Cheesy and full of fresh veggies, this quick and easy vegetable lasagna is comfort food at its best. With just 20 minutes of prep, it’s a hearty meal the whole crew will devour!
Everyone Loves this Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna
This easy vegetarian lasagna recipe comes together with just 20 minutes of prep, thanks to shortcuts like no-boil noodles, jarred sauce, and shredded cheese. It’s a wholesome, satisfying way to enjoy a variety of fresh veggies (like mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and onions), in a cozy, cheesy casserole. Plus, it just tastes lighter and fresher than a classic lasagna. Even meat-lovers and picky eaters approve, making it a crowd-pleasing option for any family dinner or holiday gathering.
If you love vegetarian pasta recipes, be sure to try this dump-and-bake sundried tomato pasta, roasted vegetable pasta, and 4-ingredient ravioli casserole, too!
This lasagna is amazing! Will be making it a regular! I chopped up everything in the food processor because it is so easy and the kids didn’t even know it had vegetables! All 4 kids loved it! Thanks!
– Shannon
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- We love a combination of sweet bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, diced onion, diced zucchini, and minced garlic. The good news is that you can mix it up and modify the recipe to include any of your family’s favorites. Corn, yellow squash, shredded carrots, diced eggplant, roasted red peppers, spinach, and kale are all great additions. In the fall, we go for a butternut squash lasagna.
- Egg helps bind the ricotta cheese layer so that it doesn’t ooze out when you slice the casserole.
- Ricotta cheese adds a thick, creamy, cheesy layer to the dish. For a lighter option, use small curd (or “whipped”) cottage cheese in lieu of the ricotta. You will need a 16 ounce container of small-curd cottage cheese (about 2 cups). Strain off any excess liquid before adding the cottage cheese to your lasagna.
- Pick a high-quality store-bought jar of spaghetti sauce (such as Rao’s marinara) or use homemade marinara sauce when time allows.
- No-boil (“oven-ready”) lasagna noodles are par-boiled noodles that do not require boiling before you assemble the casserole. If you prefer to use whole wheat no-boil lasagna noodles, check the cooking instructions on your package. Most whole wheat pasta requires a slightly different cooking temperature and time (usually about 450°F for 40 minutes covered, then 5-10 more minutes uncovered).
How to Make the Best Veggie Lasagna Recipe
- Sauté vegetables in a large skillet or Dutch oven, then add marinara sauce.
- Stir together the egg and ricotta mixture.
- Assemble the casserole by layering the sauce, noodles, and cheese.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in a 400°F oven for 35 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for about 5-10 more minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the filling is hot and bubbling and the cheese on top is lightly browned.
- Let the lasagna rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. This will help the cheese set so that it slices cleanly and doesn’t ooze out.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the veggie lasagna with a Caesar salad or a simple green salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette. You might also like to offer a side of garlic bread or no-knead cast iron focaccia bread to soak up any extra sauce and cheese.
Did you make this recipe?
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Watch How to Make It
Easy Vegetable Lasagna
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total: 1 hour 15 minutes
A light and fresh, comforting casserole that's ready with just 20 minutes of prep!
Equipment
- 9 x 13-Inch Baking Dish (this is my favorite option with a lid)
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 sweet bell pepper (any color), seeded and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese (or sub with 16 ounces small curd cottage cheese)
- 2 ¼ cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 24 ounces (2 ½ cups) store-bought (or homemade) marinara sauce
- 9 oven-ready, no-boil lasagna noodles (or as many noodles as needed to fit your dish)
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh herbs such as parsley or basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°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). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 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. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs if desired.
Notes
No-boil (“oven-ready”) lasagna noodles are par-boiled noodles that do not require boiling before you assemble the casserole. If you prefer to use whole wheat no-boil lasagna noodles, check the cooking instructions on your package. Most whole wheat pasta requires a slightly different cooking temperature and time (usually about 450°F for 40 minutes covered, then 5-10 more minutes uncovered).
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of recipeCalories: 273kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 20gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 806mgPotassium: 589mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1095IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 438mgIron: 2mg
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: Assemble the lasagna in advance, but do not bake. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking, or freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, allow the refrigerated lasagna to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30-60 minutes before baking.
