The Best Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Lasagna (Easy Family Recipe)
I don’t love pasta. I know, I know, don’t come at me.
So when we went gluten-free, that wasn’t something I missed. EXCEPT…lasagna. Lasagna was “birthday meal” good — I love all the layers and the sauces and the way it comes out of the oven bubbling.
Giving that up felt different than giving up spaghetti.
So I rebuilt it. Gluten-free noodles, dairy-free ricotta, dairy-free mozzarella — the whole thing, layered the way lasagna is supposed to be layered, with nothing in it that any of us have to skip.
Here’s the moment I knew it worked. I took it to a Couples Christmas party and was shocked (and honestly a little sad) to watch it disappear as fast as the “regular” lasagna. Nobody asked which pan was the allergy one. They just ate it.
That’s the bar for me. Not “good for gluten-free.” Just good.
This makes a full 9×13, so it feeds eight — or it feeds my crew with a little left for lunch. It assembles ahead, it freezes, and it’s the meal I bring when somebody has a new baby and I don’t know what they can eat.
If it’s been years since you had lasagna, start here.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gluten-free and dairy-free — no swapping, no “just pick around it,” no second pan
- It doesn’t taste like a substitute — it disappeared next to real lasagna at a party
- Assembles ahead — build it in the morning, bake it at 5
- Freezer-friendly — make two, freeze one, thank yourself in six weeks
- Feeds 8 — a full 9×13, so it works for company or for leftovers
- Kid-approved — it’s layers, cheese, and meat sauce; there’s nothing to negotiate
Ingredients
Here’s what goes in and why. Full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef + Italian pork sausage — The sausage is doing the seasoning work. If you only use beef, add fennel and a little extra Italian seasoning, or it’ll taste flat.
- Marinara sauce — Check the label. A lot of jarred marinara sneaks in cheese, so read it once and then just buy that brand forever. Rao’s is dairy-free and worth it if it’s in budget. I often get this Ragu Simply brand, as it has really simple ingredients and is affordable.
- Dairy-free ricotta — Kite Hill is my pick. It’s almond-based, it spreads like real ricotta, and it doesn’t get grainy in the oven. This is admittedly the hardest item for this recipe to find. I’ve had good luck at natural food stores like Sprouts, always at Whole Foods, but you can use their item finder here
- Egg — One egg in the ricotta makes it spreadable instead of clumpy, and helps the layers hold their shape when you cut it. You can leave it out (see Substitutions).
- Gluten-free lasagna noodles — I’ve used a variety for this one.
- Jovial I’ve used before, and they hold together well and don’t turn into mush the way some gluten-free noodles do. I like that they’re easy to find at my local Wal-Mart (also available on Amazon). I just do the option on the back of the box to bake the lasagna for an hour instead of boiling the noodles by hand.
- The Barilla ones, I think, taste a little more mainstream, like regular pasta; also oven-ready, and you don’t have to boil. They do cost a little bit more. I can find them shipped through Walmart or on Amazon.
- Dairy-free mozzarella — Violife and Follow Your Heart shreds are both good here, and they’re the two that rank highest in my dairy-free cheese taste test. Grab whichever your store carries.
- Dried Italian herbs — Basil, oregano, whatever your blend is. Stirred into the meat sauce, not sprinkled on top.
How to Make It
The full step-by-step is in the recipe card, but here’s what actually makes or breaks a gluten-free, dairy-free lasagna.
Read your noodle box before you do anything else. Some gluten-free lasagna noodles are oven-ready, and some aren’t, and getting this wrong is the number one reason a GF lasagna comes out either crunchy or soupy. If yours need boiling, cook them about 4 minutes — barely — then rinse them cold so they stop cooking and don’t glue themselves together.
Make the meat sauce heavier than you think. Brown the beef and sausage, drain it well, then stir the whole jar of marinara in with your herbs. Gluten-free noodles absorb more liquid than wheat ones, so a sauce that looks slightly too saucy in the pan is exactly right in the finished lasagna.
Beat the egg into the ricotta. Straight out of the tub, dairy-free ricotta is stiff and it’ll tear your noodles when you try to spread it. One egg loosens it into something you can actually smooth across a layer.
Layer it: sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella. Repeat. Always start with a thin layer of meat sauce on the bare pan so the bottom noodles have something to soften into. End with sauce and mozzarella on top.
Tent the foil — don’t lay it flat. Dairy-free mozzarella will stick to foil and peel right off with it. Make a little dome so the foil never touches the cheese, then bake covered for about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Let it rest 15 minutes before you cut it. This is the hardest instruction in the recipe and the one that decides whether you get clean squares or a pile. Gluten-free noodles need that time to set up.
