Almost Famous Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Dustin Harder

I once made a 5-ingredient buffalo chicken dip for the 5-ingredient challenge segment of The Vegan Roadie. I have been looking for the opportunity to revisit that ever since. The minute I put a Blue Cheese Dressing recipe in this book, I knew this was the right time! The combination of spicy and cool flavors between the sauce and dressing, paired with the savory chicken and pasta, can’t be beat.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Fusion, Italian

Servings 8 servings

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

Tip
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.