Dairy Free Lasagne

This dairy free lasagne recipe has all the cosy and comforting flavours of the family favourite recipe you know and love, just without the dairy. With layers of rich beef sauce, tender pasta, and a creamy, ‘cheesy’ béchamel, this is the recipe I’ve perfected over the last 10 years of being dairy free. Serve it up to friends and family and watch them go back for seconds!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Australian, Italian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 25

Servings servings

Calories 652kcal

Author Sally

Equipment

Ingredients

For the meat sauce:

1 medium onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
700 grams beef mince/ground beef (1 ½ pounds ground beef)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
1 x 400 gram diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups beef or chicken stock

For the dairy free béchamel sauce:

4 tablespoons dairy free butter
3 tablespoons plain flour/all purpose flour
1 ½ - 2 cups oat milk
½ cup nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon salt or to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

To assemble:

9-12 lasagne sheets dried or fresh
½ cup dairy free cheese shredded
Fresh parsley or basil chopped, for serving

Instructions

Make the Meat Sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Add the beef mince and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until browned.
Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and dried herbs. Cook for 2 minutes until the paste darkens slightly.
Add the diced tomatoes and stock. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.

Make the Dairy Free Béchamel Sauce

In a medium saucepan, melt the dairy free butter over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour to form a paste (roux).
Slowly add a little oat milk at a time, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, until the sauce is smooth and thick but still pourable. You may not need the full 2 cups.
Stir in the nutritional yeast, salt, and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in a splash more milk. Cover with a lid until ready to use to prevent a skin from forming.

Assemble the Lasagne

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce over the base of a 20 x 27 cm (10.5 x 7.5 inch) rectangular baking dish.
Drizzle over about ⅔ cup of béchamel sauce, then add a layer of lasagne sheets. Trim the sheets to fit if needed.
Repeat layering with meat sauce, béchamel, and lasagne sheets 2 more times, finishing with a final layer of lasagne sheets topped with the remaining béchamel sauce (no meat sauce on the top layer).
Sprinkle with dairy free cheese and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil and serve.

Notes

Beef Mince: as packets of mince usually come in 500 gram containers, you can use this to make the lasagne, just note that you will have less meat in each layer.

See the blog post for all storage, reheating and make ahead instructions.

Nutrition