I’ve been making this easy vegetable lasagna for years. It’s layered with a smooth butternut squash puree, shiitake mushrooms, a creamy white sauce, and melty cheese to make an irresistible layered lasagna noodle you’ll love digging into.
This recipe is brought to you by DeLallo Foods
It’s not even Christmas yet and I’ve already been looking toward the new year and listing out a few of the goals I plan to hit next year.
One of the biggies in my new year goal making sessions is to eat more meatless meals. It’s easy for me to do for breakfast and lunch, but where I tend to run into a road block is when I make meatless dinners because that’s not exactly my husband’s idea of a meal. But I’ve found it’s a whole lot easier to convince the family to join me on my veggie train when I’m serving dishes like this vegetable-loaded lasagna where nobody ever misses the meat.
I used to make this vegetable lasagna every.single.year when I hosted the volunteer holiday party for my fave animal rescue, where everything had to be served vegetarian. We were an animal rescue, not an animal eatery.
So did anyone (aka my husband) miss the meat? Not a chance! Why not? Because this Italian dinner recipe is completely delicious! That, and the layers of cheese don’t hurt to convince any doubting Thomas too.
The Best Noodles for Lasagna
Noodles made with semolina flour make the best lasagna because they hold their shape and have the best texture. Semolina flour is a protein-rich flour made from hearty durum wheat and the wheat DeLallo uses for almost all its pastas.
And even better, Delallo makes a no-boil, oven-ready lasagna noodle that’s guaranteed to cook up to an al denté texture that holds up well to layering for lasagna. Their noodles also come in a regular lasagna noodle and a gluten-free lasagna noodle.
see more: 30 Easy Comfort Food Casseroles To Make In November
How to Make This Vegetarian Lasagna
This vegetarian lasagna shows off the tasty vegetable combo of butternut squash and shiitake mushrooms. This is how I cook my butternut squash in the Instant Pot, but I’ve also shared how to cook it on the stove top below too.
Shiitake mushrooms have a meatier texture and a delicious, almost smokey flavor. They’re a great compliment to the smooth butternut squash and are the secret to making this veggie lasagna more appealing to the meat lover (my husband).
This Lasagna’s Secret Ingredient
The secret flavor buzz to this lasagna is blitzed almond amaretti cookies or DeLallo’s almond biscotti processed into the butternut squash purée to lend a balanced sweetness to the squash.
Like classic lasagnas, a simple white sauce of butter, flour, and whole milk (also known as a bechamel sauce) softens the no-boil noodles as they cook, but with an added fresh flavor thanks to the blended addition of fresh basil.
see more: 17 Friday Night Homemade Pizza Recipes To Make This Fall
Gimme the Cheese Please
I’ve upped the gooey factor by adding dollops of ricotta cheese plus shredded mozzarella and a bit of Parmesan cheese for the ultimate cheese pull.
I gotta give my man something to girth on besides meat, right?
Recipe Ideas to Make This a Meal
- Italian Chopped Salad With Marinated Chickpeas + A Giveaway
- How To Make An Awesome Antipasto Salad Platter
- Garlic Butter Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- How To Make Classic Tiramisu
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Vegetable Lasagna With Butternut Squash and Shiitake Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds butternut squash , cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 amaretti cookies or almond flavored biscotti , crumbled
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms , sliced
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 13 ounces DeLallo no-boil lasagna noodles
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and season with salt and pepper and then pour the water into the skillet. Cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. You could also cook it in the Instant Pot. Transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti or biscotti cookies and blend until smooth.
- Wipe out your skillet and add the other tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté for 8-10 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan, wipe out the pan, and set aside.
- Heat the pan over medium heat and melt the butter then add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly about 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg and another 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender and add the basil. Mixture will be hot so place a towel or cloth over top of blender so the mixture doesn’t explode. Blend until smooth then return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Lightly butter a 13 X 9 X 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles then 1/3 of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup ricotta cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times, ending with a layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil sprayed with cooking spray and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for about 15 more minutes or until the top is golden. Remove from oven and let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More Italian Recipes You’ll Want to Make Too
- Vegetarian CrockPot Lasagna Soup
- Sausage And Ricotta Lasagna
- Baked Sausage And Cheese Rigatoni
- Turkey Bolognese Lasagna Toss
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This post is sponsored by DeLallo Foods. As always, thank you for reading and supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. There are affiliate links in this post of which I receive a small commission. All opinions are always my own.
