This is hands down the best vegan Greek pastitsio recipe you will ever find! Based on my mom's traditional recipe, it's healthy and has a flavor that's unreal. You won't miss the meat or dairy at all!
Growing up, this was my absolute favorite dish. While it takes some effort and love to put it together, you can easily prep ahead of time to make it quick day of!
This post was originally published on January 12, 2015.
I can't get over how good this recipe is. I never thought I could replicate the same flavors that I grew up with, but boy did I hit the mark! Bonus, it has some sneaky veggies you'd never guess were in there making the nutritious factor even better!
How to Make Vegan Pastitsio
There are three main layers to pastitsio: the pasta, the "meat" sauce and the bechamel. You can easily make the "meat" sauce and the bechamel ahead of time, then day of cook the pasta and build to make it a little less time consuming.
Replicating the original meat and dairy based recipe was a little tricky, but once I broke down the parts it was easier than I thought. While the ingredient list is a little long due to the many layers of this vegan pastitsio, the effort is well worth it!
Ingredients
To make the "meat" sauce you need:
- Chickpeas
- Walnuts
- Onion
- Broth
- Lentils
- Tomatoes
- Parsley
- Tomato sauce
- Wine
- Salt
- Pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- Pasta
- Reserved pasta water
- Tapioca starch
- Milk
- Salt
- Vegan Parmesan
- Vegan Bechamel
Step by Step Instructions
Cook and coat the pasta:
- Cook the pasta and reserve some pasta water.
- Make a slurry.
- Whisk pasta water with slurry to make an egg like mixture.
- Coat pasta with the mixture and cheese.
Prep the meat sauce:
- Chop the walnuts and chickpeas together.
- Process the tomatoes into a chunky sauce.
- Sauté the onions.
- Add the lentils, cauliflower, tomatoes and parsley.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, salt and pepper.
Assemble the dish:
- Place half of the pasta in the bottom of a baking dish.
- Spread the meat sauce over the top.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Add the other half of the pasta.
- Cover with Béchamel.
- Top with Parmesan.
- Bake.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this vegan pastitsio with any of the following plant based side dishes for an amazing feast:
- Greek Farro Salad
- Traditional Greek Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Lemon Kale Salad
- Watermelon Feta Mint Salad
- Fasolakia (Greek Green Beans)
- Roasted Greek Lemon Potatoes
Preparation Tips
- A square 9 inch baking dish is ideal. A smaller dish will be too tall, a larger one will make it thinner. Any size will work but results will be different.
- Choose your favorite tube pasta (gluten-free if needed) such as rigatoni, ziti, penne or even macaroni.
- This recipe was tested with 12 ounces of pasta, for a more filled dish use 16 ounces.
- For a richer flavor you can toss the pasta in some butter. If you do this you likely will not need to add more salt.
- Firm lentils like green or brown are best in this recipe, as opposed to the soft texture of red lentils.
- Canned or bottled crushed tomatoes will work instead of fresh, however it will change the flavor to be more tangy.
- A food processor is the fastest and easiest way to chop the tomatoes, but if you don't have one you can simply use a knife.
Prep Ahead Tips
If you are making the components for this vegan pastitsio from scratch, you can do so ahead of time to make it easier the day of serving.
- Make the vegan béchamel up to 5 days in advance and store in an airtight container. You can also keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months, just defrost in the fridge the day before assembling the dish.
- The vegan Parmesan can be made and refrigerated for up to a week, and frozen for 3 months.
- Prep the "meat" portion up to 3 days ahead of time and keep in an airtight container.
- The day of let the sauces come to room temperature while you prep the pasta portion.
- Assemble, bake, and enjoy!
Common Questions
You can keep pastitsio in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Or, wrap it well and freeze for up to 3 months.
You can either bake in a 350°F oven for 25 minutes or until it's heated in the center. Or you can quickly microwave smaller portions until warm.
Many versions of the sauce do not contain eggs, however the Greek version usually contains egg yolks. My vegan recipe skips out on all eggs and dairy though!
