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Super Tasty, Healthy & Messy Vegan Pan Lasagna

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Soft Pasta sheets in-between creamy, warm tomato sauce, tossed with a vegan, veggies-sneaked, creamy and tangy “bechamel”-style sauce. Topped with some vegan cheese and baked till molten and crispy. Not kidding, this stuff is seriously addicting. And no, you won’t miss the meat – this easier, healthier and messier version of the classic lasagna is a comfort dream. You`ll want to have this for dinner every night!

What’s special about this dish? 

A lot. A whole lot actually. To be honest, we need to say a classic lasagna is pretty much untoppable, but we also need to say that it is not very nutritious, as delicious as it may be. So in this recipe we are making a few (rather a bunch) changes and swaps to make it more nutritious, plant based, easier but also at least as delicious!

For example, instead of the regular béchamel sauce we are using a lighter, veggie packed & vegan version of it, which is ready in a few minutes. Also instead of layering everything neatly, as it is common, we are making a messier version of it. I don’t know what it is but I really feel like messy dishes having this passionate and loving touch to it.

Vegan Bolognese

I am using the one from Pastafani and omg, it is so good. To be honest, I was very sceptical regarding vegan bolognese and thought this could not be good … BUT I was proven wrong. Terribly wrong. To make this clear, it does not taste like bolognese but rather like tomato sauce with Tofu chunks in it. But in a good way. I really love cooking with it, I also have another recipe on the blog with this – the Baked Bolognese Spaghetti Squash – and this recipe is at least as good. It is vegan, organic and delivers suuuuupeer quickly!! You can head to their online shop and check it out – which you really should. PLUS, if you want to same some money you can use UNEPETITE10 for 10% off your order. Really, really worth getting it.

You can use „UNEPETITE10“ to save 10% when getting the best vegan sumo

Otherwise you could also use a homemade vegan bolognese or a lentil Bolognese or just a regular tomato sauce. Or, what would also work great is if you fried some vegan ground meat in some oil for about 4-5 minutes, then add some tomato sauce and use this. A really quick version of a vegan Bolognese.

Is this dish healthy?

Yesso. Contrary to regular lasagna, this one actually is very nutritious. Why? Instead of regular lasagna sheets, we are using whole-grain ones. These contain a bunch of fibre and protein and also some good carbs. Next up we have some tomato sauce or vegan bolognese. Either one has a bunch of vitamins and fibre. Just make sure you check the ingredients when buying the sauce because a lot have a bunch of added sugar.

Then we have the „béchamel“ sauce. This is pretty nutritious. How? So, instead of milk, butter and flour or cream we are using completely different ingredients. We have cauliflower, which has been steamed before, some soaked cashews, plant based milk and nutritional yeast. This way it gets the whole color, the creamy texture, and the cheesy taste and it is really healthy!

How to make this dish?

What you really need to do, is to prepare the béchamel sauce. Which means steaming some cauliflower and blending it with the milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, dijon, salt, garlic and pepper. Next we just have to add everything to a pan. It would be best if you started by adding the tomato sauce to the pan, then adding the lasagna sheets into it. Now we are just adding some dollops of the béchamel sauce. Now, we try to mix it a mix, as good as possible. What’s left to do now is to add some vegan cheese on top and bake it in the oven.

When you take it out, you can either eat it straight from the pan, which I need to say is pretty legit or you divide it onto plates/ bowls. But what you should do, is add some (vegan) pesto, because this really makes everything better. Anyway, it is super tasty, saucy, comforting and healthy!

I hope you’ll like this dish at least as much as we do and that you’ll make it on repeat!! Have a great time cooking & enjoy!

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Super Tasty, Healthy & Messy Vegan Stove Lasagna

Healthy, Easy, Delicious. Soft Lasagna sheets inbetween a creamy tomato sauce, rich and veggie-packed "béchamel" sauce and toppped off with some good vegan cheese. Baked in the oven till perfection and served with lots of love. The perfect, healthy comfort food.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 40 Minuten
Total Time 55 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 1/2 red onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 jar vegan bolognese * see blog post – paragraph "Vegan Bolognese"
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 160 g lasagna sheets
  • 100 g vegan cheese

For the béchamel sauce:

  • 1/4 head cauliflower
  • 25 g cashews
  • 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 50 ml plant based milk (you may need more depending on how big your cauliflower and how strong your blender is)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

How to

  1. bring a pot with water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and steam for about 5-7 minutes. You should easily be able to pierce through with a fork. Drain it

  2. In the meantime finel dice the onion and garlic and fry them in the hot oil for about 2 minutes.

  3. Option 1: now add some frozen ground (vegan) "meat" and fry it for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 jar of tomato sauce and 1 can of canned tomatoes. Generously salt and pepper.

