Description
This Easy Vegetable Lasagna Primavera is loaded with fresh veggies including zucchini, mushrooms and spinach. It is light and healthy and takes a half-hour to get into the oven thanks to using purchased sauce and oven-ready noodles.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 small zucchinis, diced (about 12 ounces)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning herb blend
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta
- 16-ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 large egg
- 1 25-ounce jar marinara sauce
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch lasagna baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, zucchini, onion, carrot, mushrooms, Italian Seasoning, ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often until the vegetables are softened and any liquid has evaporated, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in basil.
- Meanwhile, mix ricotta, spinach, egg, the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.
- Spread ½ cup marinara in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer on 3 lasagna noodles (they will expand when they cook.) Add on half of the vegetables, spreading evenly. Top with half of the ricotta-spinach mixture, spreading evenly. Spoon on 2/3 cup sauce. Top with ½ cup cheese. Repeat with another layer of noodles, the remaining vegetables, the remaining ricotta, 2/3 cup sauce and ½ cup cheese. Place the remaining 3 noodles on top and spread the remaining sauce over the top ensuring the noodles are moistened with the sauce. Do not top with cheese. Cover the lasagna with a layer of parchment paper and then cover with foil.
- Bake until the lasagna is steaming hot, the top layer of noodles is fork-tender and the sauce is bubbling along the edges of the baking dish, about 50 minutes. Remove foil, top with the remaining cheese and bake until the cheese is melted, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Let cool 10 to 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Ingredient Note: This recipe can be made with regular lasagna noodles if you do not have no-boil oven-ready noodles. Boil lasagna noodles according to package instructions until al dente, then drain them well, rinse and pat them dry with paper towels before layering into the lasagna.
- Reheating: To reheat the baked lasagna, place in a 350°F oven, covered with foil, for 35 minutes until steaming hot all the way through.
- Feeze Ahead: This lasagna can be built and then frozen up to one month ahead. Follow instructions through step 4 to assemble and cover the lasagna with parchment and foil. Then wrap tightly with two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze flat. To bake, remove the plastic wrap and bake the frozen lasagna at 350°F for 1 hour 50 minutes. Then continue with instructions for removing the foil and topping with cheese to finish baking.
- Variations: Substitute other veggies in the sauté such as yellow squash, eggplant, and red or green bell pepper. Or add some spice by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes to the vegetables or use an arrabbiata sauce for the marinara. And if you are looking for a creamier texture to the cheese mixture, feel free to use full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese in place of the ricotta.
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 lasagna
- Calories: 378
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 38 g