Vegan Stuffed Pepper Lasagna

Step One - In a large enough pot, start boiling your water and add lasagna noodles and cook according to package directions.

Step Two - While your noodles are boiling, get the TVP soaking in water to soften it up.

Step Three - In a saute pan add diced up bell peppers and cook until starting to turn translucent.

Step Four - Turn heat down to medium low and add in all seasonings. If not on a gas stove, you may need to remove from heat for a few minutes.

Step Five - Mix everything well, it should look like the picture where the bell peppers are coated in spices and everything is dark brown.

Step Six - Add in the TVP and mix everything well. If things are starting to stick, add a tablespoon or two of water to deglaze the pan.

Step Seven - Allow the mixture to cook for a few minutes and brown a bit more.

Step Eight - Add in the rice.

Step Nine - Mix the rice into the mixture. If you are using a binder such as potato starch or otherwise, add it in now and mix well.

Step Ten - Add in your choice of cheese. For mine, I used Violife shreds as that's what I had available. You can do the same, or just use no cheese.

Step Eleven - Grease a 9x9 inch baking dish with oil or butter.

Step Twelve - layer pasta marinara sauce on the bottom of the glass baking dish. Not too much, just a thin layer is fine and it is okay if you still see the bottom of the dish.

Step Thirteen - Layer at least 4 pasta noodles long ways on top of the marinara sauce. The noodles may give you trouble when pulling them out of the water. Unless someone has a good method of doing this!

Step Fourteen - On top of the first layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle some cheese (or spread if using a ricotta type cheese), but not too much.

Step Fifteen - Add a thin layer of the meat and bell pepper mixture. Try to cover the whole top of the noodles and leave as little visible as possible while making sure you have enough filling for the second layer.

Step Sixteen - To the meat and bell pepper mixture layer, add a little bit more cheese.

Step Seventeen - Add a layer of sauce once again. Don't go too heavy on it, just a thin layer that covers most of the mixture and cheese.

Step Eighteen - Next, add another layer of 4 noodles again, then cheese, and so on. Repeat all steps until you have the above photo with a layer of noodles and top layer of cheese shreds (or whichever cheese you choose.) If you're not using cheese, top with a layer of marinara sauce.

Finally, cover the baking dish with foil and place into the oven to bake.

See recipe card for exact steps and numbers.

👩🏻‍🍳Cook's Tip
If you find the cheese is not melting to your liking, depending on which type of cheese you're using, spray the top with some water before covering. The moisture should melt that cheese so much better!