    Option 2: just pour in the vegan bolognese and canned tomatoes and generously add salt and pepper.

  4. Add the cauliflower along with all the other ingredients for the béchamel sauce to a blender and blend until having reached a creamy texture. You may need some more plant based milk.

  5. Break apart the lasagna sheets and add them into the tomato sauce so they are equally distruibuted. Add the béchamel sauce, a dollop at a time and the swirl it in. Top with the vegan cheese and bake for 40-45 minutes at 180°C.

  6. Serve with lots of love and enjoy!

Love,
Katie

The Most Comforting Roasted Sweet Potato and Chicken Tikka Masala

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A large, warming bowl of goodness. Super flavourful roasted sweet potatoes with juicy chicken, all tossed in a creamy sauce full of Indian spices. Take the Indian Classic and make it healthy and super delicious! Family friendly, vegan option, easy to make, perfect comfort food.

I love these Sundays, where you just relax all day long and when it comes to dinner, the whole family goes into the kitchen and cooks together. Something cozy, something comforting to round up the week. Something that warms you from the inside and makes your soul feel warmed. These are my favourite kind of dinners. And this Tikka Masala definitely is the ideal meal for such occasions!

What’s tikka masala?

Tikka Masala is a dish from in the Indian cuisine. Actually, it has been invented in Scotland by an Indian Chef. He originally made it with chicken, cream, yoghurt and spices. It also is called „Butter Chicken“ sometimes and nowadays is one of the most popular Indian Recipes around the world.

What’s special about this dish?

We are taking a regular curry and taking it next level while making it healthy! Instead of cream and butter we go for coconut milk, since this is a healthier and lighter version. Also, we don’t only do chicken, no, we add some sweet potatoes for even more flavour & vitamins. Plus, we are roasting, both the chicken and the sweet potato beforehand to bring out the flavour even more.

Is it healthy?

I would not see a reason why not. It is a completely balanced meal. Due to the chicken (that you could sub for chickpeas for example) we make sure to get enough protein in! The sweet potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates, fibre and they also are loaded with nutrients and vitamins. The greek yoghurt and coconut milk add a healthy amount of fat and even more protein.

Not to forget about all of the good Indian spices. Spices, when consumed in moderation, can have tremendous health benefits ranging from improving your digestion to preventing cancer. Crazy what these little powders can do right? When served with some rice or naan you get even more energy from the carbohydrates! So all in all, definitely a very balanced and nutritious meal!

How to make it:

We start by tossing the chopped sweet potato and chicken with some oil and spices before roasting them. As already mentioned, roasting them really brings out the flavour and it shortens the cooking time after. In the meantime we are preparing the curry paste which we need for the sauce. For this you need a food processor or a blender of some kind. To make this paste you need to blend together some onion, garlic, ginger and more spices and fry that off in oil so it gets fragrant. Once your whole kitchen smells like an Indian market, you need to add the sweet potato and chicken and also the coconut milk. Now we just let it simmer and intensify its flavour. Before serving, we stir in some greek yoghurt for extra creaminess and richness. Now it is time to garnish it with some greens, cashews and serve with rice or naan!

When and how to best have it?

Up to you! I love it as a cozy dinner but it also works great for meal prep. Actually, all curries work very well for meal prep because they only enhance their flavour the longer they are in the fridge. You can make this beforehand and just heat it up whenever you feel like it.

In terms of what to best serve it with, you could go for rice or naan or both (my favourite :)). But also something like quinoa, wholegrain rice or buckwheat would work great!

Substitutes/ vegan option:

  • Sweet Potatoes – pumpkin, cauliflower
  • chicken – chickpeas, tofu
  • greek yoghurt – regular yoghurt, plant based yoghurt

I hope that you will genuinely enjoy this as much as I do because I am really obsessed with this, especially on the colder days! Have fun cooking this and enjoy eating it!

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Super Comforting Roasted Sweet Potato and Chicken Tikka Masala

Heavenly comfort food in a bowl. Indian spices in a creamy sauce with perfectly roasted and juicy chicken and sweet potato

Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

For the sweet potato & chicken

  • 1 tbsp Graham Masala
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 600 g Sweet Potato (1 large one)
  • 600 g chicken breast

For the rest:

  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
  • 1,5 tsp graham masala
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 400 ml canned tomatoes (puréed)
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • rice, naan to serve with
  • cilantro and cashews to garnish

How to

First:

  1. Chop up the sweet potato into about 1 cm sized cubes. Cut the chicken (if using) into bite sized pieces. Combine the spices with the oil. Toss the sweet potato and chicken with the oil-pize mixture and lay out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes.

