EASY VEGETARIAN LASAGNE
You won’t miss the meat in this delicious, easy-to-assemble vegetarian lasagne!
I’ve used veggies that are widely available in the cooler months, so this is a great lasagne for this time of year. A summery version is definitely on the cards for a later date though!
Rather than béchamel sauce, I’ve used a mixture of cottage cheese, regular cheese and egg, with a little milk for better consistency and aioli for extra flavour. Yum!
This is one of those rare times when you can easily use wholemeal pasta without compromising on taste or texture – so why not grab the extra nutrients while you can? 😊
If vegetarian meals aren’t your thing, check out the recipe notes for some meaty additions. Otherwise, give my regular lasagne recipe a go instead.
EASY VEGETARIAN LASAGNE
You won’t miss the meat in this delicious vegetarian lasagne! It’s super easy to assemble (no béchamel sauce to make!) and uses veggies that are readily available in the cooler months.
Ingredients
LASAGNE
- 1 large capsicum (any colour)
- 1 large red onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 500 g fresh or frozen butternut pumpkin (pre-diced is good) (1lb 2oz)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 700 g passata (1lb 9oz)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder
- 250 g cottage cheese (traditional or with chives) (8.8oz)
- 2 cups grated Colby cheese, divided (200g)
- 1/3 cup milk (80ml)
- 3 Tbsp aioli
- 1 egg
- 4 wholemeal or regular instant lasagne sheets (approximately)
- 100 g baby spinach (3.5oz)
ROASTED BROCCOLI
- 1 large broccoli
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
- Zest of 1 small lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 190ºC (375ºF) fan bake. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
MAKE LASAGNE
Dice capsicum into small pieces. Finely slice red onion and crush garlic. Peel pumpkin and dice into small pieces (if not pre-diced).
Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Add capsicum, onion, garlic and pumpkin and cook until just soft (5-10 minutes). Stir in passata, sugar, oregano and stock powder. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Place cottage cheese in a medium bowl and mash with a fork to make it a bit smoother. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese, milk, aioli, egg and a little salt and pepper until well combined.
Cover the base of an oven-safe dish (28cm x 17cm / 11in x 7in) with lasagne sheets - roughly 1 1/3 sheets per layer. Spread one third of the veggie mixture over the top, followed by one third of the spinach and one third of the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat to form two more layers. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling, and pasta is cooked.
PREPARE ROASTED BROCCOLI
Meanwhile, cut broccoli into florets. Arrange on prepared tray. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. When lasagne has cooked for 15 minutes, add broccoli to oven (below lasagne) and roast for 10 minutes. Add almonds, lemon zest and lemon juice to broccoli. Roast for 10 more minutes.
SERVE
Remove lasagne from oven; leave to sit for 5 minutes. Cut into individual portions and serve with broccoli.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: Try a Pinot Noir.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use gluten-free stock powder. Make sure aioli is gluten-free and use gluten-free lasagne sheets.
INGREDIENT SWAPS / NOTES: Full fat cottage cheese works better than lite cottage cheese in this recipe. I used wholemeal lasagne sheets and thought they were just as good as regular lasagne sheets on this occasion (I’m not usually a big fan of wholemeal pasta).
MAKE IT MEATY: For a non-vegetarian option that’s a little different to regular lasagne, add some sliced, cooked sausages or shredded roast chicken to each layer.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store individual portions in containers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.
