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
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.
I've never tried a veggie lasagna before, but I'm loving the looks of this! Such a great way to use up that fresh summer produce! And you can't beat the ease of this recipe, too. Now i'm craving this for breakfast! 🙂
Thanks, Gayle! You've GOT to try veggie lasagna! It's the best way to get your daily dose of produce in a delicious meal. 🙂
Looks great now I just have to get my teenager to eat noodles and cheese! I think that maybe he is not my son because i could live on both. Haha
Your recipes are great!
Oh, Debra! I don't know WHAT I would do if my kids didn't like noodles and cheese! 🙂
what a great recipe...tried it once and loved it...on the table for a dinner party tonight!
That's wonderful, Steve! Thanks so much for letting me know. Hope the party was fun! 🙂
Prepping heaps of freezer meals for postpartum enjoyment and this made the list! Turned out wonderfully! Used uncooked noodles instead of no-boil, doubled quantities, added LOTS of spinach (kale or chard would work too for extra greens), whole milk dairy instead of low-fat (better for Mama & Baby), red chili flakes cooked at 375ºF for one hour, covered with aluminum foil instead of 450ºF for 40 minutes, and it did the trick— cooked everything inside and out perfectly! Time to portion out and freeze, thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
I made this last night , my small town grocery store only had green bell peppers available so I had to use that instead and used ragu's new homestyle sauce and it turned out wonderful . Had two pre teen girls eat all they could !!! This will be a great to at our house ,thank you !!!!
Awesome! Hi praise when the pre-teen girls devour it! 🙂
How many servings are in this recipe?
Thanks!!
Hi, Janet! The servings are listed in the recipe card above. 🙂 The lasagna serves 8 people. Enjoy!
Verry delicious !
Thanks, Julie!
Would love to know how much you mean by one zucchini or summer squash. I have some giant zucchinis and the ones in the store are small. To have a suggested amount in cups would be lovely. 🙂
Hi, Ann! I mean the standard grocery store size (a small zucchini) -- not the giant kind that you have. A small zucchini yields about 1 cup of diced zucchini. You can use more or less in that general range -- the measurement does not need to be exact. 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
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!
That's great, Shawn! Thanks so much for letting me know!
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! I have been passing out copies of this recipe for 3 days now.
YAY!!! That makes me so happy to hear! 🙂
That's what works here! 🙂 Of course, you can test it at a lower temperature if you prefer, though.
Hi! I haven't tried freezing this particular dish, but lasagna usually freezes very well after baking, so I imagine this version would too! 🙂
Made this for my son and daughter in law. She has just come out of hospital after the birth of their baby. My son text me to say he loved it- even though there was no meat and he hates capsicum! So a definite hit. ????????
That's wonderful Karen! A true success when the non-veggie-lovers can enjoy it, too! 🙂
My family doesn’t like mushrooms. Is there a good alternative for those? Thanks!
Hi, Amanda! Eggplant would be a great substitute for the mushrooms. If your family doesn't like eggplant, you can just use an additional zucchini or yellow squash. Enjoy!
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!
Awesome! That's so good to hear, Shannon! Thank you! 🙂
This was REALLY good! It tasted delicious. It was also simple to make. I had my favorite 4 year old help me and we had a blast making it and eating it!
That makes me so happy, Erin! Thank you!
Can I Sub out the mushrooms for carrots if so how ?
Yes! I would grate the carrots. You'll need about 2 - 2.5 cups of grated carrots to replace the mushrooms. Enjoy!
Hey, Elie! Yes -- it couldn't hurt to strain the cottage cheese first. You can also substitute with ricotta, if you prefer!
That's correct, Kaki! When using the oven-ready noodles, the higher temp works well. 🙂
CAN I ASSEMBLE THE DAY BEFORE i WANT TO BAKE
Yes! Just allow the dish to sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes before baking so that it can come to room temperature before it goes in the oven. 🙂
Made this on Christmas day and it was absolutely delicious. I followed the baking directions and used no boil noodles and it came out perfect. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thanks, Julie!
So if we use regular noodles that have been boiled before layering, how does that affect the baking temperature or the time? Thank you!
Hi, Pam! Regular noodles won't absorb quite as much liquid as the oven-ready noodles, so the dish may be a bit more liquidy than the original recipe (bake uncovered to help release some of the extra moisture). As far as the cooking time goes, I would bake the lasagna at 350 degrees F, uncovered, for about 35-45 minutes. Enjoy!
I made this lasagna last Sunday for dinner. It was an absolute hit in my house!! I did add spinach. I also sed lasagna noodles that required cooking and I baked mine on 350 degrees for about an hour and another 10 minutes uncovered for extra browning on the cheese. I did not experience extra liquid with mine. I will definitely be making this dish again. It was delish!!
Wonderful! Thanks, Nicole!
I want to make this tonight, but also add ground beef. Should I just brown the beef separately with some onion/garlic, then add to the veggies/sauce?
Hi, Chynna! Yep -- I'd do it exactly as you suggested. Enjoy!
Hi, I want to try this recipe
Can I use a bachamel sauce instead of the cottage cheese?
Hi, Fernanda! Yes, I think that should be fine! The dish will have a little bit different texture, since you're not including the egg to help the cheese mixture "set up," but the white sauce will still be delicious. Enjoy!
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!
Amazing! I loved it. We had to cook it a little bit longer, but it was great and feeds a crew.
Wonderful! Thanks, Liz!
Hooray! and thanks!)))