Let’s jazz up your dinner routine with a twist on a classic: vegetable lasagna with white sauce! This hearty dish is like a colorful garden on your plate, packed with layers of creamy goodness and vibrant veggies.
Whether you’re feeding a hungry family or planning a cozy dinner for two, this recipe strikes the perfect balance between comfort and nourishment.
White Veggie Lasagna
This vegetable lasagna with white sauce is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. It’s easy to make and comes with layers of creamy white sauce, cheese, garden vegetables, and tender lasagna noodles. The best part about this dish is that you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.
Here is Why This Recipe Works
- It offers a lighter, fresher twist on a classic comfort food. Give yourself a break from the usual heavy meaty dishes.
- It lets you enjoy a hearty meal while sneaking in extra veggies, making it a win-win for everyone.
- Veggie lasagna is a healthier choice that is lower in saturated fats compared to traditional meat lasagna.
The Ingredients
- Produce: Mushrooms, butternut squash, leek, spinach, tomatoes, oregano, rosemary, parsley, garlic, olive oil.
- Pantry: Dry lasagna noodles
- Pantry seasonings: Salt, pepper, paprika.
- Dairy: Milk, Cream, butter, Pepper Jack cheese.
- Condiments: White wine or chicken broth.
Ingredient Substitutions
For ingredient substitutions in this recipe, you have several options to customize the lasagne.
If butternut squash isn’t available, pumpkin or sweet potatoes can be excellent substitutes. Swap the leeks with onions or shallots if needed and instead of spinach, use Swiss chard or kale.
Instead of Pepper Jack cheese, use Mozzarella Monterey or Gruyère between the layers and in the sauce.
Variations
Say goodbye to the usual red sauce routine and hello to a creamy white lasagna. These variations use a rich bechamel to take traditional pasta bakes to a whole new level. Whether you’re swapping in zucchini or getting creative with Mediterranean flavors, the instructions are easy to adapt.
Vegetable Lasagna with Zucchini
Throw in some thinly sliced zucchini with your mushrooms and other veggies. Give them a quick sauté with the mushrooms to let them release some of their moisture.
Add some fresh basil to the herb mixture.
Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagna
Substitute butternut squash and mushrooms with sliced eggplant and roasted red bell peppers. Use Mozzarella cheese for a milder flavor. Add fresh basil and thyme into the layers for a Mediterranean twist.
Layered Pasta Bake with Summer Vegetables
Replace butternut squash and mushrooms with thinly sliced yellow squash and carrots or any other summer vegetable you have on hand. Sauté red onion and bell peppers. Use Fontina cheese or mozzarella in the white sauce.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the lasagna noodles are cooked al dente to prevent them from becoming mushy during baking.
- Allow the lasagna to rest for 10-15 minutes after baking to set and make slicing easier.
- Use foil sprayed with non-stick spray to cover the lasagna while baking to prevent the cheese from sticking.
- If you don’t want to make a bechamel sauce, purchase a jar of Alfredo sauce for a shortcut.
Storage Instructions For White Vegetable Lasagna:
Refrigerator: Once cooled to room temperature, tightly cover the lasagna with aluminum foil or transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezer: For longer storage, it can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Reheating Instructions:
If the lasagna is frozen, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Once thawed, reheat individual servings in the microwave, or bake in the oven at 350°F until warmed.
For more creative twists on lasagna, check out our chicken broccoli lasagna, seafood lasagna, or chicken Alfredo lasagna.
Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce
Ingredients
For the Lasagna Noodles
- 12-14 pieces of dry lasagna sheets
For the Béchamel Cheese Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 garlic cloves minced or grated
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- 12 ounces pepper-jack cheese shredded (divided)
For the Filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 8 ounce chunk of butternut squashed sliced in 1/4-inch slices
- 1 large leek (white and light green only) thinly sliced
- 2 -3 ounces fresh spinach leaves chopped
- 4-6 Roma tomatoes sliced into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- Dusting of paprika optional
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Do not over cook, they should be al dente. Drain and place on an oiled baking sheet while preparing the sauce and vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking sheet with oil spray.
To make the Béchamel Cheese Sauce:
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant – stir continuously to avoid burning. Add the flour and salt. Whisk and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, cream and wine one cup at a time, whisking after each addition. Bring to a boil, stirring continually while it thickens, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add 2 cups of the shredded pepper jack cheese stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth and creamy. Cover and set aside while preparing the vegetables.
Prep the Veggies
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes until slightly soft and they have released their liquid. Remove from heat, drain on paper towel-lined plate and cool.
- When preparing the vegetables keep them separated into individual bowls or plates. Chop the fresh herbs and combine them together in a small dish. For assembling the lasagna there will be one layer with butternut and mushrooms, one layer with leeks or onions and one layer with mushrooms and tomatoes. A tablespoon of the fresh herbs and ⅓ of the remaining cheese will be sprinkled on each layer.
Putting it all together:
- Begin by scooping ¾ cup of the cheese sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish. Add 4 of the noodles, overlapping to cover the bottom.
- Add enough of the butternut squash to cover the noodles and add one-half of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the chopped fresh herbs and ⅓ of the remaining pepper jack cheese.
- Cover with 4 more lasagna noodles. Spread another ¾ cup of sauce over the noodles and add the leeks and spinach. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the herbs and ⅓ of the pepper jack cheese. Add another 4 noodles, cover with ¾ cup of sauce and add the remaining mushrooms and the sliced tomatoes and the remaining herbs . Spread the rest of the cheese sauce over the tomatoes and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Cover the dish with a sheet of foil that has been sprayed with non-stick oil spray and transfer to the oven. Place a sheet pan or foil on the rack below the casserole in case there are drips bubbling over.
- Bake for 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- When the pasta is rolled out you could either cut the lasagna noodles or cut 3 sheets the same size as your baking dish to make 3 layers of noodles.
- Homemade pasta will cook much faster than store-bought pasta. They should cook just long enough to take the ‘raw flour’ taste out, this will take from 45 to 60 seconds but we recommend doing a taste-test.
- Mushrooms have a lot of water in them which if they are used without sautéing may cause the dish to be too wet when baked. Sautéing them lightly will improve the finished casserole.
