^[1]Lasagna has a timeless appeal, and is always such a hit, whether you make it for your family or take it to gatherings. It almost goes without saying that you can vary the vegetables you use here—eggplant, broccoli, and Swiss chard are all good substitutions. Any vegetables used should be lightly steamed or sautéed first. Because I’m incredibly lazy, I use no-boil lasagna noodles, which makes the whole enterprise a snap.

Makes 12 squares

• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 8 to 10 ounces white, crimini, or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 5 to 6 ounces baby spinach
• 12.3-ounce package firm or  extra-firm silken tofu
• One recipe Classic Marinara Sauce ^[2]or
  one 28-ounce jar good-quality marinara sauce
  plus one 15- to 16-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 12 to 15 or so no-boil lasagna noodles
• 8 ounces grated vegan mozzarella cheese
  (Daiya works really well!)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms in a skillet or stir-fry pan. Add a little water to the pan, cover, and steam over medium heat until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Add the spinach, a little at a time, and cook until each batch is just wilted. Drain the vegetables well and set aside, uncovered.

In a mixing bowl, mash the silken tofu well.

Have the sauce ready, either by making the marinara ahead of time, or whisking the jarred marinara sauce with the crushed tomatoes in a bowl.

Spread just enough sauce to coat the bottom of a shallow 9- by 13-inch casserole dish. Arrange one layer of lasagne noodles (4 to 5 noodles, you might need to break one up to fill in odd spaces) to cover the bottom of the pan.

Spread about 1/3 of the sauce over the noodles, followed by the tofu, spread here and there, then half of the cheese, sprinkled evenly. Follow with another layer of noodles, another 1/3 of the sauce, then an even layer of all of the vegetable mixture.

Top the veggies with another layer of noodles, the remaining sauce, and the remaining cheese. Don’t worry if you get these layers out of order, so long as you end with noodles, sauce, and cheese on top. It will taste the same no matter what order you put things in, and it will taste good.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the noodles are tender (test them by piercing all the layers with a fork). Remove from the oven, let the lasagne stand for 5 minutes, then cut into 12 squares to serve.

• Here are more hearty vegan pasta recipes. ^[3]
• Find more of VegKitchen’s Vegan Dinner Recipes ^[4] and Pasta Entrées ^[5].