Creamy, cheesy, and flavorful, this Crock Pot Lasagna is the best thing I have ever made by accident. “What had happened was…” I was attempting to follow this one recipe for gluten free lasagna (mind you, it was not dairy free, but I aimed to change that). The Whole Foods did not, however, have dairy free cottage cheese like I originally thought it would. Therefore, I opted for vegan almond cheese as a substitute, recommended from the web, and happily went home to prepare.

The recipe called for 12 oz. of cottage cheese mixed with 1 egg. In a bowl, I put my 8 oz of almond cheese and began to crack the egg. As soon as I noticed some liquid coming out from the egg, I moved it over the bowl of cheese. The liquid was green. Green! And don’t even get me started on the smell! Green eggs and ham are a thing, apparently! I had to trash the entire bowl of expensive vegan almond cheese. I was pissed and still gagging by the end of it all.

For never making gluten and dairy free lasagna, my fears were really starting to kick in. Any gluten or dairy free person will tell you that improvising with our special foods and spinning out a winner is no walk in the park. What do I do for a substitute? I ain’t no chef! This is the revolutionary moment when you kind of say to yourself, “eh, screw it.”

The result? A masterpiece! The best part, for me, is that I can even call it my own creation! The dairy free cheeses melted together so gracefully, the gluten free noodles turned out so moist, and the turkey sauce was on point. If anything, I am appreciative of that nasty ass green egg in my almond cheese incident. This lasagna is a winner.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 lb. of turkey meat
• 1, 24 oz. jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil)
• 1 tsp of Italian Seasoning
• 4 tbsp of GO Veggie Parmesan Cheese (dairy free parmesan substitute)
• 1 bag of Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Shreds (or any 8 oz. bag of dairy free cheese, Daiya is a good alternative, but Gourmet was the best tasting here – found in Whole Foods).
• 6-9 De Boles Gluten Free Lasagna strips  (found in Whole Foods)

Instructions

1. In the crock pot, spray the bottom and sides with any oil. I used canola oil.
2. Brown your turkey meat in a pan with a bit of olive oil, then add the spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and italian seasoning
3. Put 1/3 of the turkey sauce into the bottom of the crock pot, lay 3 or so strips on top covering the sauce (IT’S OK to break off little pieces to cover the hard spots), then add 2 TBSP of parmesan and sprinkle 1/3 of the bag of mozzarella cheese strips.
4. Repeat that process for the next layer: put 1/3 of sauce, noodles, and cheeses and finish with the last third of turkey sauce on top.
5. Set to cook on high for at least 4 hours. If you need to go somewhere, you can set it on 8 hours and it will still turn out okay.

I hope you make this and enjoy it! I know my family did. Thank you for reading!