More Vegan Greek Recipes
Explore more Greek flavors with these tasty plant based recipes:
- Authentic Greek Vegan Tzatziki
- Greek Vegan Moussaka
- Fakes (Greek Lentil Soup)
- Greek Farro Salad
- Vegan Greek Baklava
- Greek Fasolakia
- Homemade Greek Salad Dressing
Vegan Greek Pastitsio Recipe
Equipment
- Blender , to make bechamel if using homemade
Ingredients
- 1 pound tube shaped pasta , gluten free if needed (see note)
- ½ cup reserved pasta water from pasta
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch , sub with cornstarch if preferred
- ½ cup dairy free milk of choice , can sub ¼ vegan butter (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups vegan Parmesan Cheese , see note
- 3 cups vegan Bechamel , double my Bechamel recipe (you will have a little left over)
“Meat” sauce:
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas , drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 ½ cups chopped sweet or yellow onion
- drizzle of oil or veggie broth , to sauté
- ½ cup dry lentils , green or brown work best (see note)
- 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes , about 4 medium sized tomatoes
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 ½ cups veggie broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
- ½ cup white cooking wine , omit if preferred but flavor won't be as rich
- ½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt , start with ½ and taste before adding more
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F/ 175 C.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, but cook 2-3 minutes less so that it doesn't get mushy when baked in the pan.
- Drain pasta reserving ½ cup pasta water.
- Make a slurry using 2 tablespoons of the warm pasta water and the 1 tablespoon of tapioca, set aside.
- Put the milk and rest of the pasta water into the pot where you cooked the pasta and heat it over low heat. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Slowly add in the starch mixture as you whisk it so it doesn’t clump. It should slowly thicken and get somewhat egg like. Turn off the heat.
- Add the pasta and ¼ cup of the Parmesan and mix around so the pasta is covered in the mixture. Taste and add more salt if needed, this will depend on the Parmesan you use. Set aside.
Make the “meat sauce:
- Chop the chickpeas and walnuts into smaller pieces using a food processor. Set aside.
- Sauté onion with oil, or broth if oil free, over medium heat until onion is soft. About 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped chickpeas and walnuts, lentils, chopped tomatoes and parsley and saute until the juice from the tomatoes is gone. About 5-7 minutes.
- Add 1 ½ cups of the broth, tomato sauce, wine, salt and pepper and cook covered for about 8-10 minutes. Don’t let it burn.
- Uncover, continue to stir and cook, checking the consistency and doneness of the lentils until the lentils are cooked and sauce is thickened but not dry. Add more broth into the pan as needed to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Build the Pastitsio in a square baking dish as follows:
- Add half the pasta to the bottom of the baking dish.
- Cover in the "meat sauce" and spread so it covers the top. Press it down so it’s nice and firm. This helps it mix into the pasta a little to secure the layers.
- Sprinkle with ½ cup of the Parmesan.
- Add the other half of the pasta on top. Press down so it blends into the “meat” portion and secures the layers.
- Cover with the Bechamel.
- Sprinkle with the last ½ cup of the Parmesan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until browning on the edges and the center feels like it has firmed up.
- Let cool and set for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving for best results. Enjoy!
Notes
- Makes a square baking dish. I used a 9 inch dish, if you use an 8 inch it will give you a tall almost overfilled end product. If you use a 10 inch it will be shorter. All work but keep this in mind. It is a pretty filled dish as it is with a 9 inch.
- Any tube like pasta works, like rigatoni, ziti, penne or even macaroni. I tried this recipe with 12 ounces pasta and it worked well, 16 ounces (or 1 pound) will make it a little more filled).
- If you make one full recipe of my homemade vegan Parmesan, it will make about 1 ¼ cups. So you can double it to have some left over or stick with one recipe and simply reduce the amount used in each portion of this recipe.
- You can use butter in the pasta for a richer flavor. If using butter don't add the salt with the pasta.
