Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Growing up in an Italian-American family, lasagna is a favorite to make for special occasions or when we need to feed a crowd.

It’s a little high-maintenance, so if someone makes a pan of lasagna, they show some serious love.

This Vegetable Lasagna recipe puts a healthy twist on one Italian classic.

Other Italian recipes I’ve lightened up include Healthy Baked Ziti, Chicken Cacciatore, Healthy Chicken Parmesan, Healthy Eggplant Parmesan, Italian Stuffed Peppers, Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo, and these Turkey Meatballs. 

Reasons you’ll love this recipe

• Everyone loves it! Everyone raves about this healthy lasagna recipe, from Sunday dinners to potluck parties! Even kids go in for seconds.
• Healthier version. This veggie lasagna recipe is layered with the perfect amount of ricotta cheese and packed with fiber-rich roasted veggies.
• Easy to prepare. Lasagna is one of the higher-maintenance recipes I make, but even though this one still requires a little extra effort, it’s still so simple to make.
• Make-ahead. Don’t worry about the extra effort because you can make this Italian classic ahead of time. I’ll go over some tips below.

Ingredients

Lasagna noodles. I haven’t used no-boil noodles, so I can only recommend regular lasagna noodles for this recipe.

Marinara sauce. Of course, you can use homemade sauce like this easy marinara sauce or slow cooker marinara sauce. Or swap in any spaghetti or tomato sauce. But if you don’t have homemade spaghetti sauce available, use a high-quality sauce like Rao’s or Thrive Market. Stir in fresh basil for homemade taste.

Zucchini, portobello, and onions. This is our favorite vegetable trio to roast, but you can also use bell peppers, winter squash, broccoli, spinach, kale  carrot, butternut squash, Brussel sprouts, or any of your favorite heartier vegetables.

Garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, and this blend will add delicious flavor to the roasted vegetables and lasagna.

Ricotta cheese. You can use whole-milk ricotta or part-skim ricotta in this recipe. Whole milk ricotta will give it a creamy texture but add extra fat and calories to the recipe. Part-skim ricotta will reduce calories, but it’s not as creamy and does include more water, so you might need to drain it before adding it to the vegetable lasagna.

Eggs. This gives the ricotta cheese mixture structure and volume. 

Grated parmesan cheese, onion powder, granulated garlic powder, salt, and pepper. For a flavorful ricotta filling, this seasoning mixture is essential. 

Fresh mozzarella. You can use fresh or block mozzarella in this homemade lasagna, and I recommend shredding it fresh for the best flavor and texture if using block mozzarella.

Cooking Tips

I’ve been making this healthy lasagna for years and have learned a few tips and tricks for making it perfect every single time. 

• Boil noodles for 5 minutes. This short cooking time is the perfect time to get the noodles soft enough to work with but still firm enough to not turn into mush. The noodles should be firm (al dente) but slightly bend. You don’t want to cook them all the way through because they cook in the oven.
• Salt the water. This goes for all pasta; salting the water infuses flavor into the noodles as they cook.
• Cut vegetables into bite-size pieces. This way, you don’t have huge pieces falling out every time you take a bite; instead, you’ll get a taste of everything in one bite.
• Season the vegetables. I use salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and grated garlic to season the veggies. It gives these roasted vegetables great flavor that compliments the sauce and cheese in the lasagna perfectly.
• You can also cook the vegetables in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the vegetables in olive oil and cook until tender. Let the vegetables cool and then drain completely before adding to the lasagna. 
• Drain the vegetables. Using a mesh strainer, drain the vegetables after they cook. You want to remove as much liquid as possible from the vegetables before assembling the lasagna. If you don’t, then you’ll end up with a mushy lasagna that falls apart.
• Season the ricotta mixture. Ricotta is like a blank canvas, and mixing in grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper creates a fantastic flavor. You can even spice it up by adding some crushed red pepper flakes.
• Only coat the lasagna noodles with sauce. I use 1 cup of sauce per layer, and this is the perfect amount to get the noodles tender but still firm. You can add more sauce to individual pieces after it bakes, but this pan is filled to the brim, and adding too much sauce will cause it to bubble over. To be on the safe side, I like to put a cookie sheet under the pan just in case of spillage.
• Make sure the foil is tightly covering the lasagna. Making sure the foil is on tightly will help cook the lasagna thoroughly to make sure the noodles are fully cooked. Also, it will avoid burning the top layer.
• Let the lasagna cool before eating. If you have an issue with your lasagnas falling apart, it’s most likely because you didn’t let it sit long enough. Allow for this vegetarian lasagna to sit for 20 minutes after it’s done baking. It needs that time to firm up!
• Make the lasagna gluten-free. If you have a gluten allergy, then swap in gluten-free lasagna noodles, and you will cook them the same way as regular noodles.