  2. In the meantime blend the onion, garlic, ginger and remaining spices together until it has become a smooth paste. When the roasting is done, heat up theremaining oil in a pot and fry the curry paste in it for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes, chicken, canned tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat.

  3. Before serving stir in the greek yoghurt. Then divide onto bowls and serve with some rice or naan. Garnish with fresh cilantro and cashews. Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Super Comforting Oven Baked Stuffed Cannelloni with Pumpkin Sage Ricotta

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Holy moly, this is a long name! But this dish deserves this. Really. I know that I say this for pretty much every fall recipe, but this is fall comfort food at its finest. Pasta (heaven itself) stuffed with creamy ricotta and pumpkin with sage, all added into a dish, tossed in a creamy pumpkin sauce and baked in the oven with some feta. If your mouth is not watering by now then I don´t know what makes it do so.

What is special about this dish?

The combination of flavors. Usually you would only get stuffed cannelloni with a tomato sauce or a Bolognese sauce and stuffed with ricotta and spinach. But not this recipe. Instead of the normal filling we are making a fall filling! Roasted pumpkin that is flavored with sage in a creamy ricotta mixture. The pasta also is not tossed in tomato sauce but a creamy pumpkin sauce and topped with feta rather than mozzarella! A few twists that make a nice and fun change.

Is this dish healthy?

Yes-ish. Well, the main ingredient is pasta. Pasta is a great source of carbohydrates and also protein. It has always had the reputation of being unhealthy, but this is not true at all. Pasta gives you a lot of energy (and a lot of happiness too) but it is not super high in other nutrients. If you want a meal that is more nutrient dense, you could long for wholegrain pasta, which is a healthier option with more fiber and nutrients!

Then we have ricotta, which is sort of a cream cheese but Italian stye (anything Italian style is good!). It is lower in calories than cream cheese and has about half of the fat of it and more protein! Plus, it tastes super good. Besides this we also have eggs, which are a great source of vitamin B12, and protein and not to forget about the star of the show: the pumpkin!

 

Pumpkin is the food of the month of November, so you can actually read a bunch about it in my Nomvember top 5 blog post! It is not only a very tasty, and the most popular fall vegetable but it also Is low in calories and high in nutrients! A great addition to any meal!

How to make it:

I am going to be honest; this dish is a bit of work and takes some time (which we now have in quarantine). The filling of each and every cannelloni requires some patience, but it is a very fun cooking activity as a family or friends! 

In terms of difficulty, this is not very challenging to make! You need to start with roasting the pumpkin with the sage and oil in the oven! In the meantime, you can boil the pasta. While this is boiling you can make the ricotta filling by mixing ricotta, Greek yoghurt, milk, vegetable broth and pumpkin. Fold in the rest of the pumpkin into the mixture.

Now you need patience. Fill every shell with the mixture and lay out in a baking dish. Pour over the sauce and crumble the feta! Now it just needs to be baked and then enjoyed with lots of enjoyment! 

I hope that you will genuinely enjoy this super comforting yet healthyish recipe and that it will become one of your fall staples! 

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Oven Baked Stuffed Cannelloni with Sage Pumpkin Ricotta

Comforting, healthish, delicious. An amazing fall twist on the classic packed with flavor! Enjoy!

Course dinner, Main Course
Total Time 1 Stunde
Servings 6 servings
Calories 449 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 hokkaido pumpkin (about 800g)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh sage
  • 500 g cannelloni
  • 300 g greek yoghurt
  • 300 g ricotta
  • 300 ml vegetable broth
  • 100 ml milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp cardamon
  • 150 g feta cheese

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel the pumpkin and cut into about 1cm sized cubes. Finely chop up the sage. Mix the pumpkin with the sage and olive oil and lay out on a baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.

  2. In the meantime boil the pasta according to package instructions but undercook them by 2 minutes.

    In the meantime combine he greek yoghurt, ricotta cheese, egg, nutmeg, cardamon, salt and pepper until creamy. Fold in 2/3 of the roasted pumpkin.

  3. When the pumpkin is done baking, add 1/3 of it to a food processor along with the vegetable broth, milk, and about 1/4 of the ricotta mixture. Blend everything up until creamy.

    Take one piece of pasta at a time and fill with abotu 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture. Lay into a baking tray and repeat until all pasta and all of the mixture is used up. If there is some more of the ricotta mixture left, just blend it into the sauce again.

