Choo-choose to get your protein and vegetables in a fun and delicious way this holiday season with a trip on the polar express lasagne. This dish is gluten-free, nut-free, vegan and fun for the whole family to enjoy. Serve the slices in a row as train cars with a toy train at the front of the plate for an extra touch of whimsy and magic. 

Polar Express Lasagne

• Prep Time:  20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Course: Dinner
• Cuisine: North Pole
• Servings:  12 slices

Cauliflower Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 cups of frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil
• 2 tsp salt
• ¼ cup oat milk, unsweetened 
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

Cauliflower Sauce Instructions:

1. Add all sauce ingredients to a large blender
2. Process until smooth add more oat milk to thin the sauce as desired
3. Set the sauce aside while the lasagne is prepared

Lasagne Ingredients:

• 1 package Chickapea Oven Ready Lasagne
• 2 heads of Cauliflower, washed and trimmed into florets
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil, for roasting cauliflower
• ½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp flaked salt or sea salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 package vegan ricotta
• ½ cup vegan mozzarella, grated
• 2 Tbsp vegan parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F
2. Add the clean and trimmed cauliflower florets to a medium bowl 
3. Pour 2 Tbsp of avocado oil over the cauliflower and mix well to coat
4. Sprinkle in minced garlic, gluten-free bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, 1 tsp of flaked salt and pepper
5. Toss the cauliflower thoroughly in the seasoning
6. Transfer the cauliflower to a lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower becomes golden brown, toss the cauliflower half way through the baking time to ensure it cooks evenly
7. When the roasted cauliflower has finished cooking, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F
8. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with 1/3 of the blended cauliflower sauce
9. Layer 4 uncooked Chickapea Lasagne noodles over the sauce with space between them
10. Cover each noodle with 2 tsp cauliflower sauce, 1 Tbsp of vegan ricotta cheese, and 2 Tbsp of roasted cauliflower
11. Repeat layers of lasagne, cauliflower sauce, ricotta cheese, and roasted cauliflower until four uncovered noodles remain
12. Layer the final four noodles on top of the others and cover them with a generous amount of the cauliflower sauce. Making sure no part of the noodles in left uncovered with sauce
13. Sprinkle the entire lasagne with a  layer of vegan mozzarella cheese and remaining roasted cauliflower
14. Cover the dish with tin foil
15. Bake the lasagne for 35 minutes
16. Uncover the dish and sprinkle the lasagne with vegan parmesan cheese to taste
17. Return the lasagne to the oven and bake it for 10 more minutes, uncovered
18. Once baked, remove the lasagne and let it stand for 5 minutes before cutting
19. Once it has set, serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• Kite Hill vegan ricotta was used in this recipe
• Black Sheep Herbed Vozzeralla was used in this recipe as the mozzarella
• Earth Island vegan parmesan cheese was used in this recipe
• A combination of fresh and frozen cauliflower is recommended for this recipe. The thawed, previously frozen cauliflower works best for the sauce and fresh cauliflower was found to work best for roasting
• This recipe should be served hot but it can also be successfully reheated by adding more sauce and vegan cheese before covering it with tin foil and baking at 200°F until warmed through