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.
absolutely delicious!
i added a bit of mushrooms and skipped the bell peppers
I also used 2% cottage cheese and regular mozarella
very good!
Great to hear, Harveen!
Hello from Australia!
I have been trying to cut down my meat intake and if you keep giving us recipes like this, it’s going to be very easy.
This lasagne was fantastic. It doesn’t leave you feeling sluggish like traditional lasagne dose with the heavy cream.
Many thanks.
You’re welcome, Natasha!
Hi Kate,
I have made this lasagna a handful of times and everyone loves it! I wanted to make the lasagna ahead of time but noted in some comments that the lasagna can release moisture. Could u cook just the vegetables and freeze? Then when it’s time to make the lasagna, defrost the veggies and squeeze out any moisture before assembling? Thanks again for another amazing recipe!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Sorry! Let me know if you try it.
Can I use marinated artichokes instead of plain canned ones? I have some in my pantry. Thank you.
Sure! I hope you love it.
If I want to use traditional noodles instead of no boil, do you have a recommendation on how to prepare the noodles? How long should I pre-cook the noodles prior to assembling the lasagna?
You will want to follow the gluten free noodle instructions – cook them some. See in the notes.
question: The recipe calls for 1 cup of carrots, a medium zuchinni and red pepper. That adds up to much more than 3 cups. 3 cups or amount listed on ingredient list?
Hi Deb, Exculding the onion, it should be roughly 3 cups. If you have a bit more than that, it should be fine you just might have a harder time fitting it in your dish. Be sure to put a pan under it if that’s the case.
I made this for visiting family this week and everyone loved it! My dear DIL is a vegetarian, as am I. The lasagna was our main course; the meat-eaters had it as a side along with grilled chicken and roasted brussels sprouts. I prepared the lasagna the day before and refrigerated it overnight. The next day I gave it some extra time in the oven and it was perfect. Thank you for a wonderful recipe that I will definitely make again!
You’re welcome, Patty! That’s great to hear.
I make this with the blender once a week and it’s delicious! I’ve sometimes replaced spinach with kale or basil with parsley air been without zucchini. Doesn’t matter! It’s all good!
I love this recipe! I had no idea what the make for a vegetarian family with a new baby and came across this. I did a 5x batch to have enough for them and us, so I just carefully diced the veggies and didn’t process them. Everyone raved about it and I’m making it again today for my family.
My ENTIRE family loves this. From my youngest picky carnivore to vegetarian mother in law.
I add zucchini and any other veggies I have on hand and I use store bought sauce to make it a quick and easy meal.
Ever prepped this a day or two in advance and then baked it?
I find it can release liquid. I know some have tried it, and didn’t mind the results. It may not be as structured.
Hi!Can you make the vegetable lasagna a couple of days ahead?
Thank you! Can’t wait make it!
This makes great leftovers!
Delicious. I used a 9 X 13 pan because I had no deep dish 9 X 9. It’s a bit of a challenge without a big food processor! I made it at my Mom’s using her 2 Cup chopper to blend in batches.
Can I make this 2 days ahead, store in the refrigerator then reheat?
This makes great leftovers. Let me know how it works for you!
Made it the day before Christmas, served as part of a huge food offering Christmas Day. Served again Boxing Day, family absolutely loved it. I added more Parmesan cheese on top for the last reheat, so delicious. Thanks for this beautiful, tasty recipe. The cottage cheese really adds flavour and texture to this dish.
I thought this recipe took a long time to make for a very bland meal. My 9 year old daughter refused to eat it. My wife and I both agreed that I did not need to make it again. We are not vegetarians and maybe that was the problem. This took me nearly 3 hours to make. Not happy.
BTW, I am the cook in our household. I have been cooking nearly all our meals for 20 years, so I am not new to the kitchen.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love it recipe, Mark. I appreciate your feedback.
Must’ve not been doing it right as I did not have an issue.
DELICIOUS RECIPE!!
Thank you, Melissa! I’m excited you enjoyed it.
Made for vegetarian guests and went down a treat, even for fussy kids. I also changed cottage cheese for ricotta. Much prefer this to other vegetable lasagnes I have made in the past. Beautifully light but satisfying. Thank you!
You’re welcome, DP!
Right? I was just thinking that maybe he wasn’t using great ingredients because mine came out fantastic. Like I am totally blown away by just how good it is. Mark, maybe it is the ingredients you used or maybe you are just so used to the way lasagna tastes with meat that this tasted off? I don’t know but that’s a shame.
I procured all of my ingredients super fresh in Little Italy NYC including their homemade marinara sauce and got all of my veg at this great organic market on the UES. Best lasagna I have ever made…hands down and I too am not usually a veggie lasagna person.
