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: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Makes: 2 large servings

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Ingredients

  

For the veggies

• 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
• Olive oil to cook the veggies
• Salt and pepper, as needed

For assembly

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

Instructions

• In a pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsps olive oil with a third of the minced garlic. Add the chopped spinach and cook till it has wilted and darkened. Add to a bowl and set aside. Repeat with the mushrooms, cooking them till the water has evaporated and the mushrooms have lightly browned. Add to the bowl with the spinach.
• Now in the same pan, add another 2 tbsps of olive oil with the remaining minced garlic, and add the diced onions. Fry till lightly golden, then add the remaining veggies. Cook till tender but not mushy. Add a very light sprinkling of salt and pepper to each component of the filling, but don't overdo it because the cheese and salt are seasoned too.
• Now you're ready for assembly! Preheat the oven to 180 C.
• Spread a very thin layer of the pasta sauce over the base of a 9x5 loaf tin. Soak one lasagna sheet in the hot water for about 10 seconds, then lift it out, shake off the excess water and place over the sauce in the loaf tin.
• Spread about 1/3 cup of sauce over the sheet, followed by the spinach, mushrooms and veggies. Spread 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 soaked noodle and repeat the process until you have three layers of filling, enclosed between the noodles.
• On the topmost noodle, spread the remaining sauce and finish with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 30 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.
• 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. 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

*I used Barilla lasagna sheets and they perfectly fit the pan, but you can always cut yours to size if they're larger. Check on the pack if it specifies boiling or soaking them in hot water before assembly. Some can be used as is.

*I love 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.

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

*This recipe can be scaled up for more servings.

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