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Home > Recipes > Meal > Entrées > Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Lasagna Without Noodles

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Lasagna Without Noodles

By: Alison Marras

March 3, 2015

(updated March 1, 2023)

4.50 from 14 votes

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What’s Inside: Follow these instructions at home to make this nourishing gluten-free, dairy-free lasagna for dinner. It’s made with half-moon slices of butternut squash rather than noodles, plus a homemade cashew cheese sauce and kale pesto. The recipe is Whole30 and Paleo diet friendly.

A portion of Vegan Butternut Squash Lasagna on a white plate with a blue trim. That lasagna n has lots of layers and is topped with orange butternut squash. You can see the white vegan cheese sauce as well as the green kale pesto.

The Best Gluten-Free Lasagna

If you have a dairy-free or gluten-free lifestyle, that doesn’t mean food should be boring, and cooking shouldn’t be a chore either. I want to help everyone enjoy their food and stick to the nutritional plan you have given yourself without stressing over the little things.

As a holistic nutritionist, I love to create recipes that not only nourish your body and fill it with the nutrients and goodness it needs, but also meals that satisfy your cravings and keep you full for a long time.

This gluten-free lasagna is the perfect balance between need and want.

You can skip the noodles in this plant-based lasagna! Butternut squash is the perfect replacement and tastes even more flavorful than your average soggy pasta. With the addition of Kale pesto and vegan cheese, this gluten-free lasagna is going to be your new favorite.

Pic 1: Close up of the white dairy-free cheese sauce
Pic 2: View from above of the but-free pesto in a glass jar with no lid.
Pic 3: Half moons of butternut squash on a baking sheet having just been roasted.

Just getting started on AIP (or need a refresh)? Here’s an easy 1-week meal plan using some of my most popular AIP recipes to make it stress-free and delicious.

How to Make Vegan Cheese

This simple dairy-free staple is one of the best-tasting vegan cheeses out there! If nuts are your friend, having some cashew cheese in the fridge for dishes like this is a must. If you need something nut-free, check out my post here for 3 delicious dairy-free cheese sauce recipes.

All you need is:

Cashews: 2 cups, soaked in water for at least 2 hours & drained
Filtered water and lemon (for the juice) as the liquid to blend with.
Some garlic powder and sea salt to add more flavor.
Nutritional Yeast is the secret weapon to make dairy-free, vegan cheese taste like cheese! (so definitely don’t skip this ingredient)

Real talk: my husband thought this was all real cheese when he first tried it. I dare you to give this to the biggest cheese lover!

View from above of gluten-free lasagna. Half moons of butternut squash are sitting on the top of the glass dish. White vegan cheese sauce and nut-free pesto is layered in between.

Nut-Free Kale Pesto

Okay, and let’s talk PESTO! This dairy-free lasagna is nightshade-free, meaning no tomatoes, peppers, or other nightshade spices that might not sit well. I also happen to love a “white” lasagna like this with pesto as the sauce. And, yes the pesto is nut-free and dairy-free too! Turns out it’s quite easy to leave out the parmesan and it’s still majorly flavorful thanks to other ingredients we’re using.

Nutritional yeast is a great addition for that cheesy flavor I love. It sits much better in my stomach than Parmesan or cheese and tastes just like cheese! so it’s often a huge hit for me in many of my dishes.

This would make a great meatless meal, but you can also easily throw in a layer of ground meat as you wish for more protein! No matter what, this dairy-free lasagna has the sweet, salty, creamy, gooey thing going on – all the things you love about this comfort food.

View from above of the cooked dairy- free butternut squash lasagna. A portion has been scooped out and the large serving fork is left in the hole it made in the casserole dish.

Assembling Lasagna Without Noodles

Making this lasagna without noodles may seem daunting, but it’s actually so much easier than you would expect.

Have your cashews soaking in advance so when you come to prepare your vegan cheese, and nut-free kale pesto, all they need is a quick blend in the blender. Meaning you can focus on your butternut squash.

Once your butternut squash is peeled and chopped, it needs to be roasted for 20 minutes. This is just to soften it up a little. As your butternut squash is replacing your noodles, we want to make sure it has that delicious, soft, and buttery texture to it: roasting first is the perfect way to ensure this.

And that’s it! Once your moon-shaped butternut squash has cooled (enough to handle) you can get to work building your lasagna without noodles. I like to start with a little of the ‘cheese’ and pesto on the bottom, just a dollop and spread it out.

Add your pieces of butternut squash on top of the sauce and repeat. Adding big dollops of your sauce and topping with your squash until it is all used up.

Pic 1: View from above of the corner of the glass casserole dish, filled with lasagna ingredients. Butternut squash is sitting in a layer and the white vegan cheese and green nut-free pesto are dolloped on top.
Pic n2: More butternut squash has been placed on top of the dollops to look more like lasagna.

All that is left now is to bake in the oven, although you can also pause at this point and either store it in the fridge or freezer if you are making this up in advance.

Tips for How to Store Dairy-Free Lasagna

You can easily make the pesto, cashew cheese, and roasted butternut squash pieces ahead of time, storing them each in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days. Then, on any weeknight, layer it all together and pop it in the oven!
To store as leftovers, simply store the whole lasagna in the fridge for up to 5-6 days in an airtight container and reheat in the oven until warm in the center.
To batch cook, make the lasagna, and assemble but hold off from baking it. Store the lasagna in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1-month, let defrost at room temp. and cook in the oven as directed below.

Side view of the lasagna without noodles. All the layers of butternut squash, dairy-free cheese and nut-free pesto are clearly visible as a piece of the lasagna has been removed.

Hungry For More Low-Carb, Gluten-Free “Pasta” Dishes:

Greek Baked Ziti (AIP, Paleo, Whole30)
Spaghetti Squash Alfredo (Paleo, AIP, Dairy-Free)
Greek Moussaka (Paleo, Whole30, Dairy-Free)
Zucchini Romesco Baked Ziti (Paleo, Whole30)

If you made this Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Lasagna without Noodles, please consider leaving a star rating and comment below. Or you can tag me, @foodbymars, on Instagram and Facebook. I love seeing your recreations!