I’m excited you loved it, Nancy!
I used a manchego sheep’s cheese (more digestible for me) and instead of ricotta I made a vegan version with:
~2 cups almond flour
~3/4 cup water, or more to desired consistency
~2 tablespoons lemon juice, from roughly 1 lemon
~1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
~1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
~1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and onion powder
*Blend together in Vitamix or blender*
Turned out delish (insert chef’s kiss)!
This will be my third or fourth time making this recipe. This time is for Christmas dinner! It’s the one thing I make that always turns out great.
I love that! Thank you for your review, Pat.
I’ve made this recipes many times. I really love it. Only issue is my lasagna always comes out so messy. It’s very liquidy making it hard to cut into slices. Is there any way to fix this?
Hi Kate, are you cooking your vegetables until caramelized? If your vegetables aren’t cooked enough, they will add more moisture.
LOVED it! Bur found that a 9 x 9 pan, at least mine, was a bit too shallow so will use a larger pan next time. And there will be a next time. Love your recipes. Hugs to Cookie.
Does the cottage cheese make it runny?
I don’t find it does. You can use ricotta if you prefer.
Hi. I’ve been making this lasagna for years. My one problem is it tends to come out very runny making it hard to slice and serve. I still love it but I’m wondering if there is something I can do to correct this.
Hi Katey, Are you cooking your vegetables long enough? If here appears to be liquid left in the pan, you need to cook more. Does that help?
This recipe looks amazing, thank you for sharing. Any idea how much protein is in each serving?
Hi Sara, the nutritional information is below the notes section of the blog.
I have made this recipe in the past and love it! I’m making it today for a Christmas Eve Party. I need to assemble it and then bake it 4 hours later. Can it sit in the fridge for that amount of time before baking?
Hi, how did it turn out for you?
Yum yum yum yum yum!!!
I made this last night for Christmas visitors…it was delicious!! I had some fresh mushrooms, so added them to the sauté…yummy, yummy recipe!
Kate’s not lying. This is literally the best lasagne I’ve ever had. Thanks Kate!
You’re welcome, Todd!
I make this all the time! I typically add a pound of turkey Italian sausage into the sauce for the carnivores, but it’s perfect with or without. This recipe has never failed me, to the point where we are having it for Christmas Eve this year. Thank you!!
I love this vegetarian lasagna recipe. I’ve made many lasagna recipes and this is the best and easiest. I’ve made this at our church’s soup kitchen several times (feeding over 60) and it’s one of their favorites. I’m making this today for Christmas dinner.
WOW, yes everyone loved this. One friend, who is notoriously “choosy” (doesn’t that sound better than “picky?” asked if she could have some of the leftovers.
I made a few adjustments but the mind-blowing part for me was the veggies mixed IN the cottage cheese ( I did use ricotta) mixture. I used to make a separate layer of them, but they didn’t hold together. This was much better since they were buried in such cheesy goodness they were barely noticeable to those who are not veg fans.
The other big AHA for me was not using eggs. It was so fine without it, even though it was a bit less firm. I’ll admit to tossing in some parm because that’s what I do THANKS! This will be my go-to from now on.
My sister in law made this for Christmas Eve…OMG – amazing!! My very picky son and carnivore husband both really enjoyed it as well….my son even took it to work for lunch!! This is definitely going to be regularly showing up on my dinner table!
I’m delighted it was a hit, Laura. Thank you for your review!
Can this be frozen ?
If so – should it be reheated from frozen ?
or allowed to defrost before reheating ?
Hi Cheri, I don’t have go-to recommendations for freezing this. I know others have and didn’t mind the results. I would suggest searching the comments to see what others recommend.
Love your recipes!
Thank you, Mary!
How could you make ahead? Do you reccomend storing unbaked in the fridge and bake next day? Or do you recommend baking it and reheating it next day?
Hi Hazel, I would suggest seeing what others have tried. I prefer this best right away as I find it can release moisture otherwise.
Love this recipe and love all of your recipes! My family and I have made so many!
I froze half – any recommendations on reheating?
You can gently reheat in the oven or microwave. I’ve done it in my toaster oven too!
Loved this lasagne! It cooked to a beautiful golden shade with sauce bubbling up from the sides of the dish. Didn’t have a 9 x 9 pan so used one that was 8-1/2 x 11-1/2 and everything fit perfectly!
Will make again; perhaps add mushrooms!
My Husband and I made the Best Vegetable Lasagna We skipped the cottage and the cheeses we used were Gouda and Edam cheeses. We added Baby Bella Mushrooms and a red and yellow pepper to the vegetables
Excellent recipe. I have made it several times. I just use my favorite store bought pasta sauce instead of making from scratch and regular lasagna noodles, baked in a 9×13 pan.
