One of my favorite lactose free, creamy, and delicious mac and cheese recipes!  I love the simplicity of this recipe, and the fact that you can add as little or as much “extra” as you like.  I’ve used plain goat cheese, as well as herbed and honey.  Sometimes if in a rush, I don’t caramelize onions and go with the simple 3 ingredients.  To kick it up a notch, I’ll add some spices such as crushed red pepper flakes or Trader Joe’s Everything seasoning.  The sauce is creamy, thick, tangy, and hits the spot!

Ingredients
1 lb organic pasta
2 tbsp organic olive oil
1/2 organic onion, sliced or diced
4oz log of softened organic goat cheese (I use plain, herbed or honey)
1 cup cooked and pureed organic butternut squash (you can do this from scratch or use frozen)
salt
pepper

1. Bring water to a boil and add pasta.
2. Puree the (cooked) butternut squash.  I steam the squash in my instant pot, scoop out the meat, and puree in the Vitamix.
3. Once pureed, add the goat cheese and blend until smooth.
4. Heat olive oil in a pan and once the oil is hot, saute the onion until carmelized.
5. Once pasta is done cooking, combine the sauce, onions and the pasta.  Serve immediately.

*This post may contain affiliate links*

Back when I was younger and suffered from acid reflux, my mom used to make a lasagna similar to this for me with no tomato sauce.  You can use pretty much any veggies you have on hand and chop into small pieces to change up the flavors!  Using a food processor will cut your time in half versus hand chop.  I always forget to use my food processor, but it definitely came in handy the last time I made this lasagna!  This was my first time trying the Kite Hill ricotta and it turned out to be a great substitute for regular ricotta!  I actually prefer it over tofu ricotta.  I’ve also used feta (sheeps milk) in this recipe which also transforms the taste and gives it more of a bite.

1 package Jovial Organic Gluten Free Lasagna Sheets
2 tbsp olive oil
5  carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
10 kalamata olives, chopped (you can use more, this was all I had left)
1 tbsp capers
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil salt pepper

Ricotta Filling
1 container Kite Hill Ricotta, or 8oz Homemade Vegan Ricotta
1 egg
salt
parsley

1.  Fill pot with water and bring to a boil.  Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat a saute pan with 2tbsp of oil.  Add diced onion and garlic and sauté until softened.  Once soft (not brown), add the diced carrots.   Let the carrots cook for a few minutes until slightly softened.
3.  While the carrots are cooking, prepare the “ricotta” mixture, by combining the Kite Hill Ricotta (entire container), 1 egg, salt and parsley.
4.  Once the water is boiling, add the lasagna noodles.  Cook according to package directions.
5. Once carrots are slightly cooked, add the diced peppers, olives and capers.   Once all vegetables have softened, mix in the spinach until wilted.  Remove from heat.
6.  Stir 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp olive oil into the vegetable mixture to combine.
7. Start with the lasagna noodles and line the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish that has been oiled.  Cover the first layer of pasta with the vegetable mixture, then dollops of ricotta.  Smear the ricotta over the vegetables and repeat, covering with pasta, vegetables and ricotta 2 more times.
8.  Cover the lasagna with parchment (I don’t use foil), and place in oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes.
9.  Remove from oven, let cool and enjoy!


Note: I will sometimes add goat cheese as well.  You can either dollop the goat cheese in the ricotta layer, or mix a small log of goat cheese into the ricotta mixture. *This post may contain affiliate links*

The first time I made this recipe, myself and my toddlers gobbled it all up.  It was flavorful, gooey and cheesy, without the dairy!  Some fresh, crusty Italian bread made it the perfect mid afternoon snack.  The original recipe is from Kind State of Mind, and I found it through the Bosh! Facebook page.

1 cup soaked cashews
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp Nutritional yeast
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup warm water (200ml)
3 cloves garlic (cut into sticks)
rosemary (a few sprigs)
black pepper (to taste)
olive oil (splash)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a small round baking dish with unbleached parchment paper.  I used a round Pyrex storage container.
2. Add all of the ingredients except for the rosemary, olive oil and garlic, into a high powered blender, such as the Vitamix.
3. Pour the liquid into a saucepan on medium heat, and stir until slightly thickened.
4. Once the mixture is thickened, pour it into the lined baking dish, and place the garlic sticks and rosemary into the mixture.  Drizzle the olive oil on top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and immediately enjoy with some crusty bread!

*This post may contain affiliate links*