I bet you've never had this in your lasagna before...

I found this recipe for Mexican Lasagna through a Pinterest post (you can follow me here for links to delicious recipes... some that I have tried and some that are still on my "to try someday" list). 

I followed the lasagna recipe pretty closely except that I used cashew cheese instead of the shredded Mexican blend that was suggested since I'm trying to be vegan-ish (which means I am not fully committing to giving up cheese but I'm trying my hardest to eat much less of it). I used a recipe for cashew cheese that I found here.* I omitted the onion powder and the Dijon mustard because I didn't have any and I used water instead of vegetable broth but other than that, I followed the recipe* as written.

To be fair to my husband, I did put cheese on top of half of the lasagna. After all, it's my choice not to eat cheese and I don't want to impose that on him.... plus I thought he would then make the assumption that there was cheese throughout since I didn't tell him that I substituted cashew cheese for real cheese! It worked.

For some reason, whenever I make lasagna, it never seems to turn out in those neat little layered squares they show in the pictures alongside the recipe. Hmm... I'll have to work on that. It still tasted good though. Next time, I think I'll add more veggies... maybe some spinach, carrots and zucchini.

Tonight, I'm making Mexican Lasagna Stuffed Peppers... which basically just means that I'm going to stuff a bell pepper with the lasagna from last night. 

For those of you that didn't even click on the link for the cashew cheese because you think you won't like it, consider this... my husband loved it and he doesn't even like cashews and, as I said above, he didn't even know or suspect hat I had substituted cashew cheese for real cheese (Sean, if you're reading this, sorry for not telling but you did say you loved it). And for those of you that think it sounds too difficult to make, I promise you, it's really easy.

1. Soak the cashews for at least 30 minutes

2. Combine the balance of ingredients in a bowl

3. Blend in the food processor and Voila... you have Cashew Cheese!
This is what the final product looks like...

The cashew cheese recipe I used called for basil and lemon juice (perfect for a lasagna) but you can certainly use your imagination to flavor your cashew cheese to best suit whatever it is you're making.

In my search for a cashew cheese recipe to use for my lasagna, I came across these recipes that I can't wait to try!

Herb Crust Cashew Cheese Bake

 Harissa Cashew Cheese

If you make the lasagna or any of these cashew cheese recipes, I hope you will share your comments here or on the Fresh Equation facebook page.

Have a great week!

*when you click on the link for the cashew cheese I used, you will notice there is another lasagna recipe. I have not tried this one yet but it looks good!