Lasagna is  a great make ahead meal.  Make it on the weekend and then you have meals for the week.  Here’s a different take on it that looks amazing and is much neater for serving than a large pan.  This recipe gives you the added bonus of having individual servings at the ready. No need for slicing. You can even store them in separate serving containers and just take out what you need. The bacony bits give a salty sweetness making this more savory than a traditional lasagna.  Make sure you completely dry the spinach to avoid having a watery result.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12 rolls

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles
16 oz container vegan ricotta (or make your own)
10 oz package of frozen spinach (thawed, drained and dried)
¼ cup “bacon” bits (I like the recipe from Happy Herbivore).
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 TBL butter
4 tsp flour
1 ¼ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg
2 cups tomato sauce
¼ vegan mozzarella style shreds.

1.  Bring large pot of water to boil. Add 1 TBL salt and cook noodles until pliable (you will be rolling them), about 8 minutes. When done, drain and lay them individually on an oiled cookie sheet so they don’t stick together. Another option for “cooking” the noodles is to place them in a 9X13 baking dish, fill the dish with boiling water and let them sit for about 10 minutes until soft and pliable, then drain and lay them on oiled cookie sheet.

2.  Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.

3. In a bowl combine the ricotta, spinach, bacony bits, ¾ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Set mixture aside.

4. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When it’s melted, stir in the flour. Cook just a minute or two. Wisk in the milk and raise heat to med-high.  Bring to a boil and keep wisking so nothing clumps or sticks.  Mixture should thicken in about 2-3 minutes.  Wisk in salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour into prepared baking dish.

5.  Take 2-3 TBL of the ricotta mixture and spread down the center of each noodle. It helps to use your fingers to spread it out.  Roll up each noodle and place seam side down on the white sauce.

6. When all the rolls are done, pour 1 cup of the tomato sauce over them and sprinkle with cheese.

7. Cover pan with foil and bake 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.

8. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve with remaining 1 cup of sauce.