Best Vegetable Lasagna
Seriously the best veggie lasagna! This meatless lasagna recipe is packed with bell pepper, zucchini and carrots, sautéed until golden on the edges.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I set out to create the best vegetable lasagna recipe. Here it is! This vegetarian lasagna is cheesy (of course), and loaded with vegetables, spinach and a simple tomato sauce.
If you have any meatless-meal skeptics in your life, this lasagna will change their mind. I’m sure of it.
This lasagna is based on my spinach artichoke lasagna on the blog and the roasted eggplant lasagna in my cookbook. I love those less-conventional vegetarian lasagnas.
Yet, I wanted to offer a classic vegetable lasagna suitable for holidays and weeknights, and this is it. The tomato sauce is the same across all three recipes, but the vegetables vary.
For this recipe, you’ll chop bell pepper, zucchini and carrot into very small pieces and sauté them until they’re nice and golden on the edges. That caramelization brings out so much more flavor. Then, add spinach to the skillet and cooked it down for a few minutes so it doesn’t get too soggy.
The Best Vegetable Lasagna
Five reasons to love this recipe:
- You can easily adjust the vegetables to suit the seasons or your pantry (see recipe notes).
- The sauce is made from scratch with basic ingredients. It only takes a few minutes to make.
- Use no-boil noodles and you don’t have to bother cooking them. Just layer them up!
- I recommend cottage cheese instead of ricotta, which has more protein and flavor (trust me).
- You can even make this recipe gluten free and/or vegan. See the recipe notes for details.
The end result is a super flavorful, nutrient-dense, veggie-packed lasagna. This lasagna might not be the quickest weeknight option around, but it is a reasonably simple recipe that will absolutely satisfy your comfort food cravings.
Enjoy, and please let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! Your feedback is so important to me.
Craving more vegetable-packed casseroles? Here are more of my favorites:
- Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
- Lentil Baked Ziti
- Better Broccoli Casserole
- Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole
Watch How to Make Vegetable Lasagna
Best Vegetable Lasagna
Seriously the best veggie lasagna! This lasagna recipe is packed with bell pepper, zucchini and carrots, sautéed until golden and tender on the edges. Recipe yields one 9-inch lasagna, enough for 8 slices.
Ingredients
Veggies and spinach
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 to 6 ounces baby spinach
Tomato sauce (or substitute 2 cups prepared marinara sauce)
- 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil + additional for garnish
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Remaining ingredients
- 2 cups (16 ounces) low-fat cottage cheese, divided
- ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles*
- 8 ounces (2 cups) freshly grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- To prepare the veggies: In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the carrots, bell pepper, zucchini, yellow onion, and salt. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the veggies are golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Add a few large handfuls of spinach. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach has wilted. Repeat with remaining spinach and cook until all of the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, to prepare the tomato sauce: Pour the tomatoes into a mesh sieve or fine colander and drain off the excess juice for a minute. Then, transfer the drained tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor. Add the basil, olive oil, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Pulse the mixture about 10 times, until the tomatoes have broken down to an easily spreadable consistency. Pour the mixture into a bowl for later (you should have a little over 2 cups sauce). Rinse out the food processor and return it to the machine.
- Pour half of the cottage cheese (1 cup) into the processor and blend it until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to large mixing bowl. No need to rinse out the bowl of the food processor this time; just put it back onto the machine because you’ll need it later.
- Transfer the cooked veggies and spinach mixture to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until they are more finely chopped (but not puréed!), about 5 to 7 times, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of whipped cottage cheese. Top with the remaining cottage cheese, then add ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (to taste) and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine. Now it’s lasagna assembly time!
- Spread ½ cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9” by 9” baking dish. Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top (snap off their ends to fit, and/or overlap their edges as necessary). Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over the noodles. Top with ¾ cup tomato sauce, then sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top.
- Top with 3 more noodles, followed by the remaining cottage cheese mixture (we’re skipping the tomato sauce in this layer.) Sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top.
- Top with 3 more noodles, then spread ¾ cup tomato sauce over the top (you may have a little sauce leftover) to evenly cover the noodles. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Wrap a sheet of parchment paper or foil around the top of the lasagna (don’t let it come into contact with the cheese). Bake, covered, for 18 minutes, then remove the cover, rotate the pan by 180° and continue cooking for about 10 to 15 more minutes, until the top is turning spotty brown.
- Remove from oven and let the lasagna cool for 15 to 20 minutes, so it has time to set and cool down to a reasonable temperature. Sprinkle additional basil over the top, then slice and serve.
Notes
*Lasagna noodle recommendations: I like to use DeLallo’s Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles (affiliate link) and Whole Foods’ 365 No-Boil Lasagna Noodles. See below for gluten-free suggestions.
