This Easy Vegetable Lasagna recipe is the perfect dinner for a busy weeknight or when hosting guests for the holidays and you need a quick, delicious meal for a small crowd. With a few convenient ingredients, and simple steps, you can put together this cheesy, vegetarian lasagna in about 20 minutes.
We love a quick and easy pasta recipe, especially a baked pasta casserole. There isn’t much that beats these one-pan dinners, and when it’s a complete meal loaded with vegetables and cheese, like this vegetarian lasagna, you can feel good about feeding it your family or guests.
I tend to put together baked pasta casseroles a few times a month for my family (my girls seem to love them as much as I do), and this lasagna is in rotation along with our other baked pastas, like this Rigatoni Al Forno recipe. And whenever I’m hosting company for more than one meal, I like to make a lasagna or other baked pasta ahead of time so I can spend more time visiting with our company and less time cooking.
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Ingredients that Matter
This recipe is all about the convenient ingredients that make this vegetable lasagna super easy, yet delicious and satisfying. Here are the ingredients that you’ll need for this recipe:
- Oven-Ready Lasagna Noodles. Using oven-ready lasagna noodles cuts a ton of time off this lasagna recipe. There’s no need to pre-cook the noodles. Simply layer the dry noodles with sauce and vegetables, cover and bake until bubbly! It couldn’t be easier. The important thing to know about oven-ready lasagna noodles is they need to be covered by sauce or another wet ingredient. If you don’t cover them in a sauce (or vegetables, cheese, meat, etc.), the noodles will be crunchy even when cooked.
- Jarred Tomato Sauce. Use a jarred tomato sauce to save time making your own. Today there are great tomato sauces readily available, so why not use them. A 24-ounce jar is the perfect amount for this recipe. Use your favorite sauce. I’ve been enjoying the Rao’s Homemade Sensitive Marinara Sauce since I’ve been trying to avoid onions and garlic lately.
- Vegetables. The sky is the limit when it comes to vegetables for vegetarian lasagna! For this recipe I opted to put time into cooking fresh vegetables, like mushrooms, red bell pepper, zucchini and baby spinach, but you can use frozen (and thawed) vegetables, pre-cut vegetables, leftover veggies, or even jarred roasted peppers or artichokes. Load your lasagna up with vegetables, just be mindful to remove as much water from them as possible to avoid an overly soggy lasagna.
- White Sauce. Like the veggies, I chose to spend my time making a homemade bechamel sauce, but you can certainly use a jarred white sauce, if you prefer. To make a homemade white sauce, make a roux with the butter and flour then slowly whisk in whole milk and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Cheeses. Use one more cheeses for this lasagna. I recommend freshly grated mozzarella and parmesan (grate your own as pre-grated is often coated in an anticaking agent), but you can really use your cheeses of choice!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This homemade easy vegetable lasagna recipe comes together quickly. Here are the steps to make this recipe:
Start by preparing the vegetables. Thinly slice the mushrooms (you could buy pre-sliced, if preferred) and dice the bell pepper and zucchini.
Heat oil in a large skillet and cook the vegetables. Start by adding the mushrooms in a single layer and cook, undisturbed until starting to brown. Then move the mushrooms to the edge of the skillet and add the peppers. Repeat this process with the peppers then add the zucchini. Cook until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, about 8 minutes total. Transfer mixture to a bowl then cook the baby spinach in the same skillet until just wilted, about 2 minutes.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour to make a roux. Whisk until the mixture is lightly browned and creamy, about 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in warmed milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.
Preheat oven to 375F. To assemble the lasagna, spray a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray then add about ¼ cup of the tomato sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add lasagna noodles in a single layer, it’s ok if they overlap slightly. Top with half the vegetables, a handful of the cheese and about ½ cup of the tomato sauce.
Place another layer of oven-ready lasagna noodles on top then add half the white sauce. Smooth the sauce out over the noodles then add the sauteed spinach in an even layer.
Add another layer of noodles, vegetables, white sauce and more cheese followed by the remaining lasagna noodles, thinly sliced sheets of zucchini, tomato sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.
Remove foil from baking dish and return to oven. Continue to bake until the top is golden brown and the sides are bubbling, another 10-15 minutes.
Substitutions
This is a very flexible recipe, meaning there are a lot of tweaks and substitutions you can make depending on your dietary needs or flavor preferences. Consider these substitutions:
- Gluten-Free – You can likely find gluten-free lasagna noodles at your local grocery store, even gluten-free oven-ready lasagna noodles.
