It doesn’t get more epic than this Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna from Dustin Harder’s new cookbook Epic Vegan. This meatless dinner dish is vegan comfort food at its finest! In this recipe, lasagna noodles are layered with spicy buffalo sauce, creamy dairy-free blue cheese ricotta, and savory seitan and vegetables.
Epic Vegan
Cooking doesn’t have to be boring, and Dustin Harder is here with his new cookbook Epic Vegan to make sure it isn’t. This fun book encourages you to play with your food and create your own one-of-a-kind dishes. It also proves that there’s more to vegan food than salad.
Epic Vegan is a choose-your-own-adventure style cookbook. It’s full of recipes for basic classics, such as Happy Hash Browns and Easy Creamy Shells and Cheese, and then Dustin gives tips on how to make “epic” versions of them. You can use your hash browns to create a Triple-Decker Breakfast Sammy or Breakfast Platter Dog. Shells and cheese can be made epic by turning them into Mac and Cheese Pretzel Bites or Lobster Mac and Cheese.
Dustin also includes recipes for his own outside-the-box unique creations, including Pad Thai Cupcakes, Fried Chicken ‘N Waffle Benedict Sandwich, and Chocolate Chickpea Ravioli.
There are also lots of recipes for veganized versions of comfort food classics, such as Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Pretzel Bowls, Festive Cheesy Spinach Bread, Crispy Cream Donuts, Garlicky Cheddar Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, and Philly Cheesesteaks.
This isn’t a cookbook full of easy weeknight meals for busy families. This is a book for those who want to spend time in the kitchen and get creative. Throughout the book, Dustin does offer cooking hacks to streamline and speed up the cooking process, though.
The Chapters in Epic Vegan in Include:
- Basic Betty: FUNdamental Recipes
- Sauced Up: Sauces, and Dips for Slatherin’ and Dippin’
- Brazen Breads: All the Dough You Need
- There’s an App for That! Nibbles and Passed Bites for a Crowd
- Monster Handhelds: Beastly Bites Fit for Kings and Queens
- Pizza Pizza! Cheesus Take the Wheel
- Pasta Paradise: The Pastabilities are Endless
- Bowls of Stuff: Fork It, Spoon It, Slurp It!
- Shake It Off! Chill Sips for Every Occasion
- Sweet Emotions: Donut Come for Me! Sweets to Make Friends
Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Usually when I get a new cookbook I head straight to the mac and cheese recipe. (If there’s no mac and cheese, I often make tacos first.) But whenEpic Vegan arrived, it was the Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna that caught my eye, because… well, it’s Buffalo Chicken Lasagna!
Dustin told me that this lasagna is one of his favorite recipes from the book. The recipe does look a little overwhelming at first glance, but he says that why it’s epic! He gave me some tips to cut down on cooking time: make sure you have the seitan prepared (or bought) and prepare the blue cheese before you start to make the rest. And that’s exactly what I did! I went with store-bought seitan to save time, and I made the extra components ahead of time.
"Epic" doesn’t begin to begin to describe the flavor of this dish. You can’t go wrong with this combination of creamy and spicy in my book. It was well worth the time it took to prepare. The recipe makes a lot of lasagna, so I had enough to last several days.
My tips for making Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna:
- Prepare the seitan the day before you want to make lasagna. Or pick some up at the store.
- Get the cashews soaking the night before, too.
- Prepare the Blue Cheese Dressing, Buffalo Sauce, and Hemp Parmesan.
- Cook the seitan, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
- While the seitan is cooking, mix together the Blue Cheese Ricotta.
- Mix together the Buffalo Cream Sauce.
- Assemble the components.
- Bake and enjoy!
This is a fun book with uniquely fun recipes. If you want to get creative in the kitchen and play with your food, Epic Vegan is the book for you!
Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Ingredients
For Chicken:
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 cups cubed (1 inch/3 cm) Simply Seitan (recipe follows), or store-bought seitan or vegan chicken
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 cup (110 g) shredded carrots
- ½ cup (50 g) chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic minced
For Blue Cheese Ricotta:
- 2 blocks (14 ounces/396 g) extra-firm tofu drained and pressed (see Tip)
- 1 batch Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe follows)
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) tahini
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
For Buffalo Cream Sauce:
- 1 cup (137 g) raw cashews soaked in water overnight or boiled for 10 minutes and drained
- 1½ cups (355 ml) water
- 1 batch Buffalo Sauce (recipe follows)
For Lasagna:
- Cooking spray
- 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles or traditional boiled lasagna noodles
- 2 cups (230 g) vegan mozzarella shreds
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Hemp Parmesan (recipe follows), or store-bought vegan parmesan (optional)
Instructions
- To make the chicken: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the seitan, onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the seitan has started to brown. Add the garlic and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To make the blue cheese ricotta: Crumble the tofu into a medium bowl. Add the dressing, tahini, mustard, and salt. Stir everything together until well combined. Set aside.
