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.
Really tasty lasagne! Loved it so did the family. Definitely one to be repeated time and time again. I will try different veggies to have a change in taste but I expect it to be as good.
I make this every year for the holidays, and sometimes in-between. It is my and my husband’s favorite lasagna recipe. I had never made lasagna with cottage cheese until I tried this, and don’t miss the ricotta at all.
Oh my goodness this was such a big hit on Christmas Eve had a couple of vegans. I used ground red pepper instead of flakes and they say had just enough bite to it. I myself could not eat it as I have GERD. Do you have a white sauce I could try instead of tomato sauce?
This dish is super-delicious! Served it at Christmas as the vegetarian main dish and everyone loved it!
It’s very good but I added oregano
Italians use oregano as there main spice and French use tarragon as there main a spice. I also used fresh Roma tomatoes and pecorino Romano turned out spectacular!!
Thank you for the great veggie lasagna
If making this in a 9×13 dish do i need to double recipe?
9×9=81 total square inches. 9×13=107 total square inches. In order to double you’d need a dish that will hold 162 total inches (81+81=162). You could probably get by making a whole recipe + one half recipe, but doubling is going to be too much for 9×13.
Better than any meat lasagna I’ve ever made. The cottage cheese absolutely makes it better than using ricotta. I halved the recipe and used a 5×9 pan. It was amazing. Making it again tomorrow.
I typically follow the recipe as written, but put it in a 9 x 13. I can’t seem to make it all fit in a 9 x 9.
I have made this recipe dozens of times. Always a big hit. Everyone wants the recipe. The cottage cheese instead of ricotta really makes a difference.
It was good really good. I added portobello mushrooms. I processed my veggies to long and I should have added more cheese. I will make again.
Made this for my family for Christmas and it was a huge hit! We like spicy so we added some red chilli flakes in it and it was sooooooo yummy!
This lasagna was so good that I’m preparing it for a second time! It’s so full of freshness. Thank you Kate!
Hello, the cheese should be 16 ounces if it’s 2 cups.
2 cups of cheese is 8 oz per package
Nope! you are comparing weight oz to volume cups. 8 oz of shredded cheese will yield 2 cups!
Can you saute the veggies the day before?
Can you prepare this lasagna and bake it the next day?
Excellent, though I did make a couple of changes. I roasted the veggies on a parchment lined sheet pan at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then layered the spinach on top and roasted an additional 5 minutes. Subbed smoked mozarella for the low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella. Delicious – definitley a keeper!
I don’t have a food processor (apartment living!) can I use a vitamix or something else get the veggies the right size?
The Vitamix is also used as a food processor! I do this all the time with mine!
Hi! I doubled this recipe and am confused by the baking time—this enormous lasagne will cook in 30 minutes? Is that an error? I’ve never used no boil noodles before—will cooking longer turn them into mush or something? Thanks!
Freeze it?
I tried this recipe randomly and had to share it with all of my friends. Literally everybody who’s tried it ended up loving it. Our whole friend group keeps making this lasagna repeatedly. Absolutely delicious, so easy to make, full of healthy veggies, good amount of protein, and easily reheatable. 10/10. I will keep recommending it to everyone. Thank you for sharing it!
No meat-eater ever misses the meat in this vegetable lasagna! I’ve made it many times over for company, and everyone goes back for more. I’ve tried it with sauce from a jar and making it as described. Definitely worth it to make the tomato sauce!
Delicious lasagne, but took me 2 hours to prepare , excluding the cooking time Not sure if this is just me.
It took me ages too, not sure how long exactly as I had to stop a couple of times in the middle to attend to my toddler. Definitely well over an hour, probably was two. In my experience, all recipes massively underestimate the time needed to prep, usually by at least half. Sure, if I was a professional kitchen worker I could cut veg in seconds, but the ordinary person will take much longer.
