Vegetable Italian Lasagna Recipes

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook and stir the veggies just until tender (about 3-5 minutes).
• While the veggies cook, use a separate bowl to stir together egg, parsley, basil, ricotta cheese, 1 ¼ cups mozzarella, and ¼ cup Parmesan.
• When the vegetables are done cooking, stir the marinara sauce into the skillet.
• Spread ¼ of the marinara-vegetable sauce mixture in a thin layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 3 no-boil lasagna noodles (or as many as you need to cover a single layer in the dish), ⅓ of the ricotta mixture, and another ¼ of the sauce mixture.
• Repeat layers two more times. Finish with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese on top. Cover with a piece of greased foil.
• Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 5-10 minutes (or until heated through and cheese on top is browned). Let stand for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

HEARTY VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water, and drain.
• In a large saucepan, cook and stir mushrooms, green peppers, onion, and garlic in oil. Stir in pasta sauce and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
• Mix together ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, and eggs.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread 1 cup tomato sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer 1/2 each, lasagna noodles, ricotta mix, sauce, and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering, and top with remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
• In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potato, bell peppers, red onion, zucchini, dried basil, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Cook until the vegetables are tender and begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and balsamic to the vegetables. Stir to combine then bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl add the ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix well, until the mixture is evenly combined.
• Stir in the spinach, using a fork to break it up and distribute it as evenly with the ricotta mixture as possible.
• Spread a thin layer of the vegetable tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on top, breaking the ends if needed so that they fit. Leave some space around the noodles, as they will expand as they cook.
• Top the noodles with 1/3 of the remaining sauce, half of the ricotta mixture, the next 1/3 portion of the sauce, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.
• Top with 3 more noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, and 1/2 cup mozzarella (no tomato sauce in this layer).
• Top the cheese with the 3 final noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the top.
• Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan.
• Cover the lasagna with foil (be careful not to let the foil touch the top of the cheese or it will stick-I like to stick a few toothpicks in the top of the lasagna so that they are poking up and keep the foil off of the cheese). Bake it covered for 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, uncover, and rotate the pan by 180. Continue cooking uncovered for 15 to 20 more minutes, until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese is beginning to have brown spots.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes to set. Sprinkle with fresh basil, then slice and serve.

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add red pepper, carrot and onion; cook and stir until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini and garlic; cook and stir until squashes are crisp-tender., Stir in tomato paste, broth, brown sugar and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain., Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix egg and ricotta cheese. Spread 1 cup vegetable mixture into a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Layer with two noodles (trim to fit pan), half of the ricotta mixture, about 1-1/2 cups vegetable mixture and two additional noodles. Top with remaining ricotta mixture, noodles and vegetable mixture., Sprinkle with cheeses and Italian seasoning. Bake, uncovered, 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

CLASSIC ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bechamel sauce:
• In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
• In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.
• Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.
• In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

VEGETABLE ITALIAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a medium covered skillet, cook carrots, onion, and garlic in about 1 1/2 tsp oil till onion is tender but not brown.
• Stir in the pasta sauce, water, oregano, and basil; simmer covered 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.
• Stir in the mushroom and zucchini into the skillet; cooked uncovered about 5 minutes or till zucchini is tender.
• Meanwhile, using a wire stainer, squeeze any remaining liquid from the thawed spinach with a metal spoon.
• In a bowl stir together the spinach, eggs, cottage cheese and parmesan.
• Arrange a single layer of cooked lasagne noodles on the bottom of a greased 12 x 7 1/2 x 2-inch baking dish; top noodles with 1/3 of spinach mixture, spread with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, add with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, top with add 1/3 of the vegetable mixture - REPEAT layers 2 more times.
• Bake uncovered in a 375°F oven 35 minutes or till heated through.
• Top lasagne with 2/3 cup mozzarella; return to oven for 3 minutes or until top cheese has melted.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.