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Looking for the best vegetarian lasagna recipe? You're in the right place. This Butternut Squash and Spinach lasagna will become one of your favorites! This lasagna is stuffed with vegetables and combines Ricotta, Parmesan, and Mozzarella cheeses to create the ultimate Fall and Winter comfort food.
This delicious veggie lasagna recipe is healthy, meatless, gluten-free friendly, and perfect for the Fall and Winter season. Because it uses butternut squash, it's a great choice as a holiday vegetarian main dish or just a holiday recipe. It's so good, it's popular with kids!
To me, this is a great recipe to make any time of year, but because this lasagna has butternut squash, it is surely a good holiday veggie main dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.
This vegetarian recipe uses butternut squash puree, which you can easily make by following my easy step-by-step tutorial: how to make butternut squash puree. Or, you can always buy pureed butternut squash at the store.
I also want to warn you that this is my most photo-intensive post yet with lots of step-by-step photos which I think are quite helpful to make this delicious vegetarian lasagna. So, if you want to go directly to the bottom of this post - just scroll down.
Cooking tips
- Use cooked lasagna noodles. Bring a large pot of water to boil, cook the noodles al dente, rinse each noodle with cold water and drain. This will guarantee the perfect texture!
- Make this vegetarian lasagna gluten-free! Use brown rice gluten-free lasagna noodles and follow all the recipe instructions as-is.
- For butternut squash filling, make your own butternut squash puree from scratch or use a store-bought version.
- Here is a great tutorial on how to cook fresh spinach - this recipe uses lemon juice and lemon juice which will pair well with the butternut squash, but you can also skip the lemon and/or lemon zest if you don't like it.
- No boil lasagna noodles. You can use no-boil lasagna noodles with this recipe! You might need to add about ½ cup of milk or water or vegetable stock to the squash purée, in addition to the milk called for in the recipe. (Thank you, Debbie, for your great tip!) You might also have to bake the lasagna for 10 extra minutes.
- Make this lasagna vegan. Use vegan Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses, then make vegan ricotta out of tofu and lemon juice using this recipe. (Thank you, Laura, for this wonderful tip!)
- Don't like vegetarian and want protein or meat? No problem. Add rotisserie chicken or cooked crumbled bacon in between lasagna layers.
I also tested this butternut squash and spinach lasagna with gluten-free noodles, and it works great! I used Tinkyada gluten-free brown rice lasagna noodles - almost the whole 10 oz package. So, yes, this recipe is gluten-free friendly, for sure!
Bake this vegetarian lasagna at 375 F covered with foil for the first 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes.
With this delicious meatless vegetable lasagna, you will have no leftovers!
How to make vegetarian butternut squash and spinach lasagna (step-by-step photos):
First, prepare the butternut squash filling. Using a food processor, combine butternut squash puree with Ricotta cheese, milk, salt, and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste, and add more salt, if needed:
Next, make spinach filling by mixing cooked spinach, Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, salt and pepper:
Prepare a baking dish - I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the bottom of the baking pan lightly with olive oil spray. Spread ⅓ of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese.
Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions, rinse with cold water and drain. Top the first layer of butternut squash mixture with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping - as you can see I used 3 noodles. Use as many noodles as you need for your baking dish.
Spread half of spinach filling over the cooked noodles.
Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese:
Top with cooked lasagna noodles:
Spread another layer (⅓) of butternut squash mixture:
Sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese:
Top with cooked lasagna noodles:
Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese.
Top with the final layer of cooked noodles:
Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining ⅓) over this final layer of noodles:
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining Mozzarella cheese (about ½ cup of Mozzarella):
Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil:
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.
Your veggie lasagna is ready!
Recipes with Butternut Squash
Since you're looking at this butternut squash and spinach lasagna, I assume you like butternut squash. Here are a few other delicious recipes using this wonderful ingredient. All these recipes are also vegetarian and meatless.
- Butternut Squash and Spinach Tortellini
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries
- Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole
- Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash, Pine Nuts, Caramelized Onions and Feta cheese
Butternut Squash Salads:
- Autumn Salad with Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seeds
- Butternut Squash Salad with Spinach, Pecans, Cranberries, and Pomegranate
Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients
Butternut Squash Filling:
- 2 cups butternut squash puree (about half of squash)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup milk or more, if needed
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus ⅛ teaspoon more
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Spinach Filling:
- 8 oz spinach (1 cup cooked spinach)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
Other Ingredients:
- 10 oz lasagna noodles cooked (for gluten free, use Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles)
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese or more
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese on top
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
Butternut Squash Filling:
- For this filling, you will need to have pre-cooked butternut squash puree. Using food processor, combine 2 cups of butternut squash puree with Ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste and add more salt, if needed.
Spinach Filling:
- Combine cooked spinach, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix, taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Note: The recipe I provide for how to cook spinach uses lemon juice and lemon zest which pairs nicely with butternut squash but you don't have to use lemon juice and/or lemon zest if you don't like it.
Cooking lasagna noodles:
- Bring a very large pot of water to boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water, drain. Using knife, trim noodles to fit your baking dish (if necessary).
How to assemble vegetarian lasagna:
- Prepare a baking dish - I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the lasagna dish lightly with olive oil spray. Spread ⅓ of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping (I used 3 noodles).
- Spread half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
- Spread another layer (⅓) of butternut squash mixture, then sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.
- Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with the final layer of cooked noodles.
- Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining ⅓) over this final layer of noodles, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese (about ½ cup of mozzarella). Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, paprika, basil.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.
Notes
Make it GLUTEN-FREE
- Use brown rice gluten-free lasagna noodles (or any other kind of GF lasagna noodles) and follow all the recipe instructions as-is.
How to use NO-BOIL LASAGNA NOODLES
- You can use no-boil lasagna noodles with this recipe! You might need to add about ½ cup of milk or water or vegetable stock to the squash purée, in addition to the milk called for in the recipe. (Thank you, Debbie, for your great tip!) You might also have to bake the lasagna for 10 extra minutes.
How to make it VEGAN
- Use vegan Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses, then make vegan ricotta out of tofu and lemon juice using this recipe. (Thank you, Laura, for this wonderful tip!)
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Only ingredient I didn't have in the pantry was nutmeg and I'm sure this would of added a punch to the creamy butternut squash mixture. Yum. My family licked their plates.
Just made this and we all loved it! Even the kids!
I’ve made this a few times and absolutely love it!! Made it for a party once and everyone asked for the recipe! It’s delicious 🙂 thank you!!
Lacking in flavour, I added an onion, 400g crushed tomatoes, 200ml of pasatta, a teaspoon of chilli flakes and a tablespoon of mixed Italian herbs... That fixed it, now a 5* recipe/!
It sounded great but was a bit gluey. I would maybe make the squash cubes with onion?
Would this freeze ok to bake later?
Made this for Meatless Monday tonight with a couple of tweaks. I had some pumpkin to use up, so pureed that instead of butternut squash. Also had fresh lasagne sheets and frozen spinach which worked great. Fantastic flavor and a 'keeper' recipe.
I made the spinach puree layers without adding the ricotta or milk. Just sprinkle a little milk on the final noodle layer. Also I didn't use foil as it came up with a lovely browned topping this way
I also agree to have one layer less of noodles.
Has anyone else tried this with steamed or slow cooked Butternut squash?
I have used steamed in the bag squash to make the puree and it worked out fantastically!
I made this tonigh! It was fabulous
So glad you enjoyed it!
Very Good. I used Banza chickpea oven ready noodles. The entire box. Made in large Pyrex (10x14x3). Added chopped chicken. And used a jar of Butternut Squash Pasta sauce poured over the entire casserole. Higher protein (20 grams), less carbs, and 12 servings under 400 calories.
Thank you, Debra, for such a detailed comment and sharing how you made this lasagna. So glad you liked it!
This was absolutely delicious.
Where I live, I could only get canned pumpkin. I was worried that with the nutmeg, it was going to taste like pie, but it didn't.
Based on some of the comments, I left out a layer of noodles and thought it was great that way.
Recommend.
Thank you, Sandra, for such a wonderful comment! I am glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it!
Does this recipe work with the no boil lasagna noodles as well?
Not sure, I made this with cooked lasagna noodles.
yes, it does... i tried it. just add alittle extra ligquid
Agreed - the taste was great but it was pasta-heavy. Next time I'll either increase the amount of ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, or just use fewer noodles and make in a smaller dish with bigger layers of fillings.
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I put this together last night and it seemed like there wasn’t enough of any of the fillings to layer in the dish. Should I double the quantities?
Yes, you can double the quantities of the fillings.
This recipe looks delicious! I was wondering if this could be prepared ahead of time and frozen. How well does it come out? Thank you!
This lasagna freezes well! Just assemble the recipe (without the baking part). Freeze the lasagna in an air-tight container (or covered air-tight). When you're ready to bake, bake in the oven-safe pan following the baking instructions in the recipe.
Do I defrost before baking?
Yes, defrost it before baking.