I’m glad it turned out so well, Radhika!
Really good. My meat eating husband loved it. I followed the recipe exactly. Except I doubled the chili flakes and used dried Basil. This recipe isn’t super seasoned. But it was still good. And I’m sure you could tweak jt winner in my house
Delicious! I followed the instructions almost exactly (used kale instead of spinach) and the lasagna was a hit. My only observation is that it took me waaaaay longer than 30 minutes to prep (probably closer to 1 hour).
Can this be made ahead and frozen before cooking? I’ve seen several recipes for vegetarian lasagna you can freeze, without cooking any of the vegetables… but I love all your recipes. If I can freeze, I’m assuming that I would still cook all the veggies 1st. Also, can I use a combo of fresh mozzarella and
I know others have tried it, but I prefer it best right away.
This turned out well. I don’t have a food processor, and my husband doesn’t like puréed things, so I just put the cottage cheese and veggies in as separate layers. I also had to strain the veggies, because they never browned and had too much liquid. Glad I did, because it was still very juicy.
I have trouble printing your recipes, it takes up 3 pages & the print is small.I just found you & I would like to print & make some of your recipes. Please can you change to a easier way for printing.
Hi Chris, Are you using the print function in the recipe card?
I’ve made this lasagna at least 10 times and I just love it. It is absolutely delicious, easy to put together (after the first time) and everyone loves it. It cooks up beautifully, is fairly healthy and the vegetables and cottage cheese mixture is divine. Thank you so much.
Freezing: Although I’ve never tried to freeze it before cooking, I will say that I freeze leftovers frequently and they taste great microwaved for lunch etc. Thank you Kate. I’m in love with this lasagna.
You’re welcome, Toria!
Very good! This was absolutely delicious. I did end up subbing Cascone’s original pasta sauce to save a bit more time while cooking. Also added some mushrooms to the vegetable mix. Vegetable mix is the star of the show though, and it is very very good. I was hesitant on the carrots being in it, but carrots are a bit essential IMO after having it. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Also first time using no boil noodles, and while not quite as good as boiled noodles I didnt notice a huge difference considering the time/effort saved.
Can this be made with fresh pasta noodles? I wanted to try my make lasagna sheets using my kitchen aid mixer.
It might! Let me know if you try it.
Have you cooked and frozen this???
HI Leslie, I would suggest to see what others have tried in the comments. I don’t have instructions. Sorry!
Is this recipe freezer friends please?
I don’t have a freezer recipe for this. Sorry!
I think this is an excellent recipe. Delicious and a unique take on our usual vegetable lasagna. The ingredients filled my 9×9 dish to the brim, so I used a foil lined baking sheet underneath. The comments about moisture were heeded by me, so I followed the author’s instructions to “caramelize” the vegetables when sautéing. I especially like how the vegetables are blended with the cottage cheese (I used 50% ricotta b/c I had it in the fridge). So, overall excellent and worth the time to prepare it.
Based on researching many recipes and reviews, I chose this lasagne to serve for NYE, along with a meat lasagne. I followed the recipe exactly and it was fantastic. Even the meat lovers preferred the veggie lasagna. This is by far above any other veggie lasagna we have tried.
That’s great to hear, Patricia!
Loved it!
Great to hear, Aleksandra!
Was really really good thanks…I added mushrooms to mine also
This lasagna is amazing! I used cauliflower and mushrooms in addition to the pepper, onion, and carrots. Pulsing the vegetables in the food processor is a great idea, especially for picky eaters. I had extra filling, so I used it in my omelet this morning. Thank you so much Kate!
You’re welcome, Lori! Thank you for you review.
This was the best lasagna ever! Followed the recipe to a “T”. We had guests over and everyone loved it. We cannot figure out what makes the recipe so fabulous. We’ve made veggie lasagna before and all the recipes were status quo. As we’re sitting here eating leftovers, my husband and I are contemplating whether it is because a food processor was used (that helped meld the flavors) or if it’s the way the veggies were sauteed. I guess we’ll never know… Try this recipe! You won’t be disappointed.
I’m excited you loved it, Erin! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Wow. Definitely the best lasagna I’ve ever had, hubby loved too. I have a meat-loving family so I had to add Italian sausage, which I know is a no-no for reviews, but it would still be amazing without. (Looking forward to trying it meatless with my vegetarian girls!) The veggie/cottage cheese layer is genius; holds together so well, is delicious, and makes it more kid-friendly. Versatile too, whatever veggies you have, and adjustable for food sensitivities. Wound up having enough for a 9×13 pan. Well worth the effort, will be making often!