This hearty vegetarian lasagna is packed with fresh vegetables like baby spinach, Crimini mushrooms, zucchini and fresh Italian parsley. Feed a crowd with ingredients from your garden!
11oz.fresh baby spinachsauteed with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt
3tbspolive oildivided
8ounceCrimini Baby Bella mushroomssliced and sauteed with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt
2pinchessaltdivided
9lasagna noodlesI make the whole 16 ounce package just in case there are broken noodles and there will be some leftovers, drizzle of olive oil
2cupstomato pasta sauce
28ounceplum tomatoeswhole, peeled, diced, drained
2cupzucchinishredded
32ouncericotta cheese
1 1/2teaspoonsdried oreganoor you can substitute 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
3cupsshredded mozzarella cheese
2/3cupfresh grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: fresh chopped basil or Italian parsley to garnish
Instructions
Saute baby spinach with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt over medium heat in a large pan with a lid. Allow to cool.
Saute the sliced Crimini mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt in a medium pan for 4 minutes over medium-high heat (you could also use the same pan as the spinach). Allow to cool.
Bring a large pot of water and 1 tsp. salt to boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 10 minutes (defer to the directions on your lasagna noodle package). Carefully, remove from water when they are cooked and set aside on a plate to cool. I suggest drizzling a little olive oil over them so they do not stick.
In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta sauce, chopped plum tomatoes and 2 cups of grated zucchini.
In a large mixing bowl, combine thoroughly the ricotta cheese, cooled sauteed spinach and oregano.
Assemble: Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce mixture evenly in an ungreased 13 in. x 9 in. pan. Using an offset or baking spatula will help with spreading layers. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top. Spread 1 cup pasta sauce mixture on top of noodles. Scoop 1-1/2 cup of the spinach mixture and drop onto the sauce layer by small spoonfuls. Spread the spinach mixture evenly being careful not to mix the layers. Lay 1/3 of the mushrooms evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese over the mushrooms. Repeat 2 more times or until the top of the pan is reached. Sprinkle parmesan over the top of the last layer of mozzarella. For me, it's always 3 layers of noodles (9 noodles total). Cover with aluminum foil (leave an air pocket so the foil is not touching the last mozzarella cheese layer) let it sit in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 45 minutes.
At 45 minutes in, remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes (55 minutes total baking time). You can also broil for a few minutes to get a crust at the top (as shown in the photos), make sure that the dish is several inches away from the broiler and broiler safe). When done, the Veggie Lasagna should be bubbling on the sides, allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped basil or Italian parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
There may or may not be leftover filling depending on how heavy you spread it, if there is you can use the extra to make lasagna roll ups with any extra lasagna noodles you might have. This recipe requires an 8 hour time for it to set. You can bake it right away but it does taste much better when the ingredients have had time to marinate together.