Change it up: Feel free to play around with the vegetables here. You’ll want to use about 3 cups chopped veggies total (excluding the onion). Mushrooms or butternut squash might be nice!
Make it gluten free: Substitute gluten-free lasagna noodles. Choose no-boil (oven ready) noodles if possible; if not, cook them according to package directions. (Fair warning, I tried using DeBoles brand of no-bake lasagna noodles and they weren’t done cooking in the time specified here. Reheated leftovers were ok, though.)
Make it dairy free/vegan: Double the recipe for my vegan sour cream (also available in my cookbook, page 217) and use 2 cups instead of the cottage cheese. Skip the step where you would blend the cottage cheese and just barely blend the spinach/veggies into the sour cream. Omit the mozzarella and use all of the tomato sauce for the final layer. Serve the lasagna with a dollop of additional sour cream on top or, better yet, my basil pesto.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi Kate! I adore your recipes and want to make a meatless lasagna, but cottage cheese is definitely not my thing. I love ricotta, though, and really want to make a lasagna with it. Any suggestions for how I could use ricotta instead of cottage cheese here? Same amount? Thank you!
Hi Katherine! You can replace them 1:1. I hope you love it!
Thank you! Am making it for Christmas Day. Your recipes feature prominently in our home :)
Hi Katherine! I was wondering how your dish turned out when using ricotta cheese in the recipe. My family can’t stand cottage cheese LOL. Thank you!
Ricotta cheese works well here too, Abigail :)
I made your vegan/dairy-free version and it’s delicious! Will definitely be in the dinner rotation. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Sarah!
I dont use the word hate often, but my family can not stand the site of cottage cheese. They have no idea there is cottage cheese in the recipe and they tell me all the time this is their favorite lasagna and ask me to make it all of the time. You really can not tell that its cottage cheese. When you whip it in the food processor it even looks like ricotta cheese :)
Aloha from Maui, Cookie & Kate, What is so wonderful about this recipe it is so easy to modify it, and a great way those vegtab
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I too pass on using cottage cheese, I used Ranchero Fresco, it is a mild fresh white cheese from Mexico with a wonderful texture melted, I also added a little bit of feta cheese to it!
Both times I’ve made this, my no boil noodles lift out near the end of cooking, and I have to push them back down, and cover with foil again to get them all the way cooked. I feel like the timing/temp may be off because I never have this happen with my regular meat lasagna that I make with no boil noodles. I also feel like I used way more sauce to get those noodles covered…as they won’t cook unless they are covered with wet ingredients…
Shannon don’t use ‘no boil’ sheets instead use fresh lasagne sheets. They do not require precooking and once tasted you will NEVER go back to shelf lasagne. Alison
Amazingly flavorful. I made this last night and my 14 year old daughter secretly complained to my husband that I wasn’t using meat. Well…. We all found it delicious and my daughter said it was the best lasagne she’s ever had. She had seconds, gave it two thumbs up and said we.can add it to our favorite recipe collection! I swapped out the pepper for some corn since I’m the only one who likes peppers in my house. Thank you so much for the recipe!
That’s great! I’m glad it won her over, Erin. I appreciate your review!
Looking forward to making this for Christmas! Do you think it would work to use goats milk cheese in place of cows milk? Someone in the family has an allergy to cows milk.
Hi! That should work too. I hope it’s a hit.
If you were to use boil noodles, how can you make that work with this recipe?!
Hi! Make them until almost cooked through and that should do the trick!
I LOVE this lasagna! I am making it for Christmas Day and wondering if you have any make ahead tips?
Hi Alicia, sorry I don’t have any great tips for you. You could try getting the components ready and then assemble later? Let me know if you try something that works!
Making with kale along with the tiny amount of spinach I have left!
Let’s hope it is just as good as the original recipe…couldn’t find spinach yesterday.
I am making this for Christmas. Can I cook all the veggies today and put them in the fridge overnight? Thank you and Merry Christmas
Hi! Sorry for my delay. What did you decide to do, Teresa?
Hi there. I’ve made this delicious recipe before. I am making a double batch for Christmas. I am preparing it early but am wondering if I can assemble it ahead? Should I assemble and cook a day early or can I assemble and then bake on Christmas Day? Just unsure with the no boil noodles. Thank you!
Hi Jennifer! Sorry for my delay. What did you end up doing?
Hi. I just made this and smells so good!
It’s for tomorrow night. Can I store in fridge and cook tomorrow? Or should I cook and reheat tomorrow?
Thank you
Hi! What did you end up doing, Barbara? It makes great leftovers!
Love this recipe. I have made it several times and it always turns out delicious. I usually prepare it the day before cooking, then just let it sit out for an hour before baking. This recipe is the easiest and most delicious lasagna I have ever made. Thank you. : ))
Kate – I just want to thank you for this lasagna recipe and all the others on your blog. The hummus, the breakfasts, etc. I’ve been cooking a lot more and everything you post is delicious, easy, etc. Merry Christmas and all the best in 2021.
