is where it will be tricky. Find some options that you can use. If you can have soy, go with the tofutti ricotta and only use that. If you can have almonds, use the Kite Hill. If you can’t have soy or nuts, use only vegan cream cheese (most do have coconut oil).
This recipe will last up to 3-5 days in the fridge, which means you could prep it that far in advance. Heat up for 2-4 minutes in the microwave or reheat using the oven. You may want to tent with foil to prevent burning.
Yes! These freeze very well. Only make the noodles and cheese mixture. Make your roll-ups and then make sure your noodles are cooled. Place all the roll-ups on wax paper. Do not let them touch. Place in freezer for 3-4 hours or overnight. Then, move them to a freezer safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready, make your sauce, spread on the bottom, add your roll-ups and more sauce on top and cover with foil. If still frozen, bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. If you thawed them, 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.
Whether you find them expensive or you don’t do meat alternatives, you can still make this recipe without them. Feel free to omit entirely or you can swap with mushrooms, vegan sausages, chickpeas or beans, more vegetables like peppers, spinach and more.
We have found Kite Hill Ricotta at Whole Foods and Mom’s Organic Market, as well as our little Natural Health Grocer.
Though, we haven’t personally tried, you could also try making it yourself. Minimalist Baker has a 5 ingredient, super easy looking almond ricotta that you could try! This site also has a homemade vegan ricotta that is nut free (besides coconut).
Tofutti, if you can find it, seems to be very cost effective and works well in this dish.
WHAT SIDES TO SERVE WITH THESE VEGAN LASAGNA ROLL-UPS?
There are endless possibilities but a side salad and some bread are great starting points. Here’s some ideas:
- Vegan Garlic Knots
- Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Vegan Italian Cheesy Bread Rolls
- Sweet and Savory Cheesy Vegan Garlic Twists (photo shown above)
- Vegan Garlic Bread
- Easy Vegan Dinner Rolls
What other vegan lasagna ideas could I make?
If you love lasagna, here’s a few more ideas:
If you love pasta, you’ll have to check out our other delicious vegan pasta recipes as well!
Pin these vegan lasagna roll-ups for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Lasagna Roll-Ups
Ingredients
- 24 oz spaghetti sauce (store bought or our homemade recipe)
- 14 oz vegan meat crumbles
- 12-15 lasagna noodles, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz fresh spinach, chopped
- 8 oz vegan ricotta, room temperature
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups vegan mozzarella, divided
- 1 cup vegan parmesan, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- fresh basil or parsley, for topping
Instructions
- We recommend making our homemade spaghetti sauce, and adding the meatless crumbles to that. If using store bought sauce, we recommend sauteing an onion in oil until soft, then adding in some minced garlic, and the meatless crumbles and then adding your jarred sauce and stirring around.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Salt the water and then add 12 uncooked lasagna noodles. Cook for 8 minutes. Just until al dente, do not over cooked. Drain immediately and lay flat on a large lightly greased baking tray. *Tip: We like to add 3-4 extra noodles in case one breaks
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish. Spread out 1 ½ cups of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of the dish.
- While noodles are cooking, add oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add your fresh, chopped spinach and cook for 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can once done.
- In a bowl, add ricotta and cream cheese. Stir together. Add in 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and the drained spinach. Stir together vegan well.
- Spread 3-4 tablespoon of ricotta mixture on each flat noodle. Roll up each noodle. Place inside the sauce of your casserole dish.
- Top with another 1 ½ cups of sauce. Cover with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Take off the foil and add the remaining parmesan, then mozzarella.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes more or until cheese has melted. Broil for 2-3 minutes to get golden brown on top I desired. f
- Top with chopped fresh parsley or basil if desired.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Did you make and love this recipe?
Click the 5 stars in the recipe card above or below in the comment section! This is a great way to support us so we can continue to bring great recipes!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & we'll send it to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week.
Made this and it was super cheesy and delicious!
Some of the items I switched out were the following I used a spicy tomatoe sauce, add additional seasonings like dried parsley, thyme, and oregano. The spiciness gave it a nice kick to the cheesiness! Thank you!!
Awesome!
I look forward to making this!! Can you clarify the freezing instructions for me. I was hoping to make, not cook it yet, cover it, and put in freezer. Thaw and then cook..Would this be ok? How long to cook? Should I not freeze it with the sauce on top? I really appreciate feedback! Thanks!
You nailed it, sauce an go on top too. Same temp, might need an extra 5-7 minutes cooking.
Delicious 😋 . Love that hint of nutmeg
Thanks for another Make It Dairy-Free favorite.
You’re so welcome!