You know that silky, gooey, stringy melted cheesy thing that the masses take for granted? You know, you find it on pizzas, enchiladas, cheese on toast and let’s not forget lasagne. Well, that yummy melted gooeyness is my nemesis.
A small amount of aged, hard cheddar and I may scrape through with no symptoms, but as soon as it comes into contact with heat and melts, I get major problems. Instantly.
On the off chance that others share my affliction, I thought I’d share my dairy free version of a lasagne. It’s nothing ground breaking, and if you eat cheese, you will taste the difference but even so, this is one very, very tasty dish.
Extra flavours to enhance the taste
A great tip to improving dishes that are lacking in a major ingredient such as cheese, is to add extra flavours along the way. Splashing in a little Worcester Sauce will add depth of flavour to any mince based dish, and the scraping of nutmeg on top of this lasagne is just fabulous.
I always tend to bulk out mince with veggies and beans. It makes it more economical so the meat goes further and it’s a great opportunity to up the fibre & vitamin levels. I had some cubed butternut squash that needed using, but feel free to replace that with any root veg such as carrot or parsnip. It can always be grated first if it needs disguising ;)
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 leek sliced
- 1 tin of beans I used red kidney beans, but any beans would be fine even a tin of baked beans
- 200 g butternut squash or sweet potato
- 1 tin tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
- 1 glass red wine 275 ml
- 850 ml soya milk
- 50 g dairy free margarine
- 50 g plain flour
- Salt & pepper
- Lasagne sheets
- Mild paprika
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Heat the oil in a saucepan until very hot.
- Add the minced beef and fry for a few minutes to gain some colour, being sure to break up any lumps.
- Add in the onion, garlic, leek, butternut squash tins of tomatoes & beans and Worcester sauce. Season well and bring just to a boil, then turn the heat down until it is very gently simmering and leave to bubble away for an hour or more. If you are in a hurry you can load up your lasagne sooner than this, although the flavours are best left for an hour to do their thing.
- Put the soya milk, margarine and flour into a medium sized saucepan. Turn on the heat and begin whisking, and keep whisking until the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Spoon a third of the meaty mix into the bottom of a roasting tin, layer with lasagne sheets & top them with a third of the white sauce. Top with lasagne sheets and repeat until all is used up and the last layer on the lasagne is the white sauce.
- Sprinkle the top generously with mild paprika & grate a quarter to a half of a nutmeg evenly over the top also.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 350/180/gas 4 for 45-50 minutes.
- Serve with a fresh green salad.
Nick @ Bakingbeardy says
I’m a dairy eater, but will definitely incorporate some of your tips – I love the idea of using some nutmeg and veg…
Jane Sarchet says
That’s great Nick, the nutmeg is delish!
Janie x
Fiona Maclean says
Poor you re the dairy thing! I have a strawberry allergy and that’s annoying enough. The lasagne looks fab, funnily I’ve always used nutmeg with moussaka, but not lasagne
Jane Sarchet says
It is more annoying than anything else to be honest Fiona, especially when I eat out as I have to be that fussy person asking for no dressing, no sauce, blah blah blah!
However, it is all put straight back into perspective when I think how I lived with pain every single day for 20+ years, and now (if I’m careful) I get none :)
Janie x
Nayna Kanabar (@SIMPLYF00D) says
White sauce with soya milk sounds interesting. Nice hearty meal although I would need to adapt it to make it vegetarian.
Jane Sarchet says
I’m sure a regular white sauce is far tastier, c’est la vie!
Janie x
Lizzy (Good Things) says
Great recipe, Janie… I don’t eat a lot of cheese at all, but would be sad to think it made me unwell. That said, there are plenty of foods that wreak havoc with my system. Love how you have created something delicious here.
Jane Sarchet says
It’s just finding work-arounds isn’t it Lizzy? I would find it harder to omit wheat than dairy to be honest, as wheat is EVERYWHERE!
Janie x
Krista says
I’m so glad you shared this. :-) I’m able to eat cheese but I have dear friends who can’t and they will love this. :-)
Jane Sarchet says
Perfect! Please do let me know what they think if they give it a go!
Janie x
Karen says
Fabulous pizza and I am the same with TOO much cheese on anything, I HATE it, it has to be good old Cheddar for me most of time too! Karen
Jane Sarchet says
Mmmmm, Pizza Lasagne ;)
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I think I might try this with soya mince. Good idea.
Jane Sarchet says
Hope you enjoy it Jac!
Janie x
Sylvia says
*drooling* can I have a bite?? Love lasagne it’s ultimate comfort food in my house :)
Jane Sarchet says
You’re more than welcome, dig in ;)
Janie x
Choclette says
I reckon the best bit of a Lasagne is the white sauce and you’ve got that. Looks so tasty Jane. Reminds me that I haven’t made lasagne in a very long time.
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks choclette!
Janie x
Tina Anand says
I’m going to try this with lamb, or omit the mince and do one with vegetables, especially butternut squash. Thank you for sharing.
Jane Sarchet says
Mmmm, I bet that would be real tasty with butternut squash!
Janie x
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I don’t think I could ever not have cheese on my lasagne (I am lucky that it gives me no issues), but I like the idea of adding in butternut squash.
Jane Sarchet says
Absolutely! If you can eat cheese then please, for the love of god, eat a real lasagne! :)
Janie x
Louisa Foti says
Oh poor you with a dairy intolerance, unfortunately cheese is one of my greatest pleasures in life! And I’d be really grumpy if I had to go without, of all the foods to be honest. But your dairy-free lasagne looks the business and I don’t suppose you’d really miss the cheese.
Jane Sarchet says
I know what you mean about giving up cheese, it was tough. However, it was made a darn sight easier by becoming pain free for the firs time in 20+ years! Doesn’t seem like such a sacrifice then :)
Janie x
Emma @ Adventures of a London Kiwi says
I’m loving the nutmeg – what a fab idea!
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Emma! It doesn’t make up for the lack of cheese, but it does help :)
Janie x
ManjiriK says
Aww sorry abt the allergy but Janie, I must confess I have been fighting off a huge urge to go find some food to snack on right now but am on a 12 hour fast overnight for a blood test and that photo just broke my defenses sighhh….
Jane Sarchet says
Oops, sorry Manjiri :( On the bright side, you’ll be able to treat yourself to a GIANT full English soon as soon as the bloods are done :)
Janie x