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This recipe for Whole-Wheat Vegetable Lasagna will blow your mind! Hearty, filling layers of zucchini, squash, mushrooms, homemade sauce and cheese!!!
I must admit that I have looked skeptically upon meat-less lasagna. Could it even be lasagna without the integral meaty flavor that permeates the dish? Would Whole-Wheat Vegetable Lasagna even be close to as delicious as its meaty cousin?
What I found when I stripped away the meat was a subtly fragrant vegetable flavor that allowed the cheese and herbs to shine! I found this hearty vegetable lasagna to be even more filling that my ultimate lasagna recipe! And just as delicious!
The zucchini was perfectly cooked, so that it had just a little crunch and zero of the sogginess that I hate; the portabella mushrooms added a meaty texture; my hearty, homemade tomato pasta sauce was the perfect consistency and balance of flavor; and the fresh herbs that I mixed into a generous portion of ricotta accentuated the vegetables. Perfection!
Even my husband couldn’t resist the beautiful layers of zucchini, squash, portabella mushrooms and cheese. Irresistible!
While I won’t be throwing out my classic lasagna recipe any time soon, I plan on making this healthy, vegetable version as an exciting option for years to come!
A few technical notes about the construction of this dish:
I really like the flat lasagna noodle because they allow me to layer in more vegetables in the same amount of space. If you cannot find flat noodles, then you will probably only be able to fit two full layers of vegetables. I also prefer to use fresh whole-wheat noodles because I like their texture, but if you choose to use dried, make sure to cook them until they are al dente prior to assembling your lasagna.
I thickened my sauce by using an additional can of diced tomatoes and cooking the sauce until it had the consistency of a thick stew. A thicker sauce will make the lasagna more cohesive because the vegetables have a higher water content than a traditional meat sauce. No one wants runny lasagna!
The use of a mandoline help tremendously by quickly and uniformly slicing the zucchini and yellow squash. If you do not have a mandoline be sure to plan a little extra time to either slice with a knife or with a vegetable peeler.
Whole-Wheat Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
- 8 fresh flat whole-wheat lasagna noodles, approximately 12” x 4”
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
- 8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
- 10 oz shredded fresh mozzarella this is sooo much better than the pre-shredded stuff
- 4 small zucchini sliced 1/8 inch thick
- 4 small yellow squash sliced 1/8 inch thick
- 3 portabella mushrooms sliced in 1/8 wide slices
- 3½ cups tomato pasta sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix fresh, chopped herbs with the ricotta in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Slice your vegetables and set aside.
- Place all your ingredients out around your 12x7x4 baking dish, and you are ready for assembly!
- Start by placing two overlapping lasagna noodles in the bottom of your dish, then spread about a third of the ricotta mixture on the noodles with a rubber spatula.
- Next layer your zucchini, squash and portabella mushrooms in three consecutive layers.
- Top the vegetables with sauce,
- And finally add a layer of mozzarella and parmesan.
- Repeat until the pan is filled ending with parmesan. I like to add a bit of extra cheese to the top layer for added yumminess! No one has ever complained. ?
- Bake 50 minutes in preheated oven.
WAS very excited to embark on this meatless lasagna journey. Unfortunately I must have taken a wrong turn here…. It was a flop.My vegetables we’re not tender in the least, ???? sauce offered little flavor, and due to the water content of the veggies it was slightly watery. I may not have layered enough and I was confused about what ” thick tomato sauce ” was. I used tomato paste. My kids didn’t complain though, that’s a positive.
Hi Marisa, Sorry for the disappointment. I do mean a thick tomato sauce like you would use on pasta, like this one here or this one. This will add the flavor I believe you were missing. If your veggies aren’t tender, just cook it a bit longer or slice them thinner. For additional flavor you can add herbs to the ricotta or on top of the veggies.
Oooooh I DO love cheese and herbs!! and whole wheat! yum!
So yum! It was sensational!
I love both meat and meatless lasagna. As long as it’s got globs of cheese and good texture from the veggies, I’ll devour it.
lol! Mounds of cheese are not optional in my house either!