Vegan Crockpot Lasagna – Holy Cow Vegan

If you love a classic vegan lasagna, you have got to try this beyond-delicious vegan crockpot lasagna! A protein-packed marinara sauce with eggplant, vegan sausage and tempeh is layered with perfectly al-dente lasagna noodles, vegan parmesan cheese and a yummy vegan ricotta for the perfectly satisfying meal.

A crockpot is my favorite kitchen apprentice, especially in winter when I use it to cook up delicious recipes like slow cooker chana masala and creamy curried crockpot chowder. And ever since I learned how to use a slow cooker to make one of my most favorite foods — a vegan crockpot lasagna — I am more in love than ever!

I no longer own a separate crockpot because I am trying to cut down on the number of appliances in my kitchen. So I make this lasagna on the crockpot setting of my Instant Pot. It works beautifully with the only drawback being that the tall, round Instant Pot liner makes a taller lasagna. Also, because you have to cut the noodles and fit them to the shape of the IP liner, you won’t get layers that are as neat and distinct. But the lasagna will be just as delicious.

A traditional six-quart crockpot with an oval shape would create a lasagna with a more traditional shape and depth. So if you have one, use it.

Table of Contents

Why you should make lasagna in a crockpot

• It’s yummier. A slow-cooked lasagna is even more delicious than one baked in the oven. That’s because the slow cooking gives the many flavors a chance to truly infuse, and it also gives the lasagna noodles enough time to cook to the perfect al dente texture.
• It’s ready when you are. You can set the vegan crockpot lasagna to cook in the morning or early afternoon and go about your day. It will be ready and waiting for you whenever you want to eat it.
• It works great as a make-ahead recipe. You can assemble the lasagna up to three days ahead and refrigerate it. Place it in the slow cooker at least five hours before you plan on eating it. If you can do without your crockpot liner for longer, you can even freeze the uncooked, assembled lasagna for up to three months.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• It’s protein-packed and healthy. There are 19 grams of protein and six grams of fiber in each serving of this slow cooker lasagna. And there is so much more nutrition, with the eggplant, tempeh and protein-packed, homemade vegan cheeses.
• It tastes simply amazing. There are so many layers of flavor in this vegan crockpot lasagna recipe, and the marinara sauce, with eggplant, tempeh and vegan sausage, is amazing. Desi was a little skeptical about this lasagna the first time I made it because of the tempeh, which not everyone in our home, ahem, loves. But you don’t even taste the tempeh — it melds into the marinara sauce. In the end, Desi was the biggest fan!
• Everyone, especially kids, will love it! Lasagna is everyone’s favorite, and this crockpot version will have everyone singing your praises and asking for more!

Ingredients

• Eggplant: Use two small Italian eggplants or a large globe eggplant.
• Vegan sausage. Any brand is fine, crumble before use.
• Tempeh: You can leave this out but it adds a lot of healthy protein.
• Tomato paste
• Tomato puree. If using canned plum tomatoes, crush the tomatoes with your fingers.
• Herbs: garlic, garlic powder, oregano and basil
• Spices: paprika (or red pepper flakes) and ground cumin
• Nutritional yeast. For a cheesy flavor to the ricotta
• Lasagna noodles. Use no-boil, oven-ready lasagna noodles or regular lasagna noodles. If using regular noodles no need to cook first. Add an extra cup of water to the marinara while cooking it.
• Vegan mozzarella shreds. If you are wondering why my vegan mozzarella shreds look yellow, it’s because I didn’t have any on hand and used vegan cheddar shreds instead. It worked perfectly well because the flavors of vegan cheeses don’t vary as much as real cheeses do.
• Vegan parmesan cheese

Variations for special diets

• Gluten-free: Use gluten-free lasagna noodles for this vegan crockpot lasagna. Also ensure that the vegan sausage you use is gluten-free.
• Soy-free. Skip the tempeh. The rest of the recipe is soy-free.
• Nut-free. If you are nut-free, use 14 oz firm tofu instead of cashews to make the vegan ricotta cheese. Also substitute the vegan parmesan with 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs tossed with the rest of the ingredients in my vegan parmesan cheese recipe.
• Keto. Use sliced zucchini instead of lasagna noodles–I love this low-carb vegan lasagna with zucchini. You can also find keto noodles that are vegan online, such as these hearts of palm lasagna noodles.

Tips for success

• Make sure the marinara tastes perfect to you. A lasagna can be very forgiving because there are so many layers of flavor in it, but the marinara ties it all together. Canned tomato puree can taste different from one can to the next. If yours is too tangy, add a teaspoon or two of sugar when cooking the marinara. Add more or fewer herbs or garlic according to your taste.
• Cook the marinara until it turns a bright red. Don’t rush this, you want all the flavors to mix together.
• Cut the eggplant into small pieces and crumble the tempeh and sausage. You don’t want large chunks of anything in the marinara, but you also want a little bit of texture in your vegan crockpot lasagna.
• Make sure the lasagna noodles are completely covered with the sauces. This will ensure that the noodles cook and don’t have crispy edges where the liquid didn’t touch them.
• Wait 30 minutes or longer before opening the crockpot. This will give the layers time to set up and will make it easier to cut the lasagna.

Storage instructions

• Refrigerate: Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
• Freeze: Place the lasagna in an airtight container and freeze for up to four months.
• Reheat: Pop the crockpot lasagna in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius, or in the crockpot on the “medium” setting. Warm through.

More vegan lasagna recipes you’ll love

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review and a star rating below or tag us on Instagram! Thanks!