Rule Number 23091 in marriage:
Do not feel required to tell your husband what is in his lasagna.
There’s a reason for this. You see, as I was thinking about a new dish I wanted to make for us, I thought about how I wanted some good old comfort food. Some ooey gooey casserole that could feed us for days – basically meaning I didn’t have to wash a new dish for at least three days. That’s winning in my book. I went through all the basics and realized I make them or have made them in the recent past, which led me to my jaw dropping realization.
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I have been gluten free for two years now, and I had yet to make a lasagna. I know, I know – pick those jaws up off the ground. I was a little scared for myself too. I made myself a promise that a lasagna would be made, and boy did it deliver. Although, as I was making the lasagna, I was cursing myself and remembering that the reason why I haven’t ever made a lasagna since becoming gluten free wasn’t because I didn’t want to have lasagna for dinner. It was because making lasagna is kind of a pain in the butt.
I spent my afternoon on Saturday making spaghetti sauce. I spent my afternoon on Sunday assembling this lasagna. I baked it on Monday. That’s a three day long project, folks. This was quite an achievement as knowing what I want to eat three days in advance is quite a feat.
I don’t mean to scare you away from making lasagna – in fact, you should make it. You should really really make it. And then you should drizzle it with this hummus and nutritional yeast sauce I whipped up since I was wallowing in the fact that I couldn’t have hot toasty bubbling cheese on top of my lasagna. And then you should put a few sprigs of rosemary on top of it. And then continue to add more rosemary once you eat what you have on your plate. Because let’s be honest with ourselves, the rosemary makes this lasagna.
And you could totally make this in one day too. Especially if you have the sauce already made. But don’t use jarred sauce – please for the love of God don’t do that. Make your own. Freeze it. Pull it out when a recipe calls for jarred marinara. You’ll thank me later when you’re not attempting to eat enough after dinner chocolate to get the marinara jar taste out of your mouth. No? Just me? I swear I can taste the jar.
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Anyways, back to why you shouldn’t feel the need to tell your husband what’s in his lasagna. He may think he ate ricotta, but in reality, he ate tofu. Don’t tell him he ate tofu. Just let him think whatever he wants and if he doesn’t say anything about how you are eating a lasagna made with ricotta when his wife doesn’t eat cheese, just go with the flow. Don’t ruin it for yourself. Smile as he gobbles up his plate and calls down the hall that dinner was “great” and he “loved the lasagna”. Yeah, I bet you loved that tofu lasagna, honey.
Spinach, Rosemary, and Tofu Lasagna with a Humnut Drizzle
Serves: 4-6
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 30 minutes![]()
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ready In : 60 minutes
For the lasagna:
- 1 box brown rice lasagna noodles
- 2-3 cups marinara sauce (I used my best ever marinara sauce)
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 block organic tofu
- 2/3 cup almond milk
- 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 cup rosemary sprigs, divided for filling and garnish
- 1/2 tsp. basil
- 1/4 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
For the drizzle:
- 1/4 cup hummus
- 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp. water
Directions: Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and cook your lasagna noodles per the instructions on the box. While the lasagna noodles are cooking, press your tofu for 10-15 minutes to get some of the water out of the tofu. Once the tofu is pressed, crumble it with your hands into a large bowl. Add the 2/3 cup almond milk, 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1/4 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and 3 tbsp. of your rosemary sprigs. Mix until all spices are well incorporated and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Drain and press all the liquid out of the thawed spinach and set aside as well.
Once your lasagna noodles are finished cooking, drain and place in a single layer on paper towels to dry. Then, begin to assemble your lasagna – put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9×9 pan and put 3 noodles on top. Add half of your tofu mixture, half of your spinach, and another layer of sauce. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles, the other half of the tofu, the remaining spinach, and another layer of sauce. Cover with 3 more noodles and another layer of sauce. Loosely cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, uncovering for the last 10 minutes. Once done cooking, let the lasagna sit for 5 minutes before serving.
To make the humnut drizzle, combine the hummus, nutritional yeast, and water in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. To serve the lasagna, plate up a generous portion, drizzle with humnut sauce, and garnish with more rosemary sprigs. Enjoy!
