The Best Vegetable Lasagna (no ricotta)
Learn how to make my family's famous vegetable lasagna without ricotta cheese! It's layered with rich marinara, roasted carrots & peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. A healthier version of one of my all-time favorite meals!
Servings 8 slices
Calories 374kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried oven-ready lasagne noodles (see notes for boiled noodle instructions)
- 6 cups pasta sauce (2. 26 oz. jars)
- 1 lb mozzarella
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Vegetables
- 1 Tablespoon oil (divided)
- 2 lbs sweet mini bell peppers (or 3-4 regular bell peppers, chopped)
- 4 large carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 pint white button mushrooms
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: Peel skin off onion and dice. Cut off stem of garlic clove and finely mince. Leave skin on carrots (for flavor and nutrients). Cut off stem, slice lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch thick "sticks". Clean mushrooms with paper towel if needed, then roughly chopped in small pieces.
- Roast peppers and carrots: Preheat oven to 425F. Lay mini bell peppers and carrots on sheet pan, drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil and pinch of salt. Toss in oil, and bake for 20 minutes - flip halfway through. Lower oven to 325F and roast additional 10 minutes.
- Sauté vegetables: while other veggies are roasting, cook diced onion in a sauté pan with 1 teaspoon oil and pinch of salt. Cook 3-4 minutes or until soft, then add minced garlic in last minute. Add chopped mushrooms with pinch of salt to cooked onions & garlic, cook for 3-5 minutes. Add spinach leafs 1 cup at a time and mix into vegetables until soft and wilted.
- Chop roasted veggies: when peppers and carrots are finished roasting, let cool. Remove stems from peppers (if using baby bell peppers) then chop with carrots.
- Layer lasagna: Gather all of ingredients and layer in a 9x13 baking dish. Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom, then oven-ready noodles, several spoonfuls each of sautéed and chopped roasted vegetables, generous sprinkle of chopped basil, pasta sauce/marinara, mozzarella, then parmesan. Repeat until finished.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 375F. Cover baking lasagna dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Broil on HIGH for last minute to brown the cheese. Slice lasagna and serve with additional chopped basil and fresh parmesan. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips if using boiled lasagna noodles
- Noodles "made in Italy" is key: Not all noodles are created equal. We have found most (if not all) of the noodles we used that were NOT made in Italy completely fell apart after boiling. We recommend using Barilla to ensure success.
- Keep prepared noodles from sticking together: once done cooking the pasta noodles to an al dente texture, carefully drain the water. A tip my mom recommends is placing the noodles in a shallow dish with a little cold water to prevent them from sticking together. Shake off excess water when layering lasagna.
Nutrition
Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 52.6g | Protein: 21.3g | Fat: 8.2g | Cholesterol: 16.2mg | Sodium: 476.7mg | Vitamin A: 69IU | Vitamin C: 144mg