Substitutions
Here’s what swaps cleanly and what costs you something.
Not gluten-free? → regular lasagna noodles. If dairy is your only issue, use whatever wheat noodles you already buy. Everything else stays the same, and regular noodles are actually more forgiving — they hold together better and don’t drink up sauce the way gluten-free ones do.
Kite Hill ricotta → Tofutti Better Than Ricotta. This is the swap if you’re dealing with a nut allergy. Kite Hill is almond-based — dairy-free does NOT mean nut-free, and that catches people. Tofutti’s is tofu and soy protein instead. Heads up though — reviews on it in lasagna specifically are all over the place, so buy one tub and try it before you commit to a pan for company. I have not personally used this brand, I just know it’s an option.
Store-bought ricotta → homemade. Blend firm tofu with salt, garlic and a little olive oil. Cheaper than either tub, and you control the seasoning, which is the real upside. Cashew ricotta is richer if nuts aren’t a concern for your people. I also have a recipe for homemade almond ricotta in my cookbook.
Violife mozzarella → Follow Your Heart or Daiya shreds. Violife and Follow Your Heart are my two top-rated shreds and either works on this lasagna. Daiya’s newer formula is a step behind those two for us, but it’s widely available and it does the job.
Ground beef + sausage → any ground meat combo. Turkey, chicken, all beef, all sausage. If you go leaner, don’t drain as aggressively or the sauce goes dry.
Egg → leave it out. The ricotta layer will be a little stiffer to spread and the slices won’t hold quite as sharp an edge, but it works. Warm the ricotta slightly to make spreading easier.
No good swap — nuts AND soy together. If you’re avoiding both, I don’t have a store-bought dairy-free ricotta to send you to. Kite Hill is almonds, Tofutti is soy, and that’s most of the shelf. Your best option is a homemade version built on blended cauliflower or white beans, and I’ll be straight with you — I haven’t tested that in this recipe, so treat it as an experiment, not a promise.
No good swap — the marinara. This recipe leans on a jarred sauce doing real flavor work, and a thin or watery sauce will show up in every layer. Buy the good jar.
FAQ
Do you have to boil gluten-free lasagna noodles first? It depends on the brand. Jovial noodles need a quick 4-minute boil and a cold rinse. Barilla’s gluten-free oven-ready noodles don’t. Check your box — boiling oven-ready noodles turns them to mush, and skipping a required boil leaves them crunchy.
Why is my gluten-free lasagna watery? Usually the meat wasn’t drained well, or the noodles were boiled too long and carried water in. Drain the browned meat thoroughly, rinse boiled noodles cold, and let the baked lasagna rest 15 minutes so the layers reabsorb liquid before you cut it.
Can I make this lasagna ahead of time? Yes, and it’s one of the best things about it. Assemble the whole pan, cover it tightly, and refrigerate up to 24 hours before baking. Bake straight from the fridge and add about 10 minutes to the covered bake time.
Can I freeze gluten-free dairy-free lasagna? Yes. Freeze it assembled but unbaked, or fully baked and cooled, wrapped tight in a freezer-safe pan for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake covered at 350°F for about 45 minutes until it’s bubbling through.
How do I store and reheat leftovers? Keep leftovers covered in the fridge up to 4 days. Reheat individual squares in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, or cover a pan with foil and warm it at 350°F for 20 minutes. Honestly, it’s better on day two.
Does dairy-free mozzarella actually melt? Some brands melt and stretch, others just soften. Violife and Follow Your Heart are the two I rate highest. Keep the foil tented so the cheese doesn’t stick to it, and uncover for the last few minutes if you want color on top.
Is this safe for a milk allergy? The recipe itself is fully dairy-free, but you have to read your own labels every time. Jarred marinara, Italian sausage, and some dairy-free cheeses list milk-derived ingredients or shared-equipment warnings. Check the sauce and the sausage especially — that’s where dairy hides.
What to Serve With It
Garlic bread is the obvious partner (I’ll make some with a gluten-free baguette cut in half and dairy-free butter + garlic, toasted on broil), and a simple green side salad cuts the richness.
We enjoy our side salads with my homemade Ranch or “Honey” Mustard. I also enjoy a nice fruit salad like my Paleo Fruit Salad.
Other Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Dinners You’ll Love
Need more allergen-friendly dinners that feed a crowd?
