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A few weeks ago I was contacted my a representative of Burgen Bread to see if I would be interested in trying out their new Sunflower and Chia Seed Bread. I was intrigued by the idea of chia seeds in bread, I’m already a big fan of these little seeds that are packed with healthy fats.

It’s the chia seeds levels of omega 3 fatty acids which has led to them being included in this bread as a handy way to help people get more plant based sources of this essential fat.

Both myself and James have enjoyed the bread toasted and have loved its nutty flavour. As its quite a dense bread its really filling too. I particularly love it with nut butter on top! As well as trying the bread out I was invited to create a recipe with it. I love brain storming recipes and had a few different ideas such as French toast or a bread pudding but I didn’t think they’d be anything special. It was while browsing my Evernote account and recipes I’d came across in the past that I noticed a lasagne that used bread instead of pasta! That sounded right up my street, so I gave it a Laura makeover. This healthy lasagne is vegan, packed with veggies, B vitamins from the whole grain bread and nutritional yeast (which you can purchase from a health food store) and protein from some cannellini beans. Plus it tastes fantastic!

Burgen Sunflower and Chia Bread Lasagne (vegan, serves at least 4 very generously)

• 8 slices of Burgen Sunflower and Chia Seed Bread (or another whole grain bread)

For the tomato vegetable sauce:

• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 courgettes
• 2 peppers (I used red)
• 1 large jar of tomato passata
• 2 tsp of Italian seasoning

For the cheesy white bean sauce:

• 2 400g tins of cannellini beans
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk or other non dairy or regular milk

Pre heat the oven to 180c. Begin by toasting the bread on both sides. When toasted, set aside while you make the tomato vegetable sauce. Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic then fry in a little oil in a large pan over a medium heat until softened. Chop the courgettes and peppers into bite size pieces and add to the pan. Fry until slightly softened then add the tomato passata and Italian seasoning. Leave to simmer on low. Cut the crusts off the toasted bread and pulse in a food processor or blender until you have recreated chunky bread crumbs, set aside. Then add all the white bean sauce ingredients into the food processor or blender and blend until you get a smooth sauce about the consistency of double cream.

To build the lasagne – grease a large baking dish with some oil then lay 4 slices of your bread on the bottom, slicing it up to fit as needed. Next, add spread half of your tomato vegetable sauce on top of the bread, followed by half of the white bean sauce. Then repeat starting with the remaining slices of bread, the rest of the tomato vegetable sauce and the white bean sauce. Take your bread crumbs and sprinkle across the top of the lasagne. Bake the dish for 25 – 35 minutes until warmed through and bubbling. Serve immediately or allow to cool and store in the fridge for 2 – 3 days of easy suppers :-)

This is quite simply delicious. I can honestly say its one of the best things I’ve made, its so full of flavour you would hardly believe its so healthy. I made half of the recipe above as it was just for me and I enjoyed two massive servings. It kept extremely well in the fridge and reheated well in the microwave for dinner after work.

I served mine with lots of steamed broccoli but it would also go well with a green salad or any lightly steamed green veggies. I think this would be a great dish to serve any dubious carnivores, its very filling and you really don’t miss the meat. If you wanted to you could add some regular or vegan cheese on top along with the bread crumbs to give it even more flavour, or add some soya mince to the tomato sauce.

Have you tried any Burgen Bread’s before? What did you think? Are you a lasagne fan?