Vegetable Lasagna
Servings: 8 people
TOMATO SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil
- 1 (1) onion chopped
- 3 cloves (3 cloves) garlic pressed
- 1 (1) eggplant 3 cups/8½ ounces/240 grams - diced
- 1 (1) zucchini 1½ cup/7 ounces/200 grams - diced
- 1 (1) red bell pepper 1½ cup/5½ ounces/160 grams - diced
- 6 ounces (170 grams) mushrooms 2 cups - diced
- 4 ounces (110 grams) spinach 4 cups
- 4 cups (1 liter) tomato puree + 1 cup/240 grams water to rinse the bottle
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) dried oregano
- 10 fresh (10 fresh) basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) salt or more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon (⅛ teaspoon) black pepper
CHEESE SAUCE
- 1½ cups (375 grams) ricotta whole-milk
- 2 cups (100 grams) grated parmesan cheese 3½ ounces
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) grated lemon zest optional
- 1 cup warm water
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- 11 ounces (310 grams) no-boil lasagna noodles *see notes
- 8 ounces (250 grams) mozzarella best if fresh, chopped + more parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top to taste
MAKE TOMATO SAUCE
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add 1 onion (chopped) and sauté for 4 minutes, then add 3 cloves garlic (pressed) and sauté for one more minute.Add 1 eggplant, 1 zucchini, 1 red bell pepper, and 6 ounces mushrooms all chopped into small dice.Season with 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Sauté on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.Stir in 4 cups tomato puree and 1 cup water, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.Now, add 4 ounces spinach and 10 fresh basil leaves and let them wilt (about 2 minutes).Taste and adjust for salt.Tip: The sauce should not be thick. A liquid sauce with more water helps cook the lasagna sheets and prevents the dish from drying in the oven.
MAKE CHEESE SAUCE
- Add 1½ cups ricotta, 2 cups grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, a pinch of salt, and black pepper to a bowl.Whisk until combined.Tip: The cheese sauce should be pretty liquid and pourable, so add more water if necessary.
ASSEMBLE LASAGNA
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.We recommend making lasagna with four layers of pasta with about 11 ounces no-boil lasagna noodles for the best sauce-to-pasta ratio.Add a thin layer of tomato sauce to a baking dish (we use a 9 x 13 inch one).Cover with no-boil lasagna sheets (We used 5 sheets per layer. Break them off to fit. They can overlap slightly).Add ⅓ of the cheese sauce and spread it with the back of a spoon.Cover with about ¼ of the tomato sauce.Tip: The top layer should have slightly more tomato sauce than the middle layers. Keep this in mind as you build the lasagna. The top layer is with grated parmesan and mozzarella, with no cheese sauce.
- Repeat the steps (lasagna sheets + cheese sauce + tomato sauce) until you have 4 layers of noodle sheets.Arrange the pasta sheets in the opposite direction of the previous layer (turned 90 degrees).Finish the top layer with tomato sauce, 8 ounces mozzarella (chopped), and grated parmesan cheese.
BAKE THE LASAGNA
- Cover with foil and bake in the center of the oven at 350°F or 180°C for 15 minutes.Remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.You can use the grill function the last 5 minutes to brown the cheese.
- Let the lasagna cool and set for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting it into 6 – 8 pieces.Top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy.
Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 piece of vegetable lasagna out of 8 pieces.
ABOUT LASAGNA NOODLES
There are different types of lasagna noodles on the market.
NO-BOIL: For most people, we recommend no-boil lasagna noodles sheets from an imported Italian brand like Barilla (not sponsored - just easier to cook with). They are marketed as oven ready, instant dried, or no boil noodles.
When using no-boil / oven ready / instant dried lasagna noodles you need to add more water to your tomato sauce so that the noodles have enough moisture to cook fully and don't dry up while baking. Follow our instructions and you'll be fine.
BOIL: If you use noodles that need to be boiled in water it will say so on the package, so read package instructions carefully. In this case, we recommend boiling the noodle sheets in a large pot with plenty of salted boiling water and a tablespoon of olive oil. This is essential to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. Once boiled, arrange them flat on a clean kitchen towel to cool down before building the lasagna.
FRESH NOODLES: A third option is fresh lasagna noodles. You can find them in the refrigerated section of larger supermarkets. Fresh noodles don't require pre-boiling and you can use them like no-boil noodles.
SUBSTITUTIONS
You can substitute your favorite seasonal veggies. Here are some suggestions.
- Eggplant: substitute fennel, artichokes, or asparagus.
- Zucchini: substitute winter squash such as butternut, acorn, delicata, or kabocha squash.
- Bell pepper: substitute carrots, celeriac, or parsnip.
- Mushrooms: substitute broccoli, cauliflower, or topinambur.
- Spinach: substitute chopped kale, chard, or mustard greens.
- Tomato puree or passata: ideally use Italian imported passata; the one that comes in a glass bottle. Substitute canned crushed tomatoes.
- Dried oregano: substitute Italian herb mix.
- Fresh basil: best not to substitute.
- Ricotta: we recommend whole-milk ricotta. Substitute sheep ricotta.
- Parmesan: substitute pecorino cheese.
- Mozzarella: we recommend using a fresh mozzarella. Substitute shredded mozzarella.
- No-boil lasagna noodles: substitute regular ones, but you have to pre-boil them first.
- Vegan: to make the recipe vegan, you can use non-dairy ricotta, non-dairy parmesan, and a non-dairy cheese that melts to replace the mozzarella.
- Gluten-free: to make the recipe gluten-free, use no-bake gluten-free lasagna sheets.