- Mexican-inspired Lasagna (Gluten-free, Dairy-free) — same layered idea, completely different night
- Gluten-free Dairy-free Macaroni and Cheese — the other pasta dish nobody thinks they can have anymore
- Gluten-free Dairy-free Ground Beef Stroganoff — creamy, no dairy, one pan
- One-Pot Taco Pasta (Gluten-free, Dairy-free) — 20-minutes, for the nights lasagna is too much work
- The Best Dairy-free Cheese — which brands actually melt, ranked
Gluten-free Dairy-free Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian pork sausage
- 5 cups marinara sauce divided, about 40 ounces
- 1 teaspoon dried basil optional
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1 8-oz package dairy-free ricotta cheese I have only found the Kitehill brand
- 1 large egg can omit for egg-free
- 1 9-oz package gluten-free lasagna noodles I used Jovial
- 1 8-oz package dairy-free mozzarella cheese I love Violife
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, cook the ground hamburger and sausage until brown, approximately 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add 3 cups marinara sauce to the ground meat. Sprinkle with dried basil and garlic, if desired for an added flavor boost.
- Combine ricotta cheese with egg until well mixed. The egg is optional, but will help the ricotta spread more easily.
- If noodle package instructions require, precook lasagna noodles. I used the Jovial ones that don't require pre-cooking if you use a longer cook time.
- Layer your lasagna in a 9x13 pan: Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture on the bottom. Then add a layer of noodles (breaking to fit if needed), 1/2 the ricotta, 1/3 of the meat sauce, and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat again: noodles, remaining ricotta, remaining meat sauce, mozzarella. The last time, do the noodles, the left over 2 cups marinara, and remaining mozzarella.
- Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and then "tent" it - folding it in half lengthwise and then unfolding so it doesn't lay totally flat anymore, like a tent. Then use it to cover the lasagna with the middle "tent" part not touching the top of the lasagna. This process is optional but will prevent the foil from touching the cheese and pulling it off when removed.
- Bake covered for 1 hr 10 minutes if using uncooked noodles, 50 minutes if using cooked noodles. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- You can use whatever 2 pounds of ground meat you prefer. I just find the half hamburger, half Italian sausage to be a more interesting flavor profile.
- Leave out the egg if needed for egg free.
The lasagna is amazing. We doubled the ricotta and mozzerella and needed more sauce too. And only used 1/2 lb pork. You are right, the Jovial noodles came out great uncooked!
That’s awesome to hear! I love how you adjusted it to fit your family’s tastes — extra ricotta and mozzarella is never a bad idea 😉 And yes, those Jovial noodles really do their thing uncooked. So glad it all came together and was a hit for you!
Could this be assembled ahead of time and then baked from frozen? Or do you recommend baking it first, then freezing?
Your recipes are the best!
You absolutely can assemble and freeze this and then bake from frozen. I haven’t done so recently so I don’t have the cooking temp and length of time on the top of my head, but I would guess from frozen to oven it would be about 2 hours (covered) at 350 degrees or 1.5 hours (covered) at 375. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Delicious!!! I am just making it again. We really enjoyed it. Thank you so much.
I love that it’s one you are already making again – wahoo! Glad you loved it and it’s won a place in your rotation. Thank you!
I despise making lasagne but man this one is delicious!!! This is on a regular rotation at our house.
Haha, I love that this one is so good you don’t mind the work to make it. YAY that it’s won a spot on your regular rotation! Thank you for the review!
Did this recipe for Christmas dinner, it was easy to make. It was delicious. I could not find dairy free ricotta cheese so I used hummus. Other family tried it as well and liked it, even took some home for left-overs. It was great and will make again!
I’m so happy it was a hit! Thanks for sharing what worked for you instead of the ricotta cheese. Thank you for the review, I appreciate it!
I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m so excited because this actually looks doable for me! I’m not a bad cook, but I’m not a great one, and I CANNOT MAKE MY OWN “CHEESE”. I’ve tried. My daughter developed an intolerance to dairy a couple of years ago, and lasagna used to be one of her favorite foods.
I did want to share that I found two more brands of plant-ricotta:
https://www.treelinecheese.com/products/non-dairy-cashew-ricotta
https://www.reinevegancuisine.com/online-store/Vegan-Almond-Ricotta-12-oz-p168789630
I haven’t tried them yet, but it’s nice that there are a couple more options.
Ooo, I love that hot tip on other kinds of dairy-free ricotta you have found. Thanks so much for that and the links! I hope that vegan ricotta gets more and more easy to find. Thank you!