I’m happy you loved it, Jennifer! I appreciate your review.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It’s just perfect. The taste and consistency – everything! We loved it and I can’t wait to make it again and perhaps even try some other vegetables in the mix. Next I will try your veggie burgers as I have never really found a good recipe for that.
This lasagna is seriously delicious!! It was somewhat labor intensive but totally worth it. Also, there was no way that would have fit into a 9 x 9 pan. I used a 9x 13 pan and it was perfect.
I agree with this! Also, I wanted to use all the lasagna noodles I had, so I needed to use a bigger pan anyway.
Aptly named. I’ve made a lot of veggie lasagnas. None of them rose to “Best in Class” status. But I persisted. We have a winner.
Thank you for this recipe.
Yes! I’m excited this one is the winner for you, Louis. I appreciate your review!
I just cooked this tonight and it’s outstanding! It’s the best veggie lasagna I’ve had.
Hi there! I made this lasagna with homemade pasta, homemade bechamel sauce, and homemade tomato sauce. I wondered if I could make it a day ahead, but decided to make it the day we made the lasagna. It turned out to perfection! My daughter is the vegetarian and she had 2 helpings! Thank you so much for this recipe, it is now part of our annual lasagna making process.
Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing, Teresa. I love that you have an annual lasagna making process. How fun!
Hi Kate!
I prepped the ingredients on Wednesday. Then I assembled one really large tray and a smaller one on Christmas Eve. I cooked them both according to your directions on Christmas Day. Rave reviews all around and fights over who got the leftovers. The cottage cheese remains a secret Thank you!!
This is a big hit with my family! They want me to make it for our gatherings every time. It’s so tasty! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Tanya! Thank you for your review.
This lasagna has really nice flavour and with a food processor, it’s quite easy to make. My vegetarian daughter, who’s quite picky, liked it because she did not find it overly tomato-y. It also got the seal of approval from my meat-loving husband.
I would warn others to make sure their 9″ pan is deep. I was worried that it would overflow, so I put a cookie sheet underneath it. However, miraculously, there was no overflow!
Would definitely make this one again!
Hi Kate, I have been a big follower of your recipies especially the Thai red curry !! We all love it
I don’t have ricotta or cottage cheese for lasagna… can I substitute with cream cheese, Parmesan or cheddar ?? Thank you.
Hi! You can omit, but I highly recommend it.
The Lasagna was perfect, I used Mushrooms, Spinach, green and red peppers . I used Rao’s pasta sauce instead of making it, next time I shall try making the sauce myself
Sounds delicious, Kamy! Thank you for your review.
The Lasagna was perfect, I used Mushrooms, Spinach, green and red peppers . I used Rao’s pasta sauce instead of making it, next time I shall try making the sauce myself. I added some Italian seasoning to the cooked vegetables, which made it super flavorful.
This dish is fantastic! It’s my favorite on your site. My husband and I love it! I couldn’t believe how good the cottage cheese tasted in the lasagna, and I admit, I was skeptical, on using it vs. ricotta. I’m happy I gave it a chance because it’s so good! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes, Kate! I’ve been making many.
I’m glad you loved it, Megan. Thank you for sharing.
Made this New Year’s Eve and it was SO GOOD! The red bell pepper was just enough, sweet but not overwhelming. The cottage cheese is a wonderful healthy alternative for ricotta. This will be going into our monthly rotation.
Thank you for sharing, Tina! I’m glad you loved it.
Made this recipe today and it is indeed the Best Vegetable Lasagna Recipe! Delicious. I didn’t have cottage cheese so I used ricotta and I had made my own tomato sauce so didn’t need to use the one in the recipe. Everything else was exactly as stated and I’m so thrilled to have finally found a good veggie lasagna. I’m going to try the spinach/artichoke one next. this is really a keeper. thanks so much Kate for sharing this. My only problem is trying not to eat more than one serving!!
Wow, this was excellent! I did use ricotta (although next time I’ll give the cottage cheese a try) and store bought sauce, but I was still surprised at how quickly this came together! My husband had two helpings and even the kids enjoyed it (one of whom is in a ‘anything green is offensive’ phase). Definitely a keeper!
I’m excited you loved it!
Yum. Added a ‘Beyond Meat’ Brat (chopped); and ‘Quorn’ Meatless Grounds. For more plant protein and meat texture and flavor.
Just made this and it will be a regular for our family. Everyone loved it. I subbed frozen corn for the bell pepper since I am sensitive. May try cauliflower next time. I used Rao’s pasta sauce with some fresh basil. I also used a 9X13 baking dish. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Amazing recipe! We have five kids, and it’s hard to find a dish that they all get excited about…especially with vegetables. Have made this twice now, and all of their plates were clean. Our oldest son is already requesting it again. Thanks, Kate, for bringing joy to our tummies!