- How to Bake from Frozen: If you’re baking the casserole frozen (directly from the freezer), bake the dish covered in a 400°F oven for 1 hour. Then remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the dish is heated through.
- How to Store: Leftover lasagna will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- How to Reheat: Cover the lasagna loosely with foil. Warm the dish in a 350°F oven just until heated through, about 30 minutes. You can also reheat individual slices of lasagna in the microwave until warm, about 1 minute.
Recipe Variations
- Cooking for Two? Divide the full recipe between two smaller 8-inch square baking dishes. That way you get two meals with the same amount of effort, and you can freeze one for a later date. Alternatively, you can cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare one lasagna in an 8-inch square dish. The baking instructions remain the same.
- Add meat to this veggie-packed lasagna by stirring 1 pound of cooked ground beef or Italian sausage into the sauce.
- Make it spicy by adding crushed red pepper flakes to the veggies and marinara.
- White Vegetarian Lasagna: substitute a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce or 2 ½ cups of homemade Alfredo sauce for the marinara sauce.
- Make vegetable lasagna with spinach by adding a few cups of fresh baby spinach leaves to the warm sauce, just until the leaves wilt. Alternatively, you can use a 10-ounce package of chopped, frozen spinach. Just thaw the spinach and squeeze it really dry before adding to the lasagna.
I needed an easy recipe for our student’s potluck dinner, I chose this one since a few of my students are vegetarian. It was a HUGE hit with a whole lot of college kids, not just the vegetarians!
– Shawn
More Lasagna Recipes to Try
Homemade Lasagna Recipe
2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Spinach Lasagna Recipe
1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Dutch Oven Lasagna
1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in July, 2017. It was updated in August, 2025.
I made this tonight and it was a huge hit with my family. I used Rao’s marinara. This will be our new go-to veggie lasagna. Thank you!
This was fairly quick and very easy to make!
I did add garlic salt to the vegetables and cheese mixture.Mixed the cheese mixture by hand. I had extra cheese mixture so I put that on top instead of the extra mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Yummy!
Thank you, Teresa! I’m so glad that it was a hit!
I absolutely love this recipe. I have made it to take to friends when they are ill. I tell them to put in the freezer to use later, or pop it to bake in the oven to eat now. I prefer to put the yellow squash in the food processor so it is shredded. I also cut the mozzarella to 2 cups otherwise I follow the recipe. My husband loves it and my friends rave about it.
Shredding the squash is a great idea! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Joan.
Delicious and easy. My son and friends said the recipe is a keeper.
We’re so happy to hear this! Thank you for trying it out, Nina.
My 32 year old son asks me to make this for him often. I think it’s delicious and easy to make.
Thank you, Nina! We’re so happy to hear this.
It’s going on my bucket list for when it’s cool enough to turn my oven back on! September will be here before I know it! Thanks!
Wonderful! Hope you love it, Marion!
I’m dying to try this recipe but I’m wondering if I can bake the lasagna in my Dutch oven rather than a baking dish. I suppose it might be more difficult to remove when serving the lasagna, though.
Hi Eric! We haven’t tested it and can’t say for sure but probably wouldn’t recommend it as the ingredients may not cook evenly and as you said it would be difficult to serve.
Delicious! We added 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots & 1/2 cup sliced black olives.
Thank you, Dawn!
Made this tonight as directed but also added spinach, and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!
Thank you so much, Jami! We’re glad you enjoyed it.
delicious and easy to prepare
Thank you, Judith! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Yummy!!! It wasn’t “saucy” enough for us so I’d probably ass a jar and a half of marinara next time and perhaps some chili powder for a little spice. Otherwise, this was easy and flavorful – super delicious!!!
Thank you for your feedback, Deanna! We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Loved the recipe. Used mandoline to slice zucchini lengthwise & cooked separately from rest of veg. Able to layer zucchini on top of cheese layer before adding veg / tomato sauce layer
Thank you for the feedback, Louise! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Enjoyed the flavor but definitely should’ve used more marinara sauce ! Came out way too dry
We’re sorry to hear this, but appreciate your feedback, Regina!