Homemade Vegetable Lasagna with Roasted Veggies
This vegetable lasagna recipe will satisfy everyone at the dinner table! Layered with roasted zucchini, eggplant, greens, colorful bell peppers, and three different kinds of cheese, this baked lasagna is packed with flavor. The cherry tomatoes for the sauce roast at the same as the vegetables.
Equipment
Ingredients
Cherry Tomato Sauce:
- 2 pounds (900 g) whole cherry tomatoes or vine tomatoes cut into quarters
- 2 whole garlic cloves peeled
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt
Lasagna:
- 1 medium eggplant peeled if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 bell peppers red, orange or yellow, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium zucchini cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves or other leafy greens
- 1 pound (450 g) whole milk ricotta
- ¾ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or fresh basil, plus more for garnish
- ½ pound (225 g) fontina, low-moisture mozzarella or havarti cheese coarsely grated or shredded Chef tip: to easily grate a chunk of soft-textured cheese, put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- 12 (250 g) no-boil lasagna pasta sheets
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 ( 220C) degrees, with the rack positioned in the center.
Make the sauce:
- Put the tomatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet with the garlic, olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Roast until the tomatoes are very soft, about 20-25 minutes.
- Transfer the tomatoes and all the pan juices to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The sauce can be made up to one week ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
Roast the vegetables
- Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, and red onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt, black pepper and the olive oil and toss everything to coat.
- Roast the vegetables alongside the tomatoes 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until they're are soft and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and immediately add the spinach. Toss with tongs to mix and wilt the greens.
Assemble and bake the lasagna
- Reduce the oven temperature to 400 (200C) degrees.
- Lightly coat an 8x8-inch baking pan with olive oil.
- Combine the ricotta, ¼ cup of Parmesan and the parsley in a small bowl.
- Ladle ⅓-cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of the pan. Arrange 3 pasta sheets, slightly overlapping, over the sauce. Spread ⅓ of the vegetables, ⅓ of the ricotta mixture, ⅓ of the grated fontina and ⅓ cup sauce over the noodles. Repeat twice more, gently pressing the noodles down each time. Make the final top layer with all the remaining sauce and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the pan with foil and place on a baking sheet to avoid spills in the oven. Bake 30 minutes. Take a peek under the foil — if the sauce is bubbling, the cheese melted and the noodles are tender, it's done. If not, cover and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool 30-60 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Slice into pieces and serve.
Video
Notes
- The vegetables can be roasted the day before making the lasagna to save time. Or assemble the whole lasagna, cover and refrigerate up to a day ahead before baking.
- Make the fresh cherry tomato sauce as directed in the recipe, or feel free to use your favorite sauce instead. You'll need one quart of sauce (about 2 cups) to layer with the noodles.
- If you want to double this lasagna recipe for a larger crowd, a rectangular baking pan or glass/ceramic dish that's 13 x 9 inches will work. The baking time will be the same.
- Cool the lasagna for up to an hour before serving. This helps the layers to set, making it much less messy to cut and serve. But if you just can't wait to dig right in, shorten the cooling time to 15 minutes and enjoy the gooey slices!
- Mix up the variety of vegetables in the filling according to what you like and have on hand, just be sure you have about four cups of bite-size vegetables that are roasted or cooked until tender. Try mushrooms, leeks, butternut squash, kale, or other greens.
- Assemble the lasagna in the pan according to the steps.
- Wrap the pan securely with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Label and date the lasagna and freeze for 1-2 months.
- Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Bake as directed in the recipe.
- If you're freezing and defrosting a baked lasagna, first cool the lasagna completely — this helps prevent freezer burn from condensation. To reheat, place in a 350 degrees (covered) for about 15 minutes, until it's heated through.
Nutrition
Calories: 481kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 24gFat: 28gSodium: 448mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8g
