🧊 Meal Prep
← All recipes

Vegetable Lasagna

Source: adapted from https://cookieandkate.com/best-vegetable-lasagna-recipe/ (sweet potato + mushrooms instead of zucchini/pepper; ricotta instead of cottage cheese) Serves 8 · Prep 30 min · Cook 30 min · Oven 425°F

❄️ FREEZE STAGE: Assembled, UNBAKED

  • Freeze at: Fully assembled in the baking dish, before baking.
  • How: Cover tightly with foil, up to 3 months. A disposable foil pan works well.
  • Cook: Defrost overnight in the fridge, then bake per the recipe (covered 18 min, then uncovered 10–15 min until spotty brown).

Allergens: no nuts, pine nuts, sesame, or chickpea. ✅

Ingredients

Veggies & spinach

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 large carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & finely diced (~1½ cups)
  • 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 5–6 oz baby spinach

Tomato sauce — use ~2 cups of the big-batch tomato sauce, or the quick blender version below:

  • 1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil (+ more for garnish)
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Remaining

  • 2 cups (15 oz) whole-milk ricotta
  • ¼ tsp salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 8 oz (2 cups) freshly grated low-moisture part-skim mozzarella

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the carrots, sweet potato, onion, and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is nearly tender, 8–10 min (finely diced so it cooks through).
  3. Add the mushrooms and cook, uncovered, until browned and their moisture has cooked off, ~5 min (keep it dry so the lasagna isn't watery).
  4. Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring until wilted (~3 min total). Set aside.
  5. Tomato sauce: either measure out ~2 cups of the batch tomato sauce, or drain the canned tomatoes in a sieve and pulse in a food processor with the basil, oil, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes ~10 times to a spreadable consistency (just over 2 cups). Pour into a bowl.
  6. Add the cooked veg to the processor; pulse 5–7 times until finely chopped (not puréed). Combine with the ricotta, ¼–½ tsp salt, and pepper. Stir.
  7. Spread ½ cup sauce in a 9×9 dish. Layer 3 noodles, half the ricotta-veg mixture, ¾ cup sauce, ½ cup mozzarella.
  8. Add 3 noodles, remaining ricotta-veg mixture (no sauce this layer), ½ cup mozzarella.
  9. Add 3 noodles, ¾ cup sauce, 1 cup mozzarella. ← Freeze here if make-ahead.
  10. Cover with foil (not touching cheese). Bake 18 min. Uncover, rotate, bake 10–15 min until spotty brown.
  11. Cool 15–20 min. Top with basil, slice, serve.

Storage (from source)

  • Freezer: assembled, unbaked, up to 3 months (see freeze box). Can also refrigerate assembled a couple of days before baking.