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In the end, we both got our comfort food. I wore stretchy pants. I may have used my finger to clean my plate. I “mmm’ed” along with the Husband as we talked about our days. One thing we didn’t talk about? Tofu. And that is the secret to our happy marriage.
Haven’t had quite enough comfort food? Feel free to visit Kelly Confidential to vote for your favorite food and/or share your own. Just so you know, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $1 million commitment to thecause1.














{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
Aww- marriage rules. I know them well. That first year of marriage I should have read the book, you live- you learn.
You totally rocked a GF lasagna! Tofu and all!
I could have WRITTEN a book about the first year of marriage.
Agreed- jarred marinara sauce is just tragic! This looks delicious! As an alternative, you should try lasagne made with salsa instead of marinara sauce…adds a yum Mexican kick ):)
I LOVE lasagna—and this looks like a good one
my family has lasagna or spaghetti every Christmas Eve, maybe this will be it this year!
I love the looks of that…wow. Three days, eh? Reminds me of the time I made raw vegan girl scout “samoas” cookies in my dehydrator. Holy.Project. Worth it? Kind of. I would rather have spent 3 days making that lasagna of yours!
It was totally worth it… as I am sitting here eating leftovers.
“hahaha I remember one time I made a vegan lasagna and people were all “I thought you didn’t eat cheese….” mmmhmmm
I adore spinach in lasagna! There’s something about the combination of cheese, tomato and spinach that’s so tasty
Oh my that is so going on the menu for next week! It will be perfect to use up some of all the jarred and frozen tomatoes from my grandma’s garden.
this looks delicious! but i’m right there with you… i could NOT put out there that the hubby ate tofu. aren’t men ridiculous?!
You are a GENIUS Chelsey!! I am dying I want this so bad!! I am making this SOON!
I’m glad you finally got your lasagna! Did he ever ask what was in there?? Haha I wonder what he was thinking, or if it even crossed his mind! Maybe it will randomly hit him today that you don’t eat cheese so that couldn’t have been ricotta… or maybe he just doesn’t want to know. That’s usually best.
He did not. The only thing I said after he said he liked it was “good, because eyou’re eating it for dinner again tomorrow.”
Oh I forgot how much I LOVE humnut!! Need to make some again soon…although apparently nutritional yeast is bad for you. Because it’s made in a lab. According to the founder of my school. But she just likes to ruin all our fun all the time, so I’m gonna ignore that…
la la la Im not listening! You need to tell your professor that I don’t even care. hahaha!
I love that the drizzle is on top! I bet that that was extra flavorful.
That looks sooo good. I’m not usually a tofu person, but it looks like something I’d like!
You would have no idea that there is tofu in there!
I’ve never made my own lasagna for the same reason as you – it seems like SUCH a hassle! But seeing these pictures has reminded me that it’s totally worth every bit of effort. Homemade lasagna is the best!
Ha, too funny. My mom made lasagna with veg crumbles for my husband once. He was eating it, loving it, and going for seconds. On the last bite she told him it wasn’t real meat. He said it didn’t taste as good after hearing that.
Silly boys. Now he asks for me to make it because it’s so good.
Oh geez – silly boys is right!
I LOVE lasanga, its time consuming to make, but in the end its so worth it!
You never fail to make me laugh as I read your posts. This lasagna looks so good! I did the same thing when I made a veggie lasagna for my husband and me awhile back. He’s all about the meat, so I didn’t want him to learn there was no meat in the lasagna as he was saying how delicious it was with every bite. I just told him the ingredients were a secret.
haha! I don’t even bring up anything about ingredients unless asked!
This looks fantastic! Great pics
Last night I made healthy alfredo sauce and it was sooo good, and my boyfriend loved it and then he asked me what was in it and I said cauliflower, and he wouldn’t finish it!! I was shocked and so frustrated because it tasted just like regular and he had already eaten 75% of his plate! Too bad you didn’t post this yesterday and warn me earlier
That sounds great! I have always wanted to make a cream sauce with cauliflower – don’t know why I never have!
