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.
WINNER!!
I am the only vegetarian in my family …. so my family had a little trepidation about trying this (or that it would be as good as the meat lasagna)!!
It was delicious, stood up on it’s own as a delicious option!! I loved it for sure and have been enjoying the left overs!!
This is a keeper for sure!!
Hooray! Thanks so much, Stacy!
I had a few vegetarian friends coming over, so I made this. It was so good! Everyone loved it and went back for seconds
Great to hear it was a hit, Marina! Thanks so much for your review.
Looks great! Can’t wait to try! Does it freeze and reheat well?
This is a great lasagna recipe. I used some mushrooms to make up a portion of the 3 cups of vegetables and they added a nice flavor.
Thanks for letting me know what you thought, Hilary!
At what point do you add back the excess juice from the canned tomatoes?
You actually don’t need it once it is drained. I hope this helps!
Hi Kate and Cookie! Congratulations on this fantastic recipe. I made it Christmas Eve and we all thought it was absolutely delicious. I used frozen spinach (defrosted, with the water squeezed out) instead of fresh spinach and the other veggies and it worked beautifully.
I’m glad you shared this with your loved ones! I appreciate the comment and review, Leslie.
Made this for New Year’s Day. Everyone loved it!! I didn’t have red bell peppers so I added a jar of roasted red peppers. I did use the cottage cheese. Good thing I made two pans because everyone made sure they took some home!
I’m glad it was a huge hit, Faith. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this recipe twice, both times with store bought sauce (different brands). The sauce really made a difference, curious to try with homemade next time.
I made it to take to my friends who recently had a baby, and even though the husband is a die hard meat eater for every dinner, he commented that he didn’t miss the meat!
Sounds like a winner to me!
This was seriously the best vegetarian lasagna I’ve ever made and my meat eating boyfriend gobbled it up. I have made it a few times now and actually just chop of whatever extra veggies I have from the garden or in the fridge and it comes out very similar each time. It’s using the food processor to condense the veggies and get rid of the chunks that makes the texture so wonderful. I usually add half a bag of veggie meat crumbles and also chop them finely in the food processor. This is an amazing recipe that will be made many times in our home!
I’m so glad you both loved it! Thanks for the review, Hilary!
Can this vegetarian lasagna be prepared the day ahead?
I haven’t tried it, but I believe other readers have with success!
Made this today for weekday lunches – now portioned and ready to go in the freezer. I snuck a sneaky slice for tea with a garden salad dressed with your zesty lemon dressing. Delicious!!! Will definitely be making again.
Thanks for sharing, Hanna!
I’m not a lasagna lover but my 100% Italian American family members are and I’m always looking for ways to get them to eat more veggies so I tried this recipe. It was a hit with them, yay! I used my own homemade marinara and Wegmans brand no-boil lasagna noodles, otherwise, I followed the directions exactly. I actually like cottage cheese but don’t eat it very often since I discovered organic, grass-fed yogurt (amazingly yummy with more health benefits) so I was skeptical about how it would taste warm. I used Wegman’s organic low-fat and the texture was nice and creamy but we prefer the taste of ricotta so next time I will substitute it.
That’s great! I’m glad it was hit. Thanks for sharing, Stephanie.
It’s indeed the best vegetarian lasagna!
I didn’t have enough cottage cheese so I used just one container . I added some corn to the vegetables. My family loved it. Thanks
You’re welcome! Thank you for the review, Anishara.
I decided to give the recipe a try and I was blown away by the amazing deliciousness. My experience with vegetable lasagnas has been figuring out how to cover up the watery nightmare hiding under the cheese layer. This recipe left me with the best tasting lasagna I’ve ever made. I had some friends over and no one commented that it was missing meat. Everyone was just eating fast to secure a second piece. Also, I bought all the ingredients on a tight budget, so I spent $8.50!
I’m glad you tried it AND were blown away! I love that everyone though it was amazing and it was so affordable for you. Thanks, David!
Hi C&K, thanks for the great recipe! I don’t have a food processor, so I used my stick blender, which made the vegetables too pureed and the lasagna lacked texture. Do you have another idea of how to break them down a bit without a food processor? Thank you!
I would recommend chopping them as finely as you can. I hope this helps! Let me know what you think, Anna.
I made this at my in-laws, who don’t have a food processor. I chopped the veggies finely and used a fork to mash them slightly before adding to the cottage cheese.
I just made this recipe without a food processor as well. Like Laurie, I finely chopped the veggies and used a potato masher to break them down a bit. I thought the texture was great – not too mushy!
Delicious! There’s a really nice sweetness
In this dish. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Alison!
I fixed this recipe tonight. It was excellent! I doubled it and used a 10×14” baking dish for our large family. I did have to cook it about 10 extra minutes.
