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.
- 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 spinach, Ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix, taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
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.
Nutrition
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.
Hello--I am wondering why you used cooked spinach. I typically use fresh spinach in recipes like this. Will fresh spinach work?
Thanks in advance!!
HI Joan! I've used cooked spinach because it was easier to mix it with the cheese. And, yes, you can use 8 oz of fresh spinach - but I would cook it until it starts to wilt and then mix with the cheese. Enjoy!
Would you please send a link to the pan that you use. I am having difficulty finding that size pan.
PS - My family LOVES this recipe. It is one of our favorites.
Sandra, thank you for your kind words about this recipe. This is an old pan of mine - I think it was Corningware brand - but I am not sure.
Sorry if I missed this in the post but I was curious if it can be frozen uncooked in a casserole dish covered with plastic wrap and tin foil?
Since this lasagna uses cooked lasagna noodles, it's a perfect recipe to make ahead and freeze. You can assemble the lasagna, freeze it in an airtight container (important!), and then heat it up whenever you're ready.
Can it be prepared a day or two ahead & then baked?
Yes, you can assemble the lasagna, cover it air-tight, refrigerate it and then bake it in the following 3 days.
Super tasty. I ended up needed a lot more filling than the recipe calls for to make a 9x13 pan with substantial layers. Next time I will at least double the amount right off the bat.
Lauren, so happy to hear the recipe was enjoyed! Thank you for the feedback about using a pan of a different size - it will be helpful to other readers, too.
I’m making this today but wonder if I can use an egg instead of mil for the ricotta mixtures
I would just skip the milk.
Just made this for our dinner and it’s sumptuous,filling and satisfying.
I’ll make this again and again!Happy Camper! Yummmyyyyy!
I am so happy the recipe was enjoyed! Your comment makes me happy, too! 🙂
Sooo good! Made it for my meat loving family and they couldn't get enough of it, a firm family favourite. I added pinenuts to the top!
So glad this recipe was enjoyed! What a great idea to add pine nuts - love them!
Made this tonight and added mushrooms and zucchini. We all loved it! My 9 and 12 yr old kids said they liked it better then traditional red sauce lasagna! We will definitely be making it again!
Brianne, I am so pleased the recipe was a success! And, I just love your additions: mushrooms and zucchini!
Would this work in a 9x13? Or would the measurements all be off?
It will work in a 9x13 baking dish just fine! As long as this 9x13 is a high-sided (about 3 inches) baking casserole dish - it should work just fine. You might have to prepare and use just a few extra lasagna noodles, just in case.
I forgot to spray baking dish with oil
Will lasagna stick and burn?
Also, will it reheat well?
No, the lasagna will not stick, as long as you added the butternut squash filling layer first into the casserole dish (and not the noodles). This reheats really well! It also freezes well.
Hi. I’ve just made this and cooked it tonight. It looks delicious. You mentioned that it freezes well. How do I go about freezing the leftovers and reheating ?
Thanks in advance for your help.
I would freeze the leftovers in an airtight container. And, then when it's time to reheat, I would just add frozen lasagna (without thawing it) to an oven-proof baking dish and bake it at 400 F for about an hour (or maybe more) until it is fully reheated. You can use a food thermometer too - the reheated lasagna should reach at least 165 F.
This sounds so delicious and I would love to make it. I'm wondering though, could you simply leave out (or is there a substitute for) the ricotta? I very much dislike ricotta/cottage cheese and normally only use mozza and parm when I make lasagna but as you've got ricotta mixed into the butternut puree and with the spinach, I wanted to get your thoughts.
Hi Lenore! You can skip Ricotta cheese altogether, and add extra butternut squash puree instead to compensate.
Or, you can use cottage cheese or goat cheese instead of the Ricotta.
This looks lovely but isn't vegetarian without substituting the parmesan cheese for a vegetarian version so be careful. Not all cheeses are vegetarian unfortunately.
You could make a bechamel or white sauce with cheese and mix it into the squash and spinach instead of the ricotta.
Good idea!
Can this be made with no boil lasagna noodles?
Christina, I have personally not made this with no-boil lasagna noodles. However, several previous commenters did and said it worked. Those are their tips:
1) If you use no-boil lasagna noodles, You might need to add about 1/2 cup of milk or water or vegetable stock to the squash purée, in addition to the milk called for in the recipe.
2) You might also have to bake the lasagna for 10 extra minutes.
ENJOY!