  4. Once all the pasta is filled, pour the pumpkin sauce on top and crumble the feta. Bake at 220°C for another 5-7 minutes! Serve and enjoy!


Happy cooking, 
Enjoy, 
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Italian Tomato and Eggplant Stew with fried Halloumi and Pita

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Fresh and sweet tomatoes with soft and slightly mushy eggplant plus tangy capers and olives. Oh, and not to forget about the good herbs and the Goey fried halloumi with fresh pita. Hard not to get hungry when reading this right?!

To be honest I have never had Halloumi until a few months ago. I spent a day with my besties in Bratislava and we were so tired after this super long day and went into a super cute little café. We just ordered some small snack like avocado toast and a greek bowl and in this bowl there was halloumi. And let me tell you, I instantly loved it. Maybe it is because I am a huge salt-addict (I know, that’s not very healthy but I just love it). Halloumi is pretty salty but tbh, that makes it real good right?

What goes well with Halloumi?

So I believe that everything that is with Mediterranean flavours goes super well with it! And everything with lots of herbs because herbs + halloumi is just the best combination. It tastes really yum with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, eggplant (=aubergine). Also, this might sound a little weird but believe me, it is also really good with oriental things like curry, hummus, falafel. Yes curry and halloumi goes with with each other. Might sound a little off but it is really good. If you want another halloumi recipe you can check out my Honey Eggplant and Chickpea Salad with Grilled Halloumi because that’s also really good!

Why Eggplant & Tomato?

Well because this combination with Halloumi is just so good. And Eggplant works so well in stews because it has a rather soft texture and makes it a little creamy-ish. Also it adds such a nice flavour. And tomatoes are always good. Especially in sauces or stews they are a must! They kind of build a „base“ for it and makes it saucy. And they are coming into season, so why not?

Fresh or canned tomatoes?

This really is up to you. They both work perfectly fine. If they are in season and you have them on hand, I would always recommend using fresh produce! But if you used canned ones make sure they are not all puréed. The best is if you mix them both. So use some fresh ones and some puréed sauce. That way you get some texture and sauciness. All the good things in it.

30-minute meal

You thought this couldn’t get any better? Well, it can! Because this comes together in less than 30 minutes. I know, so easy. Which means, it is perfect for a quick and healthy lunch or a cozy and simple dinner. Also, making it is not complicated at all! Actually the opposite is the case. It essentially comes down to chopping the ingredients and throwing them all together into a pot plus frying the halloumi in an extra pan. Yes, that simple.

What to have it with

Pita is my favourite go-to here because it is perfect to soak up the sauce and it has such a nice texture and taste. But if you do not like it or are intolerant to gluten or cannot find a good one you can also substitute it out for other things. Something like Quinoa, Pasta, Couscous or Rice would also work really well here. If you want to on the lighter side, you can also just serve it with a salad, which also is really good!

This is such a tasty meal for whenever you ar craving something comforting but healthy. Comes together really quick, is super family friendly, has lots of vitamins (& cheese ofc) and tastes amazing!

I hope that you will love this recipe as much as I do and that it will become a staple in your household!

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Italian Tomato and Eggplant Stew with fried Halloumi and Pita

Healthy, comforting and so full of flavor. A 30-minute, super quick and good weeknight dish!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 456 kcal

What you will need

  • 1 red onion
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 650 g Eggplant about 2 medium sized ones
  • 300 g tomatoes fresh ones (best is a mxi of large ones and cherry tomatoes)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 200 g canned tomatoes (puréed)
  • 2 tbsp rosemary
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 60 g Capers about 3-4 tbsp
  • 40 g Olives about 3 tbsp, sliced olives
  • 300 g Halloumi
  • 2 Pita

How to

  1. Finely dice the onion. Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add the onion when hot. Sautée for about 2 minutes until fragnant.

    In the meantime chop the eggplant and tomatoes into about 2 cm sized chunks or half the cherry tomatoes, if using. Add them into the pan and sautée for another 2 minutes on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium high and stir in the tomato paste and sauce and the herbs. Let simmer for 10 minutes and then add in the juice from half a lemon, the capers, olives, some freshly cracked black pepper and some salt. Let simmer for another 10 minutes.

    While this is simmering slice the halloumi into about 1/2 cam thick slices. Place them on a grill or a preheated (grill)pan and fry them on medium high heat for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

    Heat up the Pita in the oven.

    When everything is ready add the stew onto the plates and place the fried halloumi on top. Serve with the fresh pita and enjoy!

Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière <3