Henry's 30 Minute Lasagne

Henry's 30 Minute Lasagne

This one is Henry's go-to when he wants proper comfort food on the table fast. A rich, smoky ragu packed with soya mince, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes, layered up with pasta sheets and a creamy white sauce, all done in 30 minutes. It tastes like it's been simmering for hours, which is honestly the best kind of cooking trick. The smoked paprika and red peppers give it this deep, warming flavour that makes the whole thing feel really special. Make this tonight and you'll be absolutely buzzing with yourself.

Cook: 30 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Large frying pan
  • Large pan for boiling water
  • Microplane or grater
  • Mixing bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 250g lasagne sheets
  • 160g grilled artichokes
  • 220g plant-based mince
  • 680ml Passata
  • 3 roasted red pepper (from a jar)
  • 5 sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp Nooch
  • 200ml plant-based crème fraîche
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 50g plant-based parmesan
  • 1 handful of basil leaves
  • 50 plant-based parmesan

Method

1

Make the ragu 

  • Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the food processor
  • Add the smoked paprika, sun-dried tomatoes, red peppers and passata and blitz to combine
  • Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in the hot frying pan and add the soya mince
  • Pour over the tomato sauce and season with salt and black pepper
  • Reduce the heat to medium and let bubble away for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
  • Chop the artichokes into small chunks and stir into the sauce
2

Meanwhile, parboil the lasagne sheets 

  • Bring the pan of salted water to the boil
  • Snap the lasagne sheets roughly into thirds and add to the boiling water
  • Boil for 3 minutes then drain and rinse with cold water
3

Assemble

  • Tip the lasagne sheets into the ragu and use a spoon to carefully fold them through the sauce, mixing well
  • Use the spoon to make the top as flat as possible
  • Remove the frying pan from the heat
4

Make the cheat’s béchamel 

  • Put the crème fraîche and nutritional yeast in a bowl and stir to combine
  • Grate in the 50g plant-based parmesan and season with salt and pepper
5

To finish 

  • Tip the béchamel over the top of the ragu and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon
  • Grate over the remaining plant- based parmesan
  • Transfer to the hot grill to brown for 5 minutes
  • Tear the basil leaves over the top and serve

Tips & Variations

  • Blitz your sauce properly: Don't be shy with the food processor here. The smoother and more combined the sauce is before it hits the pan, the richer and more cohesive your ragu will taste.
  • Season as you go: The soya mince can be a bit bland on its own so make sure you're tasting and seasoning generously with salt and black pepper once the sauce goes in. It makes a huge difference.
  • Rest it before serving: If you can give the lasagne 5 minutes to sit after it comes out of the oven or off the hob, the layers will hold together so much better when you serve it. Worth the wait, we promise.

Why This Works

The trick is blitzing the sauce ingredients together before they hit the pan, so you get this really intense, flavour-packed ragu without any long cooking time. The sun-dried tomatoes do a lot of heavy lifting here, adding that slow-cooked richness in seconds. Trust us on this one, it completely transforms what could be a pretty standard midweek pasta into something that tastes genuinely impressive.