- I used the green or brown lentils because they stay the most firm when cooked. Green is very firm. Brown has a slightly softer texture but work great. I don't recommend red because they get too soft.
- If you do not have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned or bottled crushed tomatoes but the flavor will be much tangier and not the same.
- I use a food processor to chop the tomatoes to make it faster, but you can use a knife.
- Make or gather the bechamel and Parmesan, and make the "meat" portion beforehand. Then simply put together the pasta portion with the rest the day of. It's easier if you set the sauces out to get to room temperature before assembling.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Bonnie
Has anyone tried making part of this into he instant pot?
veggiesdontbite
I have not! Curious if anyone has!
Cheryl
I'm making this Pastitsio to try for our Xmas Eve dinner. I traditionally make both moussaka and Pastitsio for dinner, but using meat and cream and eggs, all of which we are no longer consuming. I made the moussaka last night and it turned out so yummy!! I loved the béchamel sauce, it was freaking delicious. However, I'm not liking the taste of the cream sauce for the Pastitsio. Too much cauliflower taste. May I switch out the moussaka cream sauce for this when making the Pastitsio? Would there be any changes you would make with the switch?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Cheryl! YES!! I totally think you should switch it out. The pastitsio is really old and I have been meaning to add the option of using the moussaka cream. Thanks for reminding me! I just fixed it!
Emily Kemp
This looks utterly delicious, I love how it's so healthy but still comforting and packed with flavour!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Emily!!
Katherine
OMGGG I just tried your recipie and it's AMAZING!! I recently switched to vegan and have been craving pastitsio so badly! Thank you SOOO much! Truly delicious.
veggiesdontbite
Oh yay!! I'm so happy to hear that you love it!! If you like Moussaka I highly suggest you try that one. The cream and "meat" parts are my favorite and I have used them in a pastitsio too! Thank you so much for the kind comment.
Kate
Hi, thank you for the recipe, I am going to make it tonight or tomorrow. But I have one question, about the cooking of the lentils - is the only liquid that is used for this step the liquid that is from the tomatoes and wine? It looks to me like cook rice in one pot, then in separate pan saute the onion, add lentils, add tomatoes and parsley and wine, then add rice, is that correct? There is no additional broth or water to cook lentils in?
Thanks.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kate! If you look below the tomatoes and wine I do list an extra 1 cup veggie broth to sauté with. You can use oil too but I suggest using some of that veggie broth as well. Another options for the "meat" and/or cream portion of this dish is to use the "meat" and/or cream part of this recipe instead: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/greek-vegan-moussaka-gluten-free/
Kate
Oh okay I gotcha, thank you so much for replying! I thought 1 cup broth sounded a little more than needed for just a typical "water saute" but didn't realize that was also going towards the lentils. Makes much more sense now.
I had seen those sauces from the moussaka, had already considered swapping but couldn't decide between them all so decided I would just make these pastitsio ones this week and maybe the moussaka ones next week. Then at some point I also need to remember to soak some chickpeas and try that cheesy 'hamburger helper' recipe... 🙂 I'm so glad I found that, because for some reason though I try and try I cannot cook dried chickpeas to my liking, even with infinite soaking and cook times, and peeling, and baking soda. Maybe it is hard water where I live or something but they always come out less than smooth and creamy (all other beans and peas turn out fine, but chickpeas no dice). But chopped up into a meat crumble I think they will be perfect. I just found your blog if you can't tell already and have about doubled the contents of my "recipes to make" bookmarks folder, so thank you for all the recipes! Looking forward to trying them 🙂
veggiesdontbite
You'll have to let me know what you think of them! I really love the moussaka "meat" and béchamel, but they are both good. You'd love the hamburger helper! The dry chickpeas are definitely more for a meaty crumble and not to be blended smooth. This is why I use them dried for my crumbles and don't use the canned ones. Much more of a chewy texture which is perfect for certain things. Thank you so much for being here!!
