One of our favorite restaurants in our area is a very small Italian spot with legit, authentic food. Every time we have food from there (takeout because of COVID) my wife gets the Lasagne al Forno or beef lasagna. It is fantastic and you get a ton. The last time we had their food, I thought about making a meatless, lactose free (mostly) and gluten free legit lasagna.

In this recipe I used Beyond Meats which are now readily available in most grocery stores. I used lactose free 2% milk and lactose free half and half for the béchamel sauce (American versions use ricotta cheese, Italians use béchamel). I also used oven ready gluten free lasagna sheets.

It turned out pretty dang good. You can easily replace the Beyond with real meat, the lactose free milk and half and half with whole milk and use fresh lasagna sheets. I’ll admit, THAT version would be better but this version was really, really good. We aren’t vegan but we are trying to cut out animal when it makes sense. We also eat gluten and lactose on occasion but if we can cut it out, we try to.

Ingredients for Meatless Lasagne al Forno

Ingredients for Meatless Ragu

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup white onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 lbs Beyond Beef, thawed
• 14 oz Beyond Sausage Hot Italian, thawed
• 1 28 oz can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1-2 cups dry red wine
• 4 cups unsalted beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Béchamel (white sauce)

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 5 tbsp AP flour
• 2 cups lactose free half and half
• 2 cups lactose free milk
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, fresh grated
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, fresh grated
• Salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients for Meatless Lasagne al Forno

• 1 10 oz package gluten free, oven ready lasagne, I used Barilla brand
• 2 8 oz balls fresh mozzarella cheese

How to make Meatless Lasagne al Forno

How to make a Meatless Ragu

1. Add the onion, carrot and celery to a food processor and pulse until minced.
2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and coat with olive oil.
3. Add the minced vegetables and cook until the onion is translucent.
4. Meanwhile, add the canned tomatoes to the food processor and puree.
5. Add the beef and sausage to the pot with the vegetables, break it up in to small bits and cook through.
6. Add the red wine and reduce the wine by half.
7. Add tomato paste and stir to combine.
8. Add the pureed tomatoes, beef stock, bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.
9. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for at least 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally.

How to make a Béchamel (white sauce)

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat the butter over medium heat until the butter is bubbling.
2. Slowly whisk the flour until combined. Cook for a minute or so until blonde.
3. Slowly whisk in the lactose free milk and half and half until there are no clumps.
4. Once thickened, stir in the parmesan cheese, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

How to assemble a Meatless Lasagne al Forno

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In 9×13 baking dish, add a small amount of the Ragu to the bottom.
3. Top with a layer of the oven ready gluten free lasagne sheets.
4. Add more Ragu to cover then add a few ladles of the béchamel sauce.
5. Repeat the layers of pasta, Ragu and béchamel until everything is used up.
6. Cover the top with torn mozzarella cheese.
7. Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
8. Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!