- To make the buffalo cream sauce: Add the cashews, water, and buffalo sauce to a high-speed blender. Blend for 2 minutes, or until creamy and smooth.
- To assemble and bake the lasagna: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6). Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cbaking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread ½ cup (120 mbuffalo cream sauce on the bottom of the prepared dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles across the pan. Spread half of the blue cheese ricotta over the noodles and top that with half of the chicken mixture, followed by ½ cup (120 mbuffalo cream sauce and ½ cup (about 65 mozzarella. Make sure the noodles are entirely covered. Repeat layering, starting with a layer of 3 noodles, then the remaining blue cheese ricotta, the remaining chicken mixture, ½ cup (120 mbuffalo cream sauce, and ½ cup (about 65 mozzarella. Top with one last layer of noodles and use the remaining buffalo cream sauce to cover the top, spreading the sauce so the noodles are completely covered. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup (about 130 mozzarella and drizzle the olive oil over the top.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
- Garnish with parsley and parmesan, if desired.
Notes
To press the tofu, wrap the block tightly in dry paper towels. Place the wrapped tofu in a colander set in the kitchen sink. Set a small plate on top of the tofu and stack something heavy on top of it (like canned food). Let it sit for 20 minutes to release the water, unwrap, and it’s ready for use. You can also use a tofu press for this. It’s an inexpensive device and perfect for the environmentally conscious. I love the tofu press that I ordered online and use it often. © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2019 Dustin Harder
Simply Seitan
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (150 g) vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons (10 g) nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 cup (235 ml) water
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) ketchup
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 4 cups (940 ml) vegetable broth
- ¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic halved
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten, nutritional yeast, and poultry seasoning.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, ketchup, and lemon juice until well combined.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix together with a fork until well combined. Knead with your hands for about 4 minutes, until a thick elastic dough forms.
- In a large saucepan or pot, combine the broth, soy sauce, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Cut the dough in half and place both halves in the saucepan. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot so that the lid allows steam to escape, and simmer for 30 minutes. Rotate the pieces of dough, flipping them over. Partially cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Uncover, remove from the heat, and let the dough cool completely in the broth.
- Seitan can be stored in the broth, covered, and kept in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. It can also be stored in a sealed container (with the brotin the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
Rather than kneading by hand, you can absolutely make this in a stand mixer with the dough hook if you have one available to you. Knead for 2 to 4 minutes on medium speed, or until an
elastic dough forms. © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2019 Dustin Harder
Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115 g) vegan mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) tahini
- 2 tablespoons (32 g) white miso
- 2 tablespoons (28 ml) water
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (20 g) Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add the mayonnaise, tahini, miso, water, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, and garlic powder to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Add the parsley and black pepper, and pulse a few times until just combined and specks of the parsley and pepper are still visible. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
If desired, add ¼ cup (56 g) crumbled extra-firm tofu for texture. © 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2019 Dustin Harder
Buffalo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup (235 ml) hot sauce
- ¼ cup (55 g) vegan butter
- ¼ cup (60 g) packed organic dark brown sugar
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the hot sauce, butter, and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Notes
Text © 2019 Dustin Harder
Hemp Parmesan
Ingredients
- ½ cup (60 g) hemp seeds
- 2 tablespoons (10 g) nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Add the hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, and salt to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down the sides if needed. Add the maple syrup, ½ teaspoon at a time, pulsing the mixture until well combined. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
Text © 2019 Dustin Harder
Other recipes made with spicy buffalo goodness include:
- Vegan Richa's Buffalo Chickpea Tacos
- Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
- Main Street Vegan Buffalo Chickpea Dip
- Buffalo Potato Nuggets
- Buffalo Soy Curl Wraps
Corrine
Definitely lasagna!
Lydia Claire
Most recently it is a mushroom stroganoff mac and cheese. So delicious!
Dani S.
I have to say vegan raviolis, probably. We make a big batch of pumpkin "ricotta" raviolis and freeze them for later.
Karen D
Vegan Tourtiere. Made with TVP. Wintertime treat.
Cadry Nelson
Oh, my gosh. Epic is right! So many of my favorite flavors in one casserole dish.
Bryan Martinez
You weren't wrong about this being epic! haha this recipe looks sooo good! I can't wait ti give this a try, thank you!
Dianne
You won't be sorry! It's pretty amazing.
Dianne
It's well worth the effort!
HellerMD98
This looks amazing! I saw the book launch photos at the Strand and almost asked my wife to pick up a signed copy for me. Cannot wait to check it out and try this!
Dianne
It's really good – you're going to love it!
Kimberley Lowry
I made this last night!!!!! Awesome. I loved the buffalo spice but it was I guess a little overwhelming for my partner. His second serving he removed the top layer of sauce. I was surprised we are usually the opposite when it comes to our heat tolerance. I loved the ricotta recipe and I can see using it for other meals. Thank you! P.S. and darn we were so hungry, we forgot to at the store brought vegan parm and parsley but didn’t miss it at all.
Dianne
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!