INGREDIENTS:
Main Dish
1 lb mild or hot Italian sausage, casings removed (we used hot)
1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped small
(1) 28-oz can San Marzano peeled tomatoes and sauce
(1) 15-oz can of tomato sauce
(1) 6-oz can of tomato paste
(2) 8-oz pkgs of sliced mushrooms
(2) 10-oz pkgs of frozen spinach (thawed)
4-5 medium-sized zucchini
1 1/2 cup of cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 cloves of garlic pressed or minced
Seasonings for Lasagna Sauce
1 tsp of dried basil
1 tsp or dried thyme
1 tsp of dried oregano
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp of fresh parsley
Optional: Add red pepper flakes as desired
Seasonings for Cashew Cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried onion
1/4 tsp dried garlic
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- Day before: Soak cashews in water (no need to refrigerate)
- In a large pot, add 2 tsp of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic over medium heat, or until onions are tender
- Add Italian sausage and beef in pot, cook until meat is browned
- Drain fat
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste
- Add remaining lasagna sauce spices
- Allow sauce to simmer in pot while continuing below (best if simmered 30 mins to 1 hour)
- In a frying pan with a little olive oil, sauté mushrooms (with any kind of seasonings or parsley if you like)
- Set sautéed mushrooms aside
- Place thawed spinach in bowl, squeeze as much water out of it as possible
- Set spinach aside
- Drain water from the soaking cashews, and pour cashews into a food processor
- Add almond milk and spices to the food processor
- Pulse or blend until cashews become a smooth and creamy consistency (something like ricotta cheese)
- Add 2 cups of the cashew “cheese” into the bowl with spinach and blend together
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F
- Slice zucchini lengthwise, (first trim two opposite sides so it doesn’t roll around on the board) Slice noodles about 1/4 inch thick (works by hand with a knife) don’t worry about them all being the exact same thickness
- Get out a 9 x12 pan
- Smooth a little bit of the lasagna sauce along the bottom of the pan
- Place one layer of zucchini noodles lengthwise across the bottom of the pan
- Add about half of cashew cheese and spinach mixture along the top of the zucchini noodles layer
- On top of that, add half of the pan of sautéed mushrooms
- Top with lasagna sauce enough to cover the top (don’t skimp, there’ll be plenty)
- Repeat the above steps with a second layer of zucchini noodles, cashew cheese and spinach, and again the sautéed mushrooms and lasagna sauce
- Now bake uncovered for about 50-60 minutes (or until it starts to bubble around the edges)
- Remove from oven, let stand a few minutes, and serve