Oooooh, I love the humnut drizzle!! I go through periods where I am seriously obsessed with humnut sauce!
My manfriend is totally anti-tofu. I can’t wait to get a little sneaky in the kitchen with this one:)
haha, loved this. I like to tell him after he’s eaten it (and loved it of course) just to see the reaction on his face.
That’s always fun!
YUM! I love lasagna! My mom makes her authentic Italian lasagna every Christmas and I always look forward to it! It’s seriously the best! No heavy cheese filled lasagna here! It’s all about the noddles and the sauce!
Whoever came up with the name Humnut deserves a naughty word medal. Just sounds sexual to me.
haha! After this entire post about my delicious lasagna, THAT is what you come up with? I love you.
Oh that’s one marriage rule i sure have learned over time.
This sounds delicious girl! Rosemary is one of my favorites, and hummus + nutritional yeast… How did I ever live without it?
this.recipe.looks.awesome.
my boyfriend would LOVE it.
i have to set some time aside to make it for him this weekend!
(:
xo.
ps-
do you think it would work with canned drained spinach?!
I don’t see why not!
Yum! If you can’t taste the tofu and can’t tell there is tofu in it then it’s probably a win so it looks like you did a great job! Have you already posted the marinara sauce recipe or is that to come?
That’s already there – I forgot to link it up! Sorry!
Bahaha, props to you for pulling the deceit off. Lasagna is kind of labor intensive, isn’t it? Lucky for me, that’s Joey’s mom’s specialty so I don’t ever make it. No need to compete, right?
haha I LOVE this post!! I have done this SO many times! In fact, little does my husband know, but his favorite meatballs are “meatless!” However I have also had this backfire. I told my husband last week that I was making enchiladas, but I left out the fact that they were butternut squash enchiladas. Needless to say, when he took a bite and he didn’t experience the chicken, sauce and cheese that he was expecting….well…i am still hearing about it!
Maybe I’ll add your lasagna recipe to my “shhh don’t tell the husband” list!!!
I definitely just wrote this in to my meal plan for next week. Tuesday isnt too early to start scheming about next weeks food, right?….
This looks AWESOME and is totally something my mom would make my dad without telling him what was really in it!
Hahaha, good job disguising tofu as ricotta. This is my main goal in lifely…to trick people into eating healthy!
HAha that is awesome! Some things are just meant to be left unsaid
when I shop I always have a list. I’m always making lists for everything. lol. But sometimes if i’m just getting something to make that night or just to pick up a few items I know I need i’ll just grab it.
this looks great! nice move with the hummus drizzle!
holy yum!!
I learned the hard way of him not even wanting to TRY what I made…now I just tell him, “yes, I put meat in that chili, duh?”…Meat/tempeh…same thing right?
I never tell my husband what is in his food.
Great job! I’m definitely liking the tofu used as ricotta idea!
YES ! Someone else who agrees with me to only make homemade sauce. I always wind up adding extra spices to jarred if I ever buy it. This looks amazing!
You are an absolute freaken genius…never thought of hummus or nutritional yeast on lazaknee …as I sit here in noreast power outage drooling on the sheer thought of a warm yummy pasta delectable…lack of food OMG I’m dileriousness and such.
This recipe is genius! Spinach in lasagna is one of my favorite combinations!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Considering I change into my stretchy pants the minute I get home from school every day, I’m so ready for this lasagna. I haven’t made one in forever! Lucky for me the boyfriend actually likes tofu. He even made it on his OWN the other day and served it to his roommate, who also liked it. Who am I even dating?
I change into my comfy clothes the second I get home too!
I’m sort of ‘anti fu’. I wonder if I could trick myself
this looks so good!
OH MY GOSH- i had no idea brown rice lasagna noodles existed. I have been so sad to miss out on lasagna!
It sounds like I may be the only one who just can’t seem to enjoy the taste of nutritional yeast. I can detect it in anything and can’t stomach it. Is there a good sub?
real cheese? or you could use some sort of vegan cheese substitute. You just wouldn’t have a drizzle…
oh my word this looks amazing!