Vegetable Lasagna is what you make when you want to load up on veggies with something that’s filling, comforting and so moreish, you don’t even think twice about it being Meat Free!
This incredible Vegetarian Lasagna is made with a creamy ricotta and spinach filling as well as layers of roasted vegetables and a homemade tomato lasagna sauce. It’s one of my favourite fridge clean out recipes because it can be made with just about any roastable veggies!
Why you’ll love this Vegetable Lasagna
It is hard to top an epic, meat lasagna made with layers of slow cooker ragu, béchamel sauce and oodles of cheese. But if there’s anything that can give it a run for its money, it’s this Vegetarian Lasagna. Here’s why you’ll love this so much:
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Roasted Vegetables – Roasting trumps stove sautéing when it comes to bringing out flavour in vegetables;
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Jar Roasted Red Peppers – with a touch of smokiness and sweetness, this is an optional extra that I love to add because it adds that extra special touch;
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Customisable – use whatever roast-able veggies you please;
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Spinach and Ricotta layer – It just takes this over the top! But it’s optional – you could easily just double up with another layer of roasted vegetables;
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Simple homemade lasagna sauce – skip the jar, this homemade tomato sauce is simple and so good!
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Cheese – goes without saying that melty cheese is all part of a great lasagna experience!
How to make Veggie Lasagna
There are a few components to putting together a Veggie Lasagna so we love that it makes a BIG batch and that it reheats 100% perfectly!
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Roast vegetables;
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Mix up ricotta and spinach;
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Make the simple tomato lasagna sauce;
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Layer the lasagna as follows:
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Smear tomato on base (to stop lasagna sheets from sliding)
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Top with lasagna sheets
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Roasted vegetables
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Some tomato pasta sauce plus cheese
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Another layer of lasagna sheets
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Spinach and ricotta filling for lasagna
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Top with lasagna sheets and pasta sauce
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Sprinkle with cheese. Ready to bake!
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Vegetarian Lasagna ingredients – vegetables
Roasted Vegetables
I used pumpkin, zucchini and onion as my roasted veggies, but feel free to use whatever you have / want. Anything roastable is fine, just chop it so it cooks in the same time.
I cut mine pretty chunky because otherwise they cook too quickly in the oven – I like to roast veggies for at least 20 minutes minimum to get the maximum benefit of caramelisation.
Roasted Red Peppers
My “special ingredient” – Roasted Red Peppers! Basically, it’s capsicum / bell peppers that have been fire roasted so they have that gorgeous smokey flavour.
It’s sweet, soft and slippery and it adds an awesome extra dimension to this lasagna. Yep, I take the easy route and buy it in a jar but if you’re a keen bean, make your own!
Vegetable lasagna is sensational served fresh out of the oven, but it’s also one of those dishes that are terrific the next day. The flavour of those roasted veggies and that spinach ricotta layer develop overnight, and just a quick reheat in the microwave is all that’s required to bring it back to the original molten state.
So, fellow Carnivores. Have I convinced you to give this a go??? 😜 – Nagi x
My favourite Meat-Free Comfort Foods
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Chickpea Potato Curry – big curry flavours made with pantry staple spices!
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Browse the Vegetarian recipes collection
Vegetable Lasagna
Watch how to make it
Sometimes it helps to have a visual, so watch me make this Vegetarian Lasagna recipe!
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Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables (Note 1):
- 500 g / 1 lb pumpkin , 2cm / 4/5" cubes
- 2 large zucchinis , cut into 2cm / 4/5" chunks
- 2 onions (any type) , cut into wedges
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- Salt and pepper
Spinach Ricotta:
- 250 g / 8 oz frozen chopped spinach , thawed
- 500 g / 1 lb ricotta (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup / 50 g grated parmesan (or 3/4 cup shredded cheese)
- 1 egg
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg, optional (fresh or powder)
- 1/2 tsp each Salt and pepper
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small onion , finely chopped (any, I use brown)
- 700 g / 24 oz tomato passata (Note 3)
- 400 g / 14 oz crushed tomato
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml water
- 3/4 tsp each dried thyme and oregano (or basil, parsley)
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (can omit / adjust to taste)
- Salt and pepper
Lasagna:
- 330g / 11 oz jar roasted red pepper strips, drained (Note 4)
- 375 g / 13 oz fresh lasagne sheets (Note 5)
- 300 g / 3 cups shredded mozzarella (or MORE!)
Instructions
Roasted Vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Place vegetables on the tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Toss.
- Roast for 25 minutes, turning at 15 minutes, until tender and browned.
- Remove from oven, loosen from tray with spatula while warm (can stick when cools).
Sauce:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 minutes until golden.