I used Tinkyada brand GF lasagna noodles and boiled them before baking. For the veggies, I used the zucchini, carrot, green bell pepper and spinach and also used some eggplant that I salted and drained first to remove excess moisture. I used jarred marinara. And I did use the cottage cheese.
It was absolutely delicious and my husband and kids loved it too! My husband was very skeptical of meatless lasagna but he was surprised and genuinely loved it. We will definitely be making this again! I pinned it to my “Tried and True” Pinterest board. Thank you!
I love it! A hit with the family, that’s great. Also, your Pinterest board, it is really a good one to have!
Fabulous! I used your recipe along with the overnight trick from Meggan at Culinary Hill Simply fabulous!
Thank you for sharing, Beth!
Have you ever made this ahead, refrigerated, and then baked the next day? I’m considering for an after-work dinner event and won’t have the prep time.
I haven’t, but I believe others have with luck!
Obsessed with this recipe. My partner made it last night and I had to come on and rave about it. I thought she was crazy when she said cottage cheese… I’ll never make a lasagna with ricotta ever again. Don’t second guess, just make it asap!
I love it! I’m glad I made you a cottage cheese believer :)
This is seriously the best vegetarian lasagne ever!
Using cottage cheese is a revelation – so much better than the usual bechamel – lovely fresh cheesy taste and it makes the lasagne firm and easy to serve. This will definitely be a regular in our kitchen. No tweaks needed. Thank you, Kate.
I’m glad you love it!
Big deal if casserole dish is rectangle?
As long as the size doesn’t differ too much, you should be fine!
Made it last night and it is definitely a winner!!! It was my first time making a vegetable lasagna and I was slightly hesitant but it was incredibly delicious. Talk about layers of goodness. Can’t wait to share with my mom who is vegetarian. :) Thanks!
Love that you enjoyed this recipe, Cindy! Layers of goodness is a great description!
Family loved it. This is going into the regular menu rotation.
Prep took 50 minutes for me (slow knife skills). I used regular off brand (Signature) semolina noodles, but didn’t cook first. Worked great.
Great to hear, Jim!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. It makes my mouth water thinking about it!
One question though: does it freeze well? Would you freeze it before or after it’s baked?
This looks great! I’m also wondering about freezing before or after baking. Which do you think would be better?
Hi Corina,
For meat lasagna, always freeze before cooking (it’s a cheese thing), so I’m guessing the same would apply. When I make lasagna, I always make 1/2 pans, 2-3 at a time and freezer prior to baking. Just hubby and I so a 1/2 pan serves us two dinners. Then just pull out in the AM for baking at dinner time. (should always defrost home-made lasagna prior to baking to cook through evenly, same as you would have baked it same day you made). I’m going to make this recipe and freeze for a week, will let everyone know. Looks yummy!
I haven’t froze it, but I believe it has worked well for others in the past. Try searching the comments to see what is recommended.
Absolutely delicious! I make it in a 11×8 dish and it is full to the top. Took a chance making it to serve for a vegetarian without testing it out first…phew! Was a hit. Have made it several times since. It really is the best veggie lasagna I have had! Like it better than my meat lasagna recipe. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing, Anne!
Do you think you could make this by using mandoline sliced zucchini instead of the lasagna noodles? Maybe dry it out a little to avoid puddles? And then sub an extra carrot or colorful pepper for the zucchini that was going to be in the ragout?
It might be a little too watery. I don’t have tips for you since I haven’t tried it wit this one. I would say get out as much moisture as you can. If you try it, Let me know.
This was excellent and inspired me to order your book, something I rarely do. I used DeCecco oven-ready noodles and they were not done in the middle so added 10 minutes to covered cooking time. Great flavour, light but satisfying. Great recipe!
Thank you, Kim!
I made a double recipe of this. One I baked right away and gave to friends and the other I refrigerated overnight and then baked. The second one was a bit soggy – I recommend baking right away (the people who got the first one said it was delicious). I thought the sauce tasted a bit raw and cooked it for 15 minutes to meld flavors.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Ams!
I made this today and it was amazing! I did not put anything in the blender and I used a jar of marinara to save time. I would definitely make it again. My daughter and husband agreed.
Great to hear, Elleen!
This lasagna is amazing! Takes a bit of prep but well worth it. My toddler gobbled this up and went for second and thirds! This one is going on our recipe rotation.
I’m so happy to hear you felt the prep work was worth it. :) Thank you, Amara!
I’ve made this twice, now, and I gotta say — it is SO delicious! Because I’m trying to eliminate carbs like pasta from my diet, I replaced the lasagna noodles with strips of zucchini, which I’d roasted with some olive oil on a baking sheet ahead of time (and then pressed with a paper towels to get rid of the excess liquid). Turned out perfect! First time I made it for my vegetarian aunt and uncle, and they raved and had second and third helpings. Second time was for my picky, and very non-vegetarian husband and daughters, and they were equally enthusiastic. This is a winner!