Supplies

• Large rimmed baking sheet
• Mesh strainer
• 9 x 13 lasagna pan

How to Make This Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

• Start with preheating the oven to 400 degrees and place a large pot of salted water on the stove over high heat.
• Once the water is boiling, place the lasagna noodles into boiling water. Boil lasagna noodles for 5 minutes. Carefully move them around with a large spoon to keep them from sticking together. Remember, the noodles should be firm but able to bend slightly. Drain and set aside.
• Now prepare the roasted vegetables. Place the chopped zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and grated garlic into a large bowl. Sprinkle with one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon pepper, one teaspoon Italian seasoning. Drizzle olive oil over the top and mix until all vegetables are coated with seasoning and oil.
• Spread the vegetables onto a large baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes or until the veggies are roasted.
• While the vegetables are roasting, put together the ricotta cheese filling. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, eggs, grated parmesan, one teaspoon salt, one teaspoon pepper, one teaspoon Italian seasoning, one teaspoon onion powder, and one teaspoon garlic powder. Mix until everything is blended. The ricotta cheese will look nice and fluffy. Put into the refrigerator until the vegetables are done cooking.

• When the vegetables are done, place them into a mesh strainer and drain as much liquid as possible.
• Turn oven temperature to 375 degrees.
• Assemble the lasagna. Start by spreading 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x13 baking dish. Then layout four lasagna noodles. Typically, I lay three next to each other and one on top. 
• You want the noodles to cover the bottom of the pan. Next, spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Then crumble about 4 ounces of fresh mozzarella over the ricotta cheese.
• Place half of the vegetables over the cheese.
• Lay five lasagna noodles over the vegetables.
• Spread another cup of sauce over the noodles, then carefully spread the remaining ricotta cheese mixture over the sauce. This gets a little tricky so apply slowly. Add the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
• Put the rest of the roasted vegetables over the last cheese layer.
• Finish with one last layer of lasagna noodles and spread one more cup of sauce over the top.

• Tightly cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10. The lasagna should be hot and bubbly. Depending on your oven, you may need to add or subtract cooking time so keep an eye on the lasagna after an hour.
• After it’s cooked, let it sit for 20 minutes before serving.
• Serve with extra sauce.

Serving suggestions

This vegetable lasagna is a meal in itself. However, it is delicious with a Ceasar Salad and garlic bread.

Storage Tips

• You can prepare the roasted vegetables and ricotta 2-3 days before. Then, when you’re ready to assemble, you’ll need to cook the noodles and build the rest of the lasagna.
• Assemble the entire lasagna and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to cook it, continue with instructions. You might need to add on some extra time since it was cold!
• Also, you can thoroughly cook this meal and store it in the refrigerator or freeze it into portions. When ready to eat, heat the lasagna in the microwave.
• Assemble the lasagna and freeze. Thaw 1-2 nights in the fridge and then continue to cook. Most likely, you’ll need to add cooking time as the lasagna will still be slightly frozen.