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This quick and easy Vegetable Lasagna recipe is a simple and cozy casserole that comes together with just 20 minutes of prep! Loaded with fresh veggies and plenty of gooey, melty cheese, the healthy dinner is a delicious comfort food classic that the whole family will love!
How to Make Vegetable Lasagna | 1-Minute Video
Easy Vegetable Lasagna
A warm and hearty vegetable lasagna is the best way to get your family to eat their veggies! While my kids (and husband) have certain vegetables that they enjoy, it can often be a challenge to encourage new or different options. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned after raising three boys, it’s that combining vegetables with pasta or a cheesy casserole is always more appealing than plain, raw produce on a plate.
My mother-in-law makes a great beef and sausage lasagna that she serves every year at Christmas. My boys go crazy for her decadent dish, but you know what? They also devour this lighter, healthier, veggie-packed version! I promise, if my house full of hungry guys loves this meal, then you won’t miss the meat, either.
What Vegetables are Good in Lasagna?
Lasagna is a classic Italian casserole. While a traditional recipe includes layers of lasagna noodles, red sauce, cheese and meat, you can also switch it up with a vegetable-packed meat-free recipe, Italian sausage, chicken, or white sauces such as Alfredo. The options are truly endless!
For our favorite healthy vegetable lasagna recipe, I bulk up the marinara sauce with 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, diced eggplant, or spinach would all be great additions. In the fall, I’ll probably go with some butternut squash and kale!
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for this easy vegetable lasagna. As always, the full list of measurements and specific instructions are included in the recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Olive oil: just a little bit to sauté the vegetables
- Mushrooms: I like the “meaty” flavor of baby portabella mushrooms, which give the vegetarian casserole a hearty texture. Look for pre-sliced baby bella mushrooms for a nice shortcut. You can substitute with any other variety of mushroom available.
- Zucchini: a mild vegetable that adds bulk and nutrition to the sauce. Dice it finely and your family won’t even know it’s there! You can also substitute with yellow summer squash.
- Sweet bell pepper: red bell peppers tend to be sweeter, while green bell peppers are a bit zestier. Pick your favorite!
- Onion and garlic: add great flavor to the dish.
- 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. You can substitute with cottage cheese for a lighter option.
- Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese: these additional cheeses add flavor to the casserole and hold it all together. The more cheese the better, right?!
- Marinara sauce: pick a high-quality store-bought jar (such as Rao’s marinara) or make your own at home with this easy recipe.
- No-boil (“oven-ready”) lasagna noodles: these par-boiled noodles do not require boiling before you assemble the casserole. They cut the prep time in half, making this vegetable lasagna quick and easy!
How To Make Easy Vegetable Lasagna
A light and fresh garden vegetable lasagna comes together with about 20 minutes of prep.
- Sauté vegetables in a large skillet or Dutch oven.
- Add marinara sauce to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Prepare the ricotta mixture by stirring together egg, parsley, basil, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Assemble the casserole by layering the sauce, noodles and cheese.
- Cover and bake in a 400° F oven for 35 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for about 5-10 more minutes.
What to Serve with Vegetable Lasagna
This hearty lasagna is delicious when paired with a Caesar salad or a simple green salad dressed in Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette. You might also like to offer a side of garlic bread or homemade focaccia bread.
How to Make Healthy Vegetable Lasagna for a Lighter Choice
If you’re looking to lighten up the dish and make it even healthier, there are a few swaps that you can easily make:
- Whole Wheat Pasta: you can purchase whole wheat no-boil lasagna noodles. If using the whole wheat 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).
- Cottage Cheese: use small curd (or “whipped”) cottage cheese in lieu of the ricotta. For this recipe, you will need a 16 ounce container of small-curd cottage cheese (about 2 cups).
- Reduced-Fat Mozzarella: look for a lighter shredded mozzarella to reduce fat and calories.
- Marinara Sauce without Added Sugar: look for a high-quality store-bought marinara sauce that doesn’t include added sugar. We love Rao’s brand, but any similar sauce will work.
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. 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).
Storage
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.
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.
Tips for the Best Vegetable Lasagna Recipe
- 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 the dish by stirring 1 pound of cooked ground beef or Italian sausage into the sauce.
- White Vegetarian Lasagna: substitute a jar of store-bought Alfredo sauce or 2 ½ cups of homemade Alfredo sauce for the marinara sauce.
- Sauté peeled, diced eggplant with the other vegetables for a hearty addition to the lasagna.
- 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.
- 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.
More Lasagna Recipes to Try
Vegetable Lasagna
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 zucchini, diced
- 1 sweet bell pepper (any color), seeded and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 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)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees 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).
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in July, 2017. It was updated in January, 2021.
So yummy! Much lighter and not so heavy as a meat version.
I changed up a few things just based on what I had/prefer.
Substitutions:
Squeeze basil (no fresh)
Ricotta (I prefer it over cottage cheese)
Added:
Drained/Diced artichoke hearts (1 jar)
3 cups fresh spinach, ribboned
Omitted:
Red bell (doesn’t like my belly)
Parsley (didn’t have)
Note: I needed 11 noodles bc mine were not long, but shorter.