Hooray! That’s wonderful. Thank you for your review, Jessica.
Also another one of my favourite recipes and I 100% agree this is the best lasagne ever
I’m so pleasantly surprised by this recipe! I’m trying to eat less meat and classic lasagna full of beefy goodness is one of my favorite things. However, I found that I didn’t miss the meat at all! The texture of the vegetables satisfies that same bite that ground beef usually gives. I highly recommend making the marinara sauce over using a jar, to really make it to your taste. This is definitely gonna be a dinner staple.
Could you use half the cottage cheese? If so do you need to replace with more veggies?
Hi Jess, I’m not sure. You might throw off the moisture balance, which is important for ensuring that the no-boil noodles sufficiently soften. Replacing with extra veggies might work. If you give it a try, please report back!
I tried it :) I just used 250 grams of cottage cheese and it was fine :) I do like it the way you have it in your recipe though :) it comes out more creamy :)
Hi,
Any one have any idea on how I could make this without a food processor? Broke student here who loves cooking anyway :)
Hi! If you have a blender, you can carefully pulse. Or, cut as finely as you can.
Kate, this should definitely be in the next cookbook. It’s quite literally the tastiest lasagna I’ve ever had. So fresh and delicious. Made a triple batch for a family reunion. They loved it. My wife dislikes cottage cheese and ricotta but she totally loves this recipe.
On another note: our Love Real Food cookbook is falling apart from use. It’s our go to cookbook. Other vegetarian cookbooks have obscure and hard to find ingredients. Never had a problem with finding the ingredients for your recipes.
Thank you! I’m delighted you loved it and have got so much use out of my cookbook.
I made it and it was outstandingly delicious. However I didn’t have all the ingredients in the house. I used Colby monterey mixture of cheese instead of mozzarella and used a lot more garlic
Thank you, Mindy! I’m happy you loved it.
Hi Kate! First time here and I started with this recipe. I have to say this is fantastic! I have two cottage cheese non-believers in the house and they love it. Thank you!
I love these – I’ve also made the veggie mixture and put them in stuffed shells. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Faith!
It is by far the best vegetarian lasagna, my wife loves it and has requested it several times now.
Loved it!
Great to hear, LeAnn!
We’re vegetarian and we have tried a lot of lasagnas at restaurants and people’s homes but this is by far one of the best lasagnas I’ve ever had!! Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Shital! I’m delighted you love this one.
Hi there. Loved this recipe and have done it several times. For me it works better by doing some changes. Firstly I mix passata so that is a bit more of a runny tomatto sauce. Then I have to pre soak the pasta sheets for 5 min before. Lastly It always takes more time to bake my lasagna but I also make a big tray rather than a small one. Everyone loves it!
My family loved this recipe. We are trying to eat less meat and this was a huge hit. Thank you!
Best Lasagna ever!
Hooray! I’m glad you agree, Teresa. I appreciate your review.
I made the roasted eggplant lasagna from your cookbook and loved it! The cottage cheese spinach mixture is so tasty! You can’t even tell it’s cottage cheese. It’s so creamy and luscious. My husband loved it and had two huge pieces :)
This recipe was delicious! Didn’t change a thing. It’s become a staple for our family!!
I love it! Thank you for your review, Vanessa.
Hi Kate!
this a favorite recipe in our house love having go to tasty veggie meals. We will be welcoming a new baby in the house soon an I am looking to fill my freezer with meals for after baby. Can this recipe be pre-made and frozen? If so how? Thanks so much!
Melissa
Hi! I have tested it and still working on the best way to freeze this. It may be a little watery, but some haven’t minded the results that way.
Thanks so much!
8 oz of cheese measures 2 cups? So does this Receipe “The Best Vegetable Lasagna” call for 1 or 2 cups cheese?
Thank you for clarifying?
Im excited to try this for guests this weekend. Sue
Hi Sue! You need two cups, or 16 oz. liquid to dry are different weights. I hope that helps!
Can this be made ahead, frozen and then baked? Or could it be cooked and frozen for later used and reheated? Any thoughts are appreciated.
Hi Sandy! I don’t have specifics for you yet. I have tested it some, but haven’t nailed it down. I would suggest to see what others have tried. It can get watery as does most dairy once frozen.
Can this be frozen after its been cooked? If so how woukd you reheat after you let it defrost?
Hi! Others have tried it and not minded it. I haven’t found the best way to do that just yet to guarantee results.
Can I freeze it?
Hi Gabrielle, I would suggest looking at what others have tried. I’m still working on what is best for it to not be watery.