I’m very excited to share with you, in this blog post and step-by-step on my YouTube video, the yummiest of yummy lasagna recipes from Rip Esselstyn’s The Engine 2 Diet book.
He’s a Texas firefighter and professional triathlete who claims that the best way to stay on top of your game is to consistently fuel your body with clean-burning, artery scrubbing, disease reversing, and energy giving plant-based foods.
Thank you so much to Rip for allowing me to share his over-the-top delicious and nutritious Sweet Potato-Vegetable Lasagna.
My husband is competing in the half-iron man World Championships in two weeks (woo hoo Dan!).
And I thought who better to turn to for a recipe that will help him stay on top of his game, enhance recovery between workouts and get an extra edge on race day than Rip Esselstyn.
Be sure to check out Rip?s fabulous website engine2diet.com where he shares all sorts of resources. And in case you think he’s promoting a carrot and celery diet for rabbits, you should know that he converted a firehouse full of meat eaters to a plant-based diet with his program and not only do they love the diet but they saw their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and energy improve. When Rip says a, “most basic profound and powerful way to take care of your health on a day-to-day basis is with this diet”, I couldn’t agree with him more.
You will start by prepping and then sauteing, a beautiful assortment of vegetables.
After that, you will combine the vegetables with some spices and mashed tofu. And then it’s time to assemble the lasagna with noodles, tomato sauce, sweet potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and cashews.
The finished dish is as beautiful as it is delicious.
And it is super filling, waist-line friendly and heart healthy. Check out this comparison of a 16 oz slice of this lasagna vs a meat lasagna.
| Rip’s Lasagna | Meat Lasagna * | |
| Calories (kcal) | Ā 305 | Ā 739 |
| Saturated Fat (mg) | Ā 1.05 | 14 |
| Cholesterol (mg | Ā 0 | Ā 109 |
*Fatsecret.com
I demonstrate the preparation of the lasagne in this video and the recipe is below.
Rip Esselstyn's Sweet Potato-Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 small head of garlic all cloves chopped or pressed
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 head broccoli chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
- 1 can corn rinsed and drained, or 1? cups fresh or frozen
- 1 package firm tofu
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 2 25 oz jars pasta sauce
- 1 box whole grain lasagna noodles Rip suggests 2 boxes. I found 1 is sufficient
- 16 ounce frozen spinach thawed and drained
- 2 sweet potatoes cooked and mashed
- 6 roma tomatoes sliced thin
- 1 cup raw cashews ground
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 0 F. Saute the onion on high heat for 3 minutes in a wok or non-stick pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook until the onions are limp and the mushrooms give up their liquid. Remove them to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Reserve the mushroom liquid in the pan. Saute the broccoli and carrots for 5 minutes and add to the mushroom bowl. Saute the peppers and corn until just beginning to soften. Add them to the vegetable bowl. Drain the tofu by wrapping in paper towels. Break it up directly in the towel, or mash in a bowl with a fork or potato masher, and mix into the vegetable bowl. Add spices to the vegetable bowl and combine.
To assemble:
- Cover the bottom of a 9-by-13 inch casserole with a layer of sauce. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with sauce. This way the noodles cook in the oven, saving time and energy. Spread the vegetable mixture over the sauced noodles. Cover with a layer of noodles and another dressing of sauce. Add the spinach to the second layer of sauced noodles. Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potatoes. Add another layer of the sauce, the final layer of noodles, and a last topping of sauce. Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced roma tomatoes.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cashews, and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Had it last night at a friend’s house. It was delicious and filling. We also participated in making the sale and was treated to Hibiscus frozen dessert that was perfect and so yummy, made by a long time vegan lady.
What a treat!
Great for a dinner party. I found it needed more flavor, so I doubled oregano and basil. Also only needed one box of noodles (I didn’t even use the whole thing so I can’t imagine using two). Fine to use jarred sauce but I am a stickler for sauce, and made my own. Great, easy recipe from Isa Moskowitz,’Post Punk Kitchen. This is a keeper!
With recipes like this, I donāt feel deprived or sick afterwards! It is so yummy! Even my boyfriend who is a big meat eater loved it! It took a lot longer to make than we expected, but it was totally worth the wait! I would say the recipe makes wayyy more than 4 servings, but no complaints thereš. I am excited to eat it for my dinner for the next couple of days!
I took this recipe to the our local garden club tea. Created a label ā¦Gluten free(used brown rice noodles), tofu and cashews. Some people were not interested in trying it. But one of the ladies, who likes write down recipes requested this one and commented ā LOVED this dish! I think it must be the best thing I have had at a pot luck, ever! ā. The people who tried it loved it! It was great! Will definitely be making this again and again.