Thanks, Stephanie! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and I appreciate you taking the time to come back here and leave a note. Take care!
First time in a long time I have made lasagne. And I wanted a vegetable one as meat doesn’t always sit well as I’ve gotten older! Tried your 5 star recipe. It’s now a favorite! Thank you!
Thank you, Nancy!
This is the best vegetable lasagna i have tried! My husband said it was 5 stars! Very easy to make. I added more peppers and 2 small boxes of mushrooms. Perfect!
Awesome! Thank you, Robin!
Thanks for your recipe it was a hit. I used egg plant and spinach with everything else mostly the same. So easy my 3 year old granddaughter did most of the prep.
Sounds delicious! Thanks, Dana!
Amazing! I loved it. We had to cook it a little bit longer, but it was great and feeds a crew.
Wonderful! Thanks, Liz!
Hi Blair. Going to make this lasagna which looks so delicious. Can you use both ricotta cheese and cottage cheese w egg parsley basil mixture ? How about some Italian seasoning to sub for parsley if I don’t have? Thx so much.
Hi, Jeanne! Yes, a combo of ricotta and cottage cheese should work well. I prefer to use small curd (or “whipped”) cottage cheese, which tends to be less “watery” than regular larger curd cottage cheese. If you can’t find whipped cottage cheese or the small curd variety, I would strain off some of the extra liquid from the regular cottage cheese.
As for the seasoning, yes! The Italian seasoning should work as a fine substitute for the parsley and basil (you’ll need about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the dried seasoning blend). Hope you enjoy the lasagna!
Hello Blair , thx so much for your replies and helpful hints. I really appreciate. You are an awesome cook! My friend just had her 3 rd child so I made her the vegetable lasagna since they are vegetarian. I did have another question for you. What’s your best banana bread recipe ? I struggle w mine sinking in middle r just not rising enough and staying. Thx so much. Happy cooking ❤️
Oh, that’s so great, Jeanne. I know that your friend really appreciated a homemade meal!
You’ve definitely got to try this banana bread (with or without the nuts). It’s always a huge hit: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/banana-nut-bread/
Hope you love it!
Hooray! and thanks!)))
Thx so much . Excited to try. I will definitely do. One other thing that I have had trouble with is making a sour dough bread starter . My mom used instant potato flakes and it didn’t work. Do you make your bread starter ? If so any recipes to share. I would love to make my own sour dough bread. Thx so much. Happy Saturday. ❤️
No, unfortunately I don’t have a starter recipe to share with you. I haven’t gone down the sourdough road! 🙂
my vegetarian niece made this for dinner and it was DELISH!
Oh, good! I’m so glad that you liked it! 🙂
I’d like to make this delicious sounding recipe without noodles. Would using more eggs firm it up?
Oh goodness, I don’t know! I’ve never tried to make lasagna without noodles. You might look for a recipe that uses thinly-sliced zucchini as the noodles instead of pasta. That might work as a good alternative.
I made this recipe for the first time today for my husband’s family our our Christmas dinner with them. I’ve made meat lasagna before but never a veggie version. 2 of our guests are vegetarian so it’s always a challenge so I made a pan of this and a pan of ‘regular’ lasagna. This as a HUGE hit! Even the meat eaters loved it. In fact, more of my guests chose this version than the meat version. I was called the lasagna Queen by one uncle. This will now be our new tradition for the family Christmas gathering. Now I never have to worry about what I make for the vegetarians . I don’t like mushrooms but even I tried it, and all I tasted was flavor, lots of delicious flavor. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Meg! What a wonderful note to read! Thank you so much. It makes me really happy to know that you were able to share this meal with your family and everyone enjoyed it. Merry Christmas! 🙂
I made the vegetable lasagna for my grandson’s graduation party lunch of 10 people. Everyone loved it. I modified the recipe for only two things: I used regular lasagna noodles that needed to be boiled (because that is what I had on hand), and I added a pound of plant-based ground meat substitute to the recipe, just for fun.
Sounds perfect! Thanks, Patricia!
If I am using cottage cheese instead of ricotta, do I still use egg in the parsley and cheese mix?
Hi, Lynn! Yes, you’ll want that egg to give the cheese mixture some structure and help it “set” in the oven (so that it’s not too runny). Enjoy!
Made this last night and loved it. I love vegetable lasagna though. I made it with a spicy marinara sauce and put chives in with the ricotta. I didn’t have any fresh parsley. I’ve never mixed the cheese into the ricotta mixture before. I’ve always just added it as a layer, but this was really good and worked well. I also used whole wheat regular lasagna noodles with no issues. I did let my veggie mixture simmer a bit to cook off any extra moisture. I made it for just me and plan on eating it all week by myself. 🙂
Your version sounds delicious, Ashleigh! Thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed it. 🙂
A nice, light vegetable lasagna. Easy to assemble, too! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will 100% make it again!
Thank you, Liane!
After my MIL passed away I was desperately seeking a list connection by making her veggie lasagna. As no one knew it ,and having made it with her once before, I went online in search. The search ended with your recipe. This is now my go to recipe and tastes exactly like my 2nd mom used to make! Thank you for the memories!
We’re so sorry for your loss. Thank you for giving our recipe a try. We’re so glad you enjoyed it!