Made this twice. Used 1%cottage cheese and skim mozzarella both times. First time made it with the veg in the recipe and jarred marinara but second time with mushrooms instead of carrots and jarred arrabiata instead of marinara. First time was above average, but the second one was out of this world. Highly recommend making this with Arabiatta, it’s great with a kick to it. The mushrooms also totally fooled my husband, he asked when I bought ground beef! lol! Gave it a nice earthy and meaty taste
This really is the BEST Vegetable Lasagna. The unique details you put into creating this recipe made all the difference in making this lasagna stand out. Made it for pre Super Bowl game and it was enjoyed by all. Thank you!
I loved the tomato sauce components, but was pretty underwhelmed overall by the flavor and texture of this dish. I followed the recipe to the letter except for adding a teaspoon of red pepper flakes because I really felt like it needed more seasoning than the quarter teaspoon and some salt and pepper.
I’d like to try this recipe again, but I think I’ll make the following modifications:
1) I won’t pulse the vegetables and cottage cheese, but will just mix them once the veg is cooked. I might also cook the veg a little bit less time to keep a little bit of crispiness to it before it goes into the oven.
2) I think it could really benefit from some garlic, red onion, oregano, parsley, and a lot more red pepper flakes.
Thanks for sharing the recipe with us.
I never pulse the veggies or cottage cheese and it comes out great everytime!
This is the best veggie lasagna that I’ve ever made. I used smoked mozzarella and shredded Monterey Jack on top. Also subbed wild mushrooms for the zucchini for that “meaty” flavor. I used Rao’s Arrabbiata sauce (2.5 cups) for spice and extra red pepper flakes and extra garlic. thank you!!
perfect! not watery at all, I would make extra of the tomato sauce next time.
Extremely tasty. This is the only recipe I use for veggie lasagna.
Can I make ahead, refrigerate, and cook next day?
I did not understand this recipe at all, I did not use my marinara sauce the recipe did not say anything about it, it was on the list but it did not say when to add it so I made it without the sauce.
You have a choice of making your own sauce with the tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes OR you can substitute the prepared marinara.
Take a look at your recipe then you will see what Iam talking about
I made your vegetable lasagne twice now and it’s been a huge hit. I did end up making a small change or two though. I had left over pesto and added it (approx 1/2 cup) to the vegetables. I also used more cheese just to use up the whole piece. Took it to another level! I’ve shared this recipe with many friends by now. Thanks for all your amazing recipes.
I love your recipes! Im a dietitian and share them with my clients all the time. I haven’t made this one yet.
Can you assemble this recipe a day ahead of time even with the no/boil noodles?
Thanks!
Hi Alyssa, so glad you enjoy the recipes and they work for your clients! Yes, you can assemble ahead of time when using no boil noodles. It’s perfect for a make ahead meal to have ready to pop in the oven for dinner.
Can I freeze the veg lasagna? If so before or after I bake. Also can I use regular cottage cheese rather than low-fat and grated parm instead of mozzarella or maybe shredded mozzzarella
Hi Barbara, yes you can freeze the lasagna. Freezing before baking will yield the best texture, just defrost prior to baking. You can use regular cottage cheese instead of low fat, but the mozzarella is going to give it that cheesy texture.
Another terrific recipe from Cookie and Kate! My wife found this while looking for a multi-night meal. She called the result “Minestrone Lasagna.” I made a couple changes, I cooked the tomato sauce I always cook. The local markets don’t carry shredded mozzarella, maybe because fresh mozzarella is inexpensive and sold everywhere. I sliced it thin and used it in place of the shredded. I grated some parmesan over the top.
This is a delicious, filling lasagna. No one will miss the meat. In addition to the freshly grated mozzarella on each layer, I sprinkled fresh mozzarella “pearls” which adds stringy cheese yumminess. The recipe yielded more than my 9×9 pan could hold. I increased the fresh tomato sauce by half and added more shredded mozzarella to make two 9×9 pans, freezing one before baking. Thank you Kate for your recipes that are always So good and never disappoint.
Hi. I made this tonight and the taste was really good but unfortunately it was a sloppy mess. For the vegetables, I used onion, capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach. I cooked the vegetable for a long time so that the liquid was burnt off. I’m not sure why it was so moist, may be the mushrooms. I would love some input. Thank you
Sorry that didn’t work for you! Cooking down the vegetables and letting the spinach cook down should prevent it from getting soggy. Did you follow the instructions for tomato sauce or did you substitute with a pre-made marinara? Depending on the consistency a pre-made sauce, that could add extra moisture too.