- Veggies – There are a lot of options when it comes to the vegetables. Consider using fresh onions, garlic, yellow squash, baby kale, winter squash, broccoli, asparagus, etc. Or, you can even use frozen vegetables, especially frozen onions and peppers, stir-fry mix, peas, corn and/or green beans. Or you can use a variety of jarred vegetables, like roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts and even jarred hot peppers.
- Protein – If you want to add more protein to this recipe without adding meat, try incorporating plant-based sausage, plant-based ground meat, tofu, seitan or even canned (drained and rinsed) white beans.
- Tomato Sauce – Want to switch up the tomato sauce? Try using an arrabiata sauce or pesto.
Equipment
For this recipe I recommend using a 9- by 13-inch baking dish like from this Le Creuset Stoneware Heritage Set, which comes with three baking dishes (4, 2.5 and 1.1 quarts each). A solid skillet like this All-Clad 12-Inch Copper Core Stainless Steel Skillet.
Storage
This is an ideal make-ahead dinner recipe. Plus it’s great for meal prep. You can assemble the lasagna, cover it and store in the refrigerator overnight and bake for dinner the next day.
Once baked, store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Consider splitting the portions into smaller containers for quick and easy lunches throughout the week. To reheat, either microwave individual portions, or bake in a 375F oven until warm, 10-15 minutes.
Looking for more make-ahead recipes for when company comes to visit? Try making this Brioche French Toast Casserole or Strawberry Drop Biscuits for brunch. Or try this Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup or these Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders for lunch. For make-ahead desserts, try this Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp or these Mini Rustic Peach Custard Pies.
FAQ
Oven-ready lasagna noodles are just that, ready for the oven! There is no need to boil them before assembling a lasagna. However, be sure the lasagna noodles are touching sauce, vegetables, cheese or any other ingredients that provide moisture to prevent the noodles from getting crunchy when baked.
Once assembled, be sure to cover the baking dish and cook in a 375F oven for about 30 minutes. You can remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes to brown the top.
More Pasta Recipes
Looking for more pasta recipes like this? Try these:
Sides
Want some side recipes to go along with this easy vegetable lasagna? Give these a try:
Recipe
Easy Vegetable Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9– x 13-inch lasagna 1x
Description
This Easy Vegetable Lasagna recipe is the perfect dinner for a busy weeknight or when hosting guests for the holidays and you need a quick, delicious meal for a small crowd. With a few convenient ingredients, and simple steps, you can put together this cheesy, vegetarian lasagna in about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 oz. white button or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 2 medium zucchini (one diced, the other cut into â…›-inch thick planks), divided
- 1 tsp. table salt, divided
- black pepper, to taste
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole milk (warm)
- 1 24–oz. jar tomato sauce
- 1 9–oz. package oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 8 oz. (2 cups) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
- 1 oz. grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9- by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add mushrooms in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until starting to brown, 2-3 minutes. Stir then move the mushrooms to the edge of the skillet and add the peppers. Cook, undisturbed another 1-2 minutes until starting to brown. Stir then move the vegetables to the edge of the skillet and add the zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper, to taste. Transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Â Add baby spinach to skillet and cook until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.Â
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Whisk in flour and cook until lightly browned, 1 minutes. Whisk in warm milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper, to taste.
- Spread ¼ cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly to completely cover the bottom of the pan, 3-4 sheets. Add in an even layer half the mushroom mixture, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup of the grated parmesan and ½ cup of the tomato sauce. Place lasagna noodles on top in a single layer, then spread on half of the white sauce and spinach. Top with more lasagna noodles and remaining mushroom mixture, white sauce, ½ cup mozzarella, ¼ cup parmesan choose and ¼ cup tomato sauce. Top with remaining lasagna noodles, zucchini planks, remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, 25-30 minutes. Remove foil from the baking dish and return to oven, baking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Â
- You can make the lasagna up to 1 day ahead of time and bake when ready to serve.
- Use any combination of vegetables you’d like (you want about 3-4 cups of cooked vegetables). Try fresh onions, garlic, broccoli, winter squash, asparagus, etc. Or, use frozen vegetables like onions, peppers, peas, carrots and/or corn. You can also use jarred vegetables like roasted bell peppers, artichoke hearts or even jarred hot peppers.
- This is a great recipe to make when you have company visiting for the holidays or a family get-together. Assemble it the day before they arrive and bake it for dinner when they arrive.Â
- Prep Time: 20 min.
- Cook Time: 40 min.
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
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