Loaded Veggie Lasagna

Apparently ’tis the season for loaded veggie meals! I always like my pasta dishes to have plenty of veggies for flavour, texture and cheese-justification reasons. Otherwise I find them a bit monotonous and I couldn’t be happier with the way this lasagna turned out because if we’re eating vegetarian lasagna, it really needs to live up to the name. It’s satisfying and absolutely packed with flavour, plus really easy to make. Let’s coooook!

This is a bit of a shortcut lasagna because I used store-bought pasta sauce. I recently started using Barilla sauces and omg, they’re so good! But I get that not everyone will have stocked stores close to home at the moment, so you can definitely make a sauce at home. There was an older lasagna recipe on the blog that had a sauce made with regular Indian tomatoes at the time, but I hadn’t flavoured it properly and the tomatoes released more water than I expected. Over the years I realised canned Italian tomatoes work much, much better for such sauces and have a more authentic flavour. So make sure you check the recipe notes for some options depending on what you have on hand!

I baked this lasagna in a loaf tin to use up a few lasagna sheets that I had. This makes the perfect meal for two, with very generous servings, or a smaller meal for four if you want to add salads or garlic bread to the table! Feel free to scale it up as needed, the recipe is really flexible and very make-it-up-as-you-go.

Ok let’s talk fillings! The lasagna layers are PACKED with stuff, no skimpy fillings here. I used spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli, onions and carrots, all sautéed in olive oil with some garlic. Use whatever veggies you like and can easily get at this time, there’s a lot of flexibility. Along with the sauce and cheddar cheese, there’s so much amazing flavour in here! It does take some prep to get all the veggies chopped and cooked almost all the way before you assemble the lasagna, but it’s not difficult at all. Check out the photos after the recipe to see how it comes together. Chop the veggies small so the lasagna layers are neater and easier to slice through. A few dollops of cream cheese through the layers are optional but the little creamy tangy bites are just so good!

All in all, this makes one very satisfying, very delicious meal and doesn’t leave you feeling faint like a lot of cheesy pasta dishes can! I hope you’ll try it 🙂

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Loaded Veggie Lasagna

An easy, cheesy lasagna with spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots and broccoli

Prep Time: 45 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Makes: 2 large servings

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Ingredients

  

For the veggies

• 3 tbsps Olive oil
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small bunch spinach, chopped
• 200 gms button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 small yellow zucchini, diced
• 1 cup chopped broccoli florets
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 2 tsps mixed dried herb seasoning
• Salt and pepper, as needed

For assembly

• 4 lasagna sheets (see notes)
• 2 cups pasta sauce (see notes)
• 1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, optional

Instructions

• In a pan on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil with a third of the minced garlic. Add the chopped spinach with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cook till it has wilted and darkened. Add to a bowl and set aside. Repeat with 1 tablespoon olive oil, another third of the garlic and the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and saute till the water has evaporated and the mushrooms have lightly browned. Add to the bowl with the spinach.
• Now in the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil with the last of the minced garlic, and add the diced onions. Fry till lightly golden, then add the remaining veggies along with the herb seasoning and another light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook till tender but not mushy. Taste and adjust seaoning. Stir in the cooked spinach and mushrooms and turn off the heat. As an option, I sometimes stir in 1/4th cup cream cheese after all the veggies are cooked, for a creamier filling. And you can also add the optional 1/2 cup between each layer like in step 5.
• Now you're ready for assembly! Preheat the oven to 180 C.
• Brush a light layer of olive oil all over the 9x5 loaf tin. Spread a very thin layer of the pasta sauce on the base and then place a lasagna sheet over it.
• Spread about 1/3 cup of sauce over the sheet, followed by about 1/2 cup of the veggie filling. Sprinkle on about 1/3 cup of cheese and 2 to 3 teaspoons of cream cheese in small dollops over the veggies.
• Over this, place a second lasagna sheet and repeat the sauce, filling and cheese combination until you have three layers with a total of four sheets. You may need to use a couple of extra sheets broken into pieces to fill up any gaps in the pan, depending on the size of the sheets themselves.
• On the topmost lasagna sheet, spread the remaining sauce and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the cheese has turned lightly golden and melted, the liquid around the edges of the lasagna is bubbling away and a knife poked into the noodles goes straight through, indicating that they're cooked. If the cheese is browning too fast but the pasta sheets haven't softened, you can loosely cover the dish with foil and continue baking.
• Let the lasagna rest for about 20 minutes to let the liquid get absorbed back in and for it to be easier to slice. Then use a sharp knife to cut into two large servings, or four smaller servings. Use a metal spatula to help take the slices out of the tin. Optionally, grate some parmesan and sprinkle some chopped basil over each slice. Dig in immediately! Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and in the freezer for longer, reheating in the oven or microwave as needed. Happy cooking!

Notes

Shop this recipe: Lasagna Sheets, Pasta Sauce

*Some lasagna sheets need to be cooked or soaked in hot water before using. Check the pack before you start. I've tried Barilla, Regia and Agnesi brands and have liked them all.

*I usually use Barilla pasta sauces, particularly the Napoletana version. If making your own sauce, heat 3 tbsps olive in a pan and add 4 to 5 minced garlic cloves and 1 finely chopped onion, frying it all till lightly browned. Add 5 to 6 diced tomatoes + 1/2 cup packaged tomato puree with salt, pepper and oregano. Bring to a simmer and let the tomatoes break down and the sauce thicken, then cool slightly before blending it with an immersion blender if you don't want it too chunky. If you have a can of Italian tomatoes, those work best instead of fresh tomatoes and puree.

*In the photos below, the spinach and mushrooms are layered on before the rest of the veggies but you can just mix them all up as written in the updated recipe. Feel free to also adjust the filling veggies to what you have on hand. I often swap the broccoli with zucchini, it's so good!

*Prep time includes prepping the veggies and grating the cheese. You can use pre-cut veggies and pre-shredded cheese if you prefer.

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