Lasagna Primavera
This lasagna primavera is full of veggies, delicious ricotta, spinach, and cheese; tender noodles and sauce that is utterly fantastic!
My husband’s comment mid-forkful of this lasagna: “Who knew a veggie lasagna could be so filling!” And I breathed a sigh of relief since I wasn’t sure how this meatless meal would be received.
Of course, that was after his third piece, but even still, this lasagna is hearty and is packed, I mean packed, with vegetables. I’m in a hurry to use up the last of my garden produce and this recipe from my Aunt Jeanette was the perfect way to do it!
I altered the recipe a bit, mainly chopping up the vegetables finely enough that they couldn’t be picked out by my children. It worked like magic.
They seriously loved this lasagna and with over eight cups of vegetables, I felt like supermom (and then promptly fell from supermom grace after letting them eat hot dogs for the next two nights in a row).
If you like your vegetables chunkier, go for it! That is a very adaptable piece of this recipe. In the end, I personally liked the finely chopped vegetables, too. It gave the lasagna a cohesive texture and I wasn’t jarred out of my gustatory bliss by biting into a honkin’ piece of zucchini.
My other alteration was to use no-boil noodles, because…well, why not? I love not having to boil them beforehand.
While the lasagna may be full of vitamin-laden veggies, it is also filled to brimming with a delicious ricotta and spinach layer that binds the lasagna perfectly and is helped along by rich, creamy mozzarella and spunky Parmesan cheese.
The combination of all the above with the tender noodles and flavorful sauce is utterly fantastic.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Two Years Ago: Creamy White Chili
Lasagna Primavera
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 3 medium zucchini, about 2 ½ to 3 cups finely chopped – mine were in 1/4-inch or less pieces
- 2 cups squash, finely chopped – 1/4-inch or less pieces
- 2 cups chopped broccoli
- 20 ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well (or squeezed through a towel)
- 3 cups ricotta cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces mozzarella, shredded (about 4 cups)
- 4-6 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 jars (24-ounces each) pasta sauce, or use 6 cups of homemade sauce (see note)
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles, I love the Barilla brand, or 12 regular lasagna noodles, boiled and drained
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine all the chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash) with 1/2 teaspoon salt and steam briefly, for 2-3 minutes, to soften them just a bit (they’ll finish cooking in the oven after the lasagna is assembled).
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach and salt. Mix well.
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce onto the bottom of the pan and spread around. It will be a thin layer. Cover with four no-boil lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Spoon in 1/3 of the lightly steamed vegetables evenly. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the vegetables then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Pour 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the cheese, lightly spreading it to the edges. Repeat the layers (noodles, vegetables, ricotta, mozzarella/parm, sauce) two more times, ending with the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top. This lasagna will be piled high – above the rim of your 9X13-inch pan, but it will settle as it bakes.
- Cover the lasagna with a sheet of lightly greased foil and place the 9X13-inch pan on a large baking sheet lined with foil (this is important since the lasagna will bubble and spit over the edge a bit as it bakes). Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from my Aunt Jeanette
I made this with vegan cheeses and my family LOVED this lasagna! Like, leftovers were eaten daily until it was gone. This is now my go to lasagna recipe. Thank you!
This lasagna kicks serious ass
Can you assemble this lasagna a day before and cook it the next day?
Yes that should be ok.
Mel this was a great recipe, simple yet delicious! Thank you!
I have this in the oven right now, can’t wait to try it!
This was Devine! We loved the heartiness of the Lasgana without the meat. It was a little liquidy but the brand of sauce I had on hand was to blame. Will defiantly try again with different brand of sauce or your homemade sauce. One of my daughters who avoids red sauce had a second helping and loved it.
Oh I did use regular (not the no-boil type) noodles that I barely undercooked and cut in half for the 8x8s. I used a couple more than the recipe called for.
Obviously this is a more involved meal, especially if you make your own sauce. I loved it and my family ate way more veggies then they knew. I used my food processor to dice them up pretty good then added some hand chopped for texture. I also split up the meal between 3 8×8 containers, froze 2 before baking, and had plenty for our little family of 4.
Freezing tip: I line my disposable 8x8s with double foil, fill it up with the meal, top with lightly greased foil, and freeze. After its frozen I pop the foil wrapped dinner out of the dish then throw it in a gallon freezer baggy, writing instructions on it. This frees up my containers. Then when I go to cook it I just pop it out of the baggy and back into the container.
Jackie – I have a metal steamer basket I put in a large pot. You could also steam them in the microwave. I toss the vegetables with the salt before steaming.