Immensely comforting, reminiscent of home, reminder of boisterous buffet-style family dinners and church basement potlucks, lasagna is as cherished as it is versatile. The lasagna of your childhood—thick layers of acidic, chunky tomato sauce tangled with browned beef or sausage, creamy ricotta fortified with egg, drippy cheese oozing beneath the long layers of noodles with curly edges, possibly some finely diced vegetables snuck in by mom—may now be a distant memory, and not something you’d indulge in unless it’s a special occasion. 

Whether you’re Whole30, keto, Primal or paleo, lower-carb, gluten-free, lactose-intolerant, or just trying to eat more whole foods, our Whole30 lasagna is a no dairy, pasta-free, modern version of the classic that you can add into your regular recipe rotation. Heads up: Just like a traditional lasagna, this recipe takes more time to make. The cashew cheese involves soaking the nuts overnight, but we provide a shortcut method in case you didn’t plan a day ahead, and requires additional time to drain after pulverizing the cashews into a creamy “ricotta.” Cashew cheese aside, this recipe comes together rather quickly once you’ve made the cheese sauce, and trimmed and prepped the celery root “noodles.” 

Whole30 Lasagna

Time: 15 hours, 10 minutes*

Servings: 12

*Time can be reduced if using our shortcut for soaking the cashews.

Ingredients

For the cashew cheese:

• 4 cups raw cashews, soaked in 6 ½ cups water overnight*
• 1½ teaspoons garlic salt 3 cups water

*Tip: If you don’t have time for an overnight soak, boil 6 ½ cups of water in a pot. Remove from heat and then place cashews into the pot. Let sit in hot water for one hour before draining. 

For the lasagna “noodles”:

• 4 large celery roots (about 1 celery root per layer)

For the meat sauce:

• 1 tablespoon Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
• 2 pounds lean grass-fed ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1–2 jars Primal Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara (depends on how saucy you like it) 
• Fresh basil leaves (1 large bunch)

Equipment:

You’ll need a 12.5’ x 8.5’ oven-safe dish. We used a Le Creuset 12.5 x 8.5 (3 1/2 quart) casserole dish. This makes a lot of lasagna, so you could half the recipe and bake in a smaller container as well. 

Instructions

To make the cashew cheese:

• Soak raw cashews in 6½ cups of water, covered, overnight.
• Drain in a colander or mesh sieve.

• Place soaked cashews into a Vitamix or other high-speed blender or food processor, and blend with about 3 cups water (until thick like a milkshake). 
• Pour off about 1 cup, add ½ teaspoon of garlic salt, and set it aside (save to pour on top of the lasagna). 
• For the rest: Place in cheesecloth and squeeze off as much extra liquid as you can. Let mixture sit in the cheesecloth, placed in a colander, overnight or for 3-4 hours. 

• When finished draining, season remaining cashew cheese with about 1 teaspoon of garlic salt.

To prepare the celery root:

• Use a paring knife to trim the skin off the celeriac root. Use a larger knife to cut each root into a square shape. 

• Cut each square celery root into very thin square/rectangular sheets, ⅛- to ¼-inch thick.

• Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the sheets of celery and boil for 3 to 5 minutes until tender and easily pierced with a fork. 
• Use tongs or a slotted spoon to lift the sheets out of the water. Set on a towel to cool.

To prepare the meat:

• Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add ground meat and cook until browned, stirring frequently and breaking up large clumps, about 7 to 8 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. 
• Add a thin layer of marinara to the bottom of the casserole dish, and spread out evenly.

• Celery root slices (ever so slightly overlapping, saving the most beautiful ones for the top)

• Meat
• Primal Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara
• Cashew cheese "ricotta"
• Torn fresh basil
• Celery root slices (ever so slightly overlapping)
• Meat
• Primal Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara
• Cashew cheese "ricotta"
• Torn fresh basil
• Primal Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara
• Celery root slices

• Top with 1 cup of cashew cheese that was set aside

To cook:

• Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. 

Nutritional information (per serving):*

Calories: 512

Carbs: 29.3 grams

Fat: 32 grams

Protein: 25 grams

Nutritional information calculated using Cronometer. 

*Nutritional information includes 2 jars of Primal Kitchen Tomato Basil Marinara. 

You might also like these other Whole30 Italian-style recipes:

• Whole30 Meatballs with Zoodles and Roasted Garlic Marinara
• Whole30 Zoodle Primavera with Shrimp 
• Cauliflower Gnocchi 
• One-Skillet Italian Chicken 
• Italian Antipasto Skewers 
• Dreamy Italian Pesto White Fish Packets