Penelope
Hi Sofia! ok i find your pastitsio version i was looking! i do have some questions to make.
-Size of onion is medium?
-8 tomatos, can you approximately tell me the weight?
-cauliflower weight approximately?
-have you tried the meat-sauce or the bechamel of your mousaka recipe in pastitsio version?
veggiesdontbite
Hi again! Glad you found it! Yes, the onion is medium, I'd say about 4 inches? For the tomatoes it's about 2 pounds or about 910 grams, maybe a touch more. An average cauliflower is about 1 1/4 pounds or 575 grams. I have actually been meaning to add the links for the moussaka to this recipe. I developed this a while ago and love the way I did the moussaka better. So I need to add in some options. But the flavor is a bit different so I don't want to do a direct sub but instead write it out. I have it on my to do list! But for now, try using the moussaka way but just the bean part. Then use the flavors in this recipe. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Penelope
Thanks for your answer <3 ! ok i will try this recipe during the week ( i have to wait untill thusday for the bio laiki to buy tomatos and cauliflower) and i will let you know how it came out!
veggiesdontbite
Sounds good! Thank you!
Danielle Kruszewski
Made this last night, it was amazing! Thanks for another great recipe!
veggiesdontbite
You did?! Awesome! So glad you liked it!
Concordia
I had to write to tell you that I made this over the weekend, and it was so super yummy! It totally reminds me of the original (please thank your mom for that btw as my mom used her recipe a lot growing up). And honestly, my daughter didn't even notice the lentils and the veggies, so yay!!!!!!
veggiesdontbite
So awesome to hear!! Yes, my mom approved it so I knew it was pretty darn close, lol! I'm so happy that your daughter liked it too, always a win when the kids eat something! Hope you are doing well!
Skinny x Chef
I actually had this the other night while filming a TV show I am on production for, and I agree with you on the cloves and spice element. I wasn't really a fan, but this looks SO GREAT! you do such an amazing job from the food to the photography! I will have to make this since my guy is Greek! Thank you for this!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much!! Yes, it just doesnt taste right to me with those spices! This was is a lot better and I know you'll like it. Thanks for your kind words and for following! Let me know if you give it a try!
Pat
This looks amazing...can't wait to try it! About how long did you cook the rice on the stove before adding it to the pan?
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Pat! I cook it until the veggie broth is absorbed. If you try it and it still has a crunch, add a little more broth and cook a tad longer. You want the crunch to be gone but you still want it al dente. Let me know how it goes!
Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes.com
Wow this looks awesome! I've never tried hemp almond parmesan before I'll definitely have to. It looks delicious 🙂 Pinning!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much!! We love the hemp almond parmesan on the top to get a little crispness. I also have a pumpkin seed parmesan on my blog too!
Be Sol-Ful
It looks like an epic lasagna and I LOVE lasagna!!!! Yum!!! I love hearing how people veganize their old family favorites. This sounds amazing!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much! You'll love it. Its a great family recipe!
MJ and Tim (@mjandhungryman)
I love how you walked us through the whole process of how this recipe came to be! And yes, you are def the queen of vegan cream sauce, and I'll always remember you as the one who turned me into cauliflower + cashews combo! I didn't know that brown lentils result in mushier texture. Great tip! Pinning!!
veggiesdontbite
Awe! So sweet! Thank you so much. You'll have to let me know if you give it a try. So glad to have you on here!!
alifemoment
Delicious and beautiful recipe!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much!!
The Vegan 8
I have never heard of pastitsio before, but I of course recognize all these ingredients and love them all! This kind of reminds me of a lasagna, which I love. Looks so yummy!! I, of course, love lentils. I agree with you on the cinnamon and cloves being weird in savory...it just tastes ODD to me! I tried adding cinnamon before to savory and for me, it ruins the dish.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Brandi! You're right in that Pastitsio is to Greek food what lasagna is to Italian. I loved this dish growing up. I'm so excited to be able to enjoy it again in a much healthier way! And still without the cinnamon. Lol.