This was fantastic. We even doubled the meat and used about 70oz of marinara (3 jars of Aldi organic marinara) in total and it turned out fantastic. We added two of the jars of sauce in with 4 lbs of meat and topped the Lasagna with the last jar. The Kite Hill Ricotta was much better than when we used Tofutti Ricotta in the past as the Tofutti Ricotta was too sweet. I did notice that i should have doubled the ricotta when I doubled the meat but it was fantastic nonetheless. I used a deep dish glass 9×13 and it fit perfectly.Also used regular oven ready noodles. Barilla was the only non-gmo oven ready version I could find. All in all it turned out great. Topped it all off with Good Plant Vegan Parm Cheese. Will be a new family go to. My wife and all six of my kids from ages 6-21 loved it. Thanks so much.
This is such an amazing review — thank you for sharing all of those details! I love hearing how you adjusted it for a bigger crowd, and that deep-dish 9×13 tip is super helpful for other families making this for a group. I’m so glad the Kite Hill ricotta worked well, and I love how you layered the sauce and finished it off with vegan parm. The fact that all six kids *and* your wife loved it truly makes my day — that’s the ultimate win. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review and share your experience! 💛
I love this twice and my family loves it – all 6 kiddos ☺️ now ask for it regularly on pasta night.
Can this be made and frozen to be pullled later and cooked? Should I defrost it? Do I need to bake it and then freeze?
WAHOO that this one is now on request by your family!! I love that. Yes, this should be able to be made and then cooked from frozen, like a store-bought lasagna, however I haven’t pinned it down yet to know cooking time and temperature. I will work on it!
Ricotta is dairy..
You’re right, regular ricotta definitely is dairy! That’s why we use dairy-free ricotta. See the recipe above for a link to an option and mention of my favorite brand. It tastes great!
This was surprisingly good! I haven’t had the best experiences with vegan cheese, and that’s the dairy product I miss the most. Even my 6 year old loved it. Thanks so much!
YAY this was a delicious surprise! I agree, vegan cheese still has a way to go, but I love this recipe regardless. And wahoo for the kiddo win! Thank you for the review!
I am having a hard time finding dairy free ricotta cheese. Can you tell me where you purchased it at and if there is some alternative if I can’t find it. Thank you!
Great question, it is tricky to find! The only brand I’ve seen so far for DF ricotta is KiteHill. I find it at Whole Foods or my local natural food store. I don’t have another store-bought sub for that. But, if you have my cookbook, my lasagna recipe in there includes how to make your own almond ricotta cheese!
There is also Tofutti brand ricotta. It’s sold at several places. In Los Angeles, the best place to grab it is at Lazy Acres Market.
Oh great to know! Thank you for sharing and I will have to keep an eye out for it.
I honestly was skeptical about this one but every other recipe from here has been so good i figured give it a try. We loved it! Somehow it really did taste like cheesy lasagna.
I LOVE that this one won you over! I was so happy to have a cheesy lasagna result, as someone who doesn’t eat dairy or gluten. Glad you loved it! Thank you.
I recently started back at my gluten free dairy free eating. I saw this recipe and decided to try it because it had a reasonable about of ingredients. ( I really don’t like when some have 1000 ingredients that are hard to find) and I have to say this came out delicious. We loved it. My husband had seconds because he loved it so much. Very easy to make too highly recommended!
I’m so happy this was an easy win for you and YES for your hubby wanting seconds. WAHOO! Approachable, delicious recipes are what I am all about. Thanks so much for the review!
Can I make this ahead and freeze it? If so, how long do I bake it from frozen?
That’s a great question! I would assume YES, it could be built ahead and then frozen and cooked later. However, I am not sure how long it would have to be baked from frozen. I will have to make a note to experiment with that. Let me know if you try it and find the answer first!
Absolutely delicious!! I have multiple food intolerances that I found out about 4 years ago. It’s been years since I’ve had lasagna and I have been looking for a gf/df recipe. This ends up with the perfect texture and flavor. Couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
I’m so thrilled this brought lasagna back and was loved. Thank you!
If not told this lasagna is gf/df, one would never know! It’s easy to make, so delicious and satisfying! It reheats well too so we get to enjoy it for several meals. I highly recommend this dish!
I love that you found this dish to be one that ALL can enjoy. Plus, easy to make and delicious? YES YES YES. Thank you for the review!
This was absolutely delicious!! I substituted DF Boursin plus an egg for the ricotta, as we can’t use the cashew-based cheeses. Everyone raved and gobbled it up! And it was really easy to throw together. A real winner!
Oh super interesting on the substitution – that’s great to know, as I know others have to work around the nut allergies as well. Thanks for sharing that. And YAY that you found this one easy and a WIN. Thank you!