Great recipe.
Not sure why the building of the layers is written is the most confusing way possible instead of a normal list
I’ve made this several times and it’s a hit! I like to use carrots, mushrooms (gives the texture of meat), onions, zucchini. But I’ve used everything including peppers, spinach, etc. It’s very versatile
I do use an entire pack of lasagna noodles (12oz) which is 5 noodles per layer. I also used to not blend anything, only finely diced veggies before cooking and stirring it in with the cottage cheese. I got a Vitamix blender and blended it finally, and honestly don’t see much of a difference. So I skip that step. I have a lasagna pan so I make the recipe larger to fill the whole thing.
I add a whole 16oz pack of mozzarella. I add some to the cottage cheese mix, along with two eggs to help bind it all together.
I also use twice as much sauce. Sometimes I am lazy and get jarred, but only marinara and certain kinds (2 jars).
Thank you for this dinner I have made for my now obsessed parents, neighbors, and friends!
As a healthy meal, this vegetable packed lasagne was great. I’d make it again if I wanted something light or diet-friendly.
As comfort food, it was a bit of a let down and didn’t really taste that cheesy. If you’re a cheese fan, definitely increase the volume or switch up the type of cheese, especially for the mozzarella layers, which seemed very sparse.
I have never enjoyed anything with cottage cheese until I made this lasagna. My husband is on a low sodium diet because of kidney disease. So I didn’t use the salt but followed the recipe without it. We are supposed to do meatless twice a week so this was perfect. We both totally loved it and it was still delicious even without adding any salt. Easy and delicious
I am in canada and I only have acess to pressed cottage cheese when looking for cottage cheese that does not have any additives. Can I make this recipe using pressed cottage cheese and if so, should i do something to adapt it? Thank you!
I really love this recipe! I want to make it for my friends while just had a baby, but want to bring it frozen so they can have it when they choose. What do you recommend for cooking time if it’s frozen? And should I pre-cook it before freezing?
Hi Autumn, it’s best to freeze it uncooked, as this will result in the best texture. To cook, defrost in the fridge overnight before baking. Hope your friend loves it!
Loved how the lasagna turned out!
Hello everyone and Kate!
I have made your recipe dozen of times already it is very tasty and super! :)
I really don’t like the practice of stating that the recipe takes shorter to make than what it actually does. It is written here that preparation takes 30min, but in reality it takes over one hour.
I know that one way of downplaying that time is to list already chopped/pealed/prepared ingredients, like it is done here, but… that’s not the reality of cooking. Anyway, even excluding that, it still took way longer than stated.
Many cooking blogs do this and I wish they were more honest about that specific aspect of the recipes.
The lasagna itself was okay.
Simply the best . Thank you
This was my treat to myself for Mother’s Day and it did not disappoint! I halved quantities and still have enough for dinner and two lunches.
A guilt-free treat, it’s packed full of veggies and I used fat free cottage cheese and reduced fat mozzarella.
Can’t wait to make some more from this site!
We loved this! Will be adding more vegetables next time and trying different vegetables combinations too. So good! Thank you!
This is great, although I think it’s lifted by adding a sprinkling of Italian herbs mix when andding the cheese layers and save some fresh basil for the end.
Although Italian herbs might now have a tariff on them lol
Can I make this a day ahead? If so, should I bake it the day I make it, or refrigerate it and bake it the day I’m going to serve it?
Hi Diane,
This recipe is great to make a day ahead. I prefer to refrigerate it and bake it just before serving.
This is the first time I have made a veggie lasagna and it turned out so good!!! Great recipe! Even our picky 7 year old cleared her plate.
Now that is the seal of approval! Thanks for sharing.
This recipe looks perfect for my incredibly picky partner but cottage cheese is hard to get where I’m from. Any possibility of being able to replace it with something else?
Might also add some Beyond Meat to give it a bit more texture.
Planning on making it for Easter! :)
Hi Whitney, ricotta would be a good substitute for cottage cheese. Hope you enjoy your holiday meal!