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you found the trick to using zucchini instead of pasta. I might need to experiment with that!
I made this and it’s delish!! I’m trying to eat less meat and this is
is perfect and healthy! Thanks.
Great to hear, Meryl!
I’d like to try this recipe but can’t find no-boil lasagna noodles. If I use cooked noodles, will I need to cut back on liquid in another way so that the lasagna doesn’t end up too watery? It is my understanding that the no-cook noodles soak up moisture during cooking so I’m afraid to do a direct substitute.
Oh no! I would recommend cooking them to package directions or until just about done. You should be OK. This seemed to work for the gluten free version. I hope this helps!
I used regular lasagna (whole wheat) and it did end up too watery, but just on the bottom which didn’t really affect the overall dish. I had added sautéed mushrooms and an additional yellow pepper so I thought that was why it was too watery. I couldn’t find no-cook noodles. It was still delicious and the sauce was a refreshing change from store-bought.
Do you use small or large curd cottage cheese or does it matter?
It doesn’t matter. I buy the standard, which I believe is small curd.
Roasting the veggies first will do away with any sogginess you get from them. I have made roasted veggie lasagna for years, and have never had any issues with sogginess. I shall give this recipe a try! Thanks for sharing. :)
You’re welcome! Let me know what you think, Becky.
I love the look of the recipe and plan to make for dinner with friends. I’d love to make this ahead but have struggled in the past with either over cooking regular lasagna. What if any adjustments would you make and how long would you recommend to cook for and what temperature if I made ahead that day? Thanks
I’m sorry to hear that! I haven’t made it ahead, so I don’t have specifics. Start with the same temperature and least time recommended and then increase slightly as needed for the time. Let me know what you think, Erin!
The amount of carrots in this recipe made the lasagna much too sweet and my daughter found the texture off-putting — perhaps slicing vegetables instead of dicing and not processing them at all. Definitely needs the meatiness that mushrooms would add. I won’t be making it again.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Hello all, this recipe was a big hit it was truly tasteful with the switch from ricotta to cottage cheese. I will be making it again
Great to hear, Stacey!
Delicious! Used store bought sauce due to time constraints. Husband loved it!!
Thanks for sharing, Linda!
Made this lasagne, dynamite! Easier than it sounds, just takes advanced prep! I made it vegan, with the almond cream cheese from my newly purchased and much loved copy of your cookbook! We devoured it! I used a slightly larger pan and layered 4 noodles lengthwise so I made more pieces ( there was plenty of delicious filling to use!) My favorite vegan meal by far! Definitely try it!!
I made this today for the first time, and it was a huge hit! It was delicious and much lighter than the usual lasagna that I make. This recipe is a keeper for sure! Thank you!
Absolutely love this lasagne, the best veggie one I’ve ever made!
I made this tonight and it was a HIT. My partner told me it was one of the top 5 best things I have ever made – and he’s one tough critic!
I made it exactly as suggested except I didn’t have any fresh basil so I substituted dried and added some extra red pepper for a little kick. So happy to have a fantastic veggie lasagna in my repertoire!
Thanks again for another perfect recipe!!
I will take it! Thank you for sharing, Sarah.
Absolutely delish! Did almost puree the veggies so toddler would try it…..didn’t take from it! Definitely will be making again soon.
So glad to hear it, Emily! Thank you for letting me know!
I made this lasagna on the weekend and my guests devoured it. I didn’t use the par boiled lasagna pasta and I tend to like the traditional ones better. I will DEFINITELY make this again. Absolutely delicious. BTW we are not vegetarian.
Thanks for making another one, Brett!
I made this a day in advance for my vegetarian brother in law, we all thought it was absolutely delicious! It did take quite a bit of prep and lots of washing up, but I would still make it again for sure. Five stars and thumbs up from me! I used 1/2 a courgette and mushrooms, along with the other vegetables.
I’m glad you thought it was worth it! If only the best lasagna could prep itself. :)
That’s my first time on your blog and straight away so successful! I just made it last night with some kale instead of spinach and it’s the yummiest thing in the world. And when my meat eating partner said he surprised himself with how much he loves it, it must be just the best!
Hooray! That’s so great to hear, Eliza. I’m glad you agree it’s the best.
Really is a great recipe, like nothing I’ve seen before! Third time I’ve made this and tweaked to my husbands spicy liking each time. Thank you for adding it! I look forward to trying others.
I’m so glad you like it, Dalveer! I appreciate the review.
I love C&K’s recipes because it’s really forgiving and hard to screw up.
This veggie lasagne was so scrumptious – hubby and I struggled to leave it alone in the fridge. I didn’t do the extra blitz of the veggies and I loved the texture of them in the soft cheesy yumminess.
DEFINITELY making this again…and that right soon. Thanks Kate (and Cookie!).
Thank you!
Today will be my 5th time making this delicious recipe! I have one daughter who is a vegetