I tried to make this lasagna as vegan as possible but cheese is ahhh-mazing so it didn’t happen. However, it is vegetarian and you can find plenty of cheese substitutes to replace the ricotta and mozzarella if you’d like. But recently my cousin introduced to me to Bellioiosos whole milk ricotta when we were making pizza and I fell in love! It is the smoothest and creamiest ricotta I’ve ever had and I’ve even been to Italy. Bellioios ricotta has such a clean and pure milk flavor that not trying it by the spoonful at first would be a tragedy. I have only been able to find it at fairway which is such a bummer but if you have a fairway near you, pick some up and try it out! And if you don’t have a fairway near you, haul ass and travel to your nearest fairway like I did to try it. Either way you need to try it and then use it to make my ricotta butternut lasagna rolls ups!
As I was making the roll ups I put both fillings into pastry bags to keep my kitchen a bit on the cleaner side and because I thought it would look cuter in photos. But as I was writing the instructions out I decided to omit the pastry bags because not everyone has them on hand. So instead I went with a more of a smear and go method. It’s faster and the fillings blend better with each other so you get a bite with everything in it. Also, one other thing I changed was that even though there is spinach in the picture it’s not in the recipe. I changed it because the spinach didn’t do anything to the dish. It just got overtaken by the other ingredients so instead I scrapped the spinach and upped the amount of mushrooms by another pound. They add a really nice contrast in texture and an earthy flavor that really shines through the dish.
Just like any other lasagna, making mine is a labor of love. There are four parts to this dish. You have the cashew cream sauce, the mushroom filling, the butternut squash filling, and the ricotta filling. For me the absolute easiest one was the ricotta filling just because you mix everything into a bowl and call it a day. On the other hand, the more labor intensive part of this dish is the butternut squash filling because you need to bake it beforehand and blend it in a food processor afterwards. But overall, if you have a food processor or a good blender its really no big deal. This lasagna is more of a lot of prep work and blending than it is labor intensive like a risotto. Plus eating this is all worth it in the end. It’s a lot lighter than most lasagna so you won’t feel like you need a nap afterwards and its extremely flavorful from all the different fillings it has in it.
Ricotta & Butternut Rolls Ups
Serves 8 people
INGREDIENTS:
Butternut Squash Filling
1 lb butternut squash
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp pumpkin spice powder
Cashew Cream Sauce
2 cups cashews
2 cups water
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp salt
Ricotta Filling
16 oz whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp basil
salt & pepper (to taste)
Mushroom Filling
2 lbs cremini mushrooms
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic
salt & peper (to taste)
For Assembly
1 box lasagna noodles
1/2 cup water
1 ball of mozzarella
INSTRUCTIONS:
Butternut Squash Filling
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut the butternut squash in half and take out all the seeds. Next, peel the butternut squash and cut into cubes for faster baking.
Bake the cubed butternut squash for 30 mins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the butternut is cooled place the cooked butternut, 1/2 cup of almond milk, and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice into a food processor and blend for 2 minutes or until well combined.
Place the butternut filling into a bowl and set aside.
Cashew Cream Sauce
In a bowl soak the cashew for 2 hours in water.
After the cashew have been done soaking, drain out the water and place the cashews into a food processor/ blender along with 2 cups of fresh water, nutritional yeast, and salt.
Blend for 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
Place the cashew cream filling into a bowl and set aside.
Ricotta Filling
In a bowl mix together the ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, basil, salt, & pepper until well combined.
Mushrooms
Clean any dirty spots you see on the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and then cut them into slices.
Along with your mushrooms, peel and finely diced the garlic as well.
In a large pan, heat up your oil on high.
Into the hot pan, add in your sliced mushrooms allowing them brown for 2 minutes on one side.
Flip the mushrooms, add in the garlic, and let the other side brown for another 2 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste and take them out of the pan and onto a plate to cool.
For Assembly
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a large pot of boiling water cook the lasagna noodles according to the packaging. Drain and set aside to cool.
In the mean time, clean your counter and get your cashew ricotta filling, butternut squash filling, and mushrooms in an assembly line.
Line up three lasagna noodles in a row and spread two tablespoons of the ricotta filling on each noodle being sure to keep the first 1 inch and last 3 inches of every noodle empty.
Then spread another two tablespoons of the butternut squash filling on each noodle. Before rolling up your lasagna noodle add a nice layer of mushrooms.
Repeat step 4 & 5 until you run out of noodles.
In a 9x13 baking dish spoon in a layer of the cashew cream sauce and 1/2 cup of water to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom and thickening too much.
Lay down your lasagna rolls ups evenly and pour more cashew cream sauce to cover the top. Shred mozzarella all over the top.
Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit or until the cashew cream in bubbling and the mozzarella is golden. When serving be sure to add more cashew cream sauce! Its delicious!