This Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna is a light and fresh way to take advantage of seasonal produce in a comforting, one dish meal!
This Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna is a light and fresh way to take advantage of seasonal produce in a comforting, one dish meal! Loaded with veggies and full of whole grains and protein, this nourishing dinner is a simple and delicious dinner to fuel your family!
I know that I’m not the only mom out there who faces a regular dinnertime battle when it comes to veggies. While my kids have certain vegetables that they enjoy, it can often be a challenge to encourage new or different options.
And 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.
I’m not “hiding” the vegetables or “sneaking” them onto a plate, but instead celebrating the delicious flavors and textures by preparing them in familiar ways.
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! So when I was trying to think of a good way to take advantage of so much fresh, affordable summer produce, I instantly dreamed up this fully-loaded Vegetable Lasagna that’s so cheesy, so flavorful, and so satisfying that even my carnivorous husband cleaned his plate without complaint!
I promise…you won’t miss the meat! I used a combination of chopped red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, diced onion, diced zucchini, and minced garlic since that’s what’s readily available right now.
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!
How To Make This Easy Vegetable Lasagna
The vegetables are sautéed in a skillet for about 3-5 minutes, just until they’re nice and tender.
Pour in a jar of your favorite homemade or store-bought marinara sauce and the base of your lasagna is ready!
The Cheese Filling
What really turns this veggie-full meal into a total comfort food dream is all of the rich, creamy, melted cheese! Because there’s no such thing as lasagna without the cheeeeeeeese!
A Lighter Choice
Did you know that you can use small curd cottage cheese as a lighter substitute for ricotta cheese in lasagna recipes?
I combine the cottage cheese with shredded mozzarella, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and fresh Italian herbs for a lasagna filling that packs a flavorful punch. It’s a great way to use up some of that bountiful basil that’s currently overtaking our garden, too!
Of course, if you prefer a more traditional lasagna cheese, use a 15-ounce container of ricotta in lieu of the cottage cheese.
When the cheese filling is ready and the veggies are cooked, it’s time to assemble the lasagna. Pro tip: I’m a big fan of the organic, whole wheat oven-ready lasagna noodles that I don’t even have to boil before baking. Skipping that extra step makes this Vegetable Lasagna truly quick and easy!
After about 45 minutes in the oven, you’ll be greeted with a bubbly, golden brown, cheesy casserole and a kitchen that smells ah-mazing! My boys seriously LOVE this meal.
The Vegetable Lasagna is a wonderful way to encourage our kids to enjoy more vegetables, while also showing them that healthy living can be soul-nurturing, wholesome, and comforting. Any simple and fresh dinner that brings my family happily together around the table is an instant keeper!
Cook’s Tips – Easy Vegetable Lasagna
- Cooking for Two? I would suggest dividing the full recipe between two smaller 8-inch square baking dishes. That way you get two meals with the same amount of effort! Alternatively, you can cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare one lasagna in an 8-inch square dish.
- Want to Prep Ahead? This is a great freezer meal! You can freeze it either before OR after baking. I usually freeze the lasagna after I assemble it, but before baking (just my preference, because then it’s only baked once). Be sure to thaw the lasagna in the refrigerator overnight before baking. Then proceed with baking instructions above.
- You can make this lasagna using regular no-boil noodles (rather than the whole wheat noodles shown here). If you use regular noodles, you will likely need to decrease the baking time and temperature, so check the instructions on your box. White pasta noodles tend to cook at 400 degrees F for a total of about 45 minutes (with the cover removed during the final 10 minutes).
- Want to add meat to the dish? Try stirring 1 lb. of ground Italian sausage or ground beef into the sauce.
More Lasagna Recipes To Try:
- Dump and Bake Mexican Lasagna
- Healthy Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
- Pesto Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups
- Turkey and Pesto Slow Cooker Lasagna
Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna
This Quick and Easy Vegetable Lasagna is a light and fresh way to take advantage of seasonal produce in a comforting, one dish meal!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 zucchini or yellow summer squash, diced
- 1 sweet bell pepper (any color), seeded and diced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced 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)
- 16 ounces (2 cups) cottage cheese OR a 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 24 ounces (2 ½ cups) store-bought (or homemade) marinara pasta sauce
- 9 Oven-Ready No-Boil whole wheat lasagna noodles (NOTE: if using regular no-boil lasagna noodles rather than whole wheat noodles, you will likely need to decrease the baking temperature and time, so check the instructions on your box)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450F (230C). Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
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In a large skillet, 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).
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While the veggies cook, use a separate bowl to stir together egg, parsley, basil, cottage cheese, 1 ¼ cups mozzarella, and ¼ cup Parmesan.
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When the vegetables are done cooking, stir the marinara sauce into the skillet.
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Spread 1/4 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, 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, and another 1/4 of the sauce mixture.
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Repeat layers two more times. Finish with remaining 1 ¼ cups of mozzarella and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese on top. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.
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Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes (or until heated through and cheese on top is browned). Let stand for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
Cooking for Two? I would suggest dividing the full recipe between two smaller 8-inch square baking dishes. That way you get two meals with the same amount of effort! Alternatively, you can cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare one lasagna in an 8-inch square dish.
Want to Prep Ahead? This is a great freezer meal! You can freeze it either before OR after baking. I usually freeze the lasagna after I assemble it, but before baking (just my preference, because then it's only baked once). Be sure to thaw the lasagna in the refrigerator overnight before baking. Then proceed with baking instructions above.
You can make this lasagna using regular no-boil noodles (rather than the whole wheat noodles shown here). If you use regular noodles, you will likely need to decrease the baking time and temperature, so check the instructions on your box. White pasta noodles tend to cook at 400 degrees F for a total of about 45 minutes (with the cover removed during the final 10 minutes).
Want to add meat to the dish? Try stirring 1 lb. of ground Italian sausage or ground beef into the sauce.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Horizon. The opinions and text are all mine.
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! 🙂
This recipe looks great but I am a little concerned about the oven temperature. 450 seems a little to high?
That’s what works here! 🙂 Of course, you can test it at a lower temperature if you prefer, though.
Does the freeze well? Thanks!
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!
Would you strain the cottage cheese before? Where I live the ratio between solid and liquid is approx 1:1
I don’t want a lasagna swimming in fluid or boiling over….
Hey, Elie! Yes — it couldn’t hurt to strain the cottage cheese first. You can also substitute with ricotta, if you prefer!
I would like to make this for Christmas eve, but, just confirming that the baking temp is 450o? That seems really high to me as I usually bake lasagna at 350o/375o. Thank you!
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!