- Add passata, crushed tomato, water, dried herbs, chilli, salt and pepper. Stir. Simmer on medium low heat for 20 minutes. Adjust salt at the end. *Add a teeny touch of sugar if it's a bit sour, depends on quality of tomatoes used.*
- Remove from stove and let cool for 5 minutes before using.
Ricotta Mixture:
- Place ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.
Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F.
- Spread a ladle of tomato sauce on the base of a large baking dish (Note 5).
- Cover with lasagna sheets, tearing as required to fit.
- Top with roasted vegetables, scatter over red peppers. Spoon over 2 1/2 cups of Sauce, then sprinkle with half the cheese.
- Cover with lasagna sheets. Spread over Ricotta mixture.
- Cover with lasagna sheets. Pour over remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden. If using dried lasagna sheets, stick a knife in the middle to ensure it's cooked - if it needs longer, cover and stick it back in the oven.
- Rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Store leftovers per notes - brilliant reheated!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This Vegetarian Lasagna recipe was originally published February 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare!
Life of Dozer
Whenever I go away, I never pack until the night before. Because the sight of a suitcase reduces Dozer to this:
Hi Nagi – looking at cooking this for a friend who is allergic to eggs. Can you omit the egg from the spinach and ricotta mix or use something else as a substitute? Thanks!
Not a huge fan of vegetarian lasagna as it can be a bit watery and flavorless, but this is definitely the best lasagna I’ve ever made! The roasted vegetables are crisp and tasty and with the sweetness of the pumpkin (or sweet potato which I subbed), the smokiness from the roasted peppers and the creamy spinach ricotta the flavor and texture combo is perfect. Hands down the best and will be making it for my mom’s 70th tomorrow!
Not a huge fan of vegetarian lasagna as it can be a bit watery and flavorless, but this is definitely the best lasagna I’ve ever made! The roasted vegetables are crisp and tasty and with the sweetness of the pumpkin (or sweet potato which I subbed), the smokiness from the roasted peppers and the creamy spinach ricotta the flavor and texture combo is perfect. Hands down the best and will be making it for my mom’s 70th tomorrow!
Oh man – this exceeded my expectations. I wasn’t that excited to make it, but needed some more veggie options for the week and this was so good. My husband went back for seconds and asked for the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I used sweet potato, eggplant, zuchinni and capsicum and it was delicious. I definitely needed to add sugar, which I forgot to do, but thankfully the sweet potato alleviated the sourness of the passata!
A new family favourite!
Even the ‘meat eaters’ went back for seconds.
I will definitely be adding this delicious recipe to my repertoire.
Nagi nails it again!
Thanks Jacqueline!! N x
This was my first vegetarian lasagna. A great recipe and amazing flavor. One thing I will do differently next time is buy the fresh lasagna sheets. I used the no-boil dried type and put the lasagna in, forgetting I needed to cover it and cook longer to fully cook the pasta. After 25 minutes, I placed aluminum foil on it and it took another 30 minutes for the pasta to reach al dente. But it still tasted delish, just took longer.
I am happy that you enjoyed it Claudia! N x
Hi Nagi,
How would I go about substituting frozen spinach with fresh? What would be the amount of fresh spinach that would render the right amount for this recipe?
Thank you 🙂
I have found that 500 grams of fresh spinach should yield 250 grams when wilted! N x
Hi Nagi
This recipe looks fantastic, but this time I am wanting to incorporate a bechamel/white/cheese sauce to satisfy a craving. Do you have any suggestions on how I could do this? I am thinking maybe removing the spinach and ricotta layer and doing two layers of the roasted veg, and layer the white sauce on these? Or will this remove the lasagna’s structural integrity haha? Thank you.
Hi Nagi, could I do the unspeakable here and use a few jars of pasta sauce (instead of make my own)?! On a tight timeframe mid-week and looking for a shortcut x
Hi Ainsley – it would be much better if you make a single or double batch of my Napoli sauce and keep that on hand in the freezer for quicker midweek meals (just thaw in the microwave or overnight in the fridge!) Recipe here in my Malfatti recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/malfatti-italian-spinach-ricotta-dumplings/#wprm-recipe-container-64484
This beats my old ‘go to’ vegetarian lasagne hands down – no contest! Roasting the vegetables is such a brilliant flavour improvement. Plus the big batch allows me to freeze portions for future meals – love it! I can’t wait to try this one out on my friends. Thank you Nagi!
I am so happy you enjoyed it Sally! N x
Without doubt the best vegetarian lasagne recipe I’ve made yet. Even my teenagers, who were “can I have a small portion, I’m not very hungry” before I served it, came back for seconds. A big hit with three generations of my family.
Thanks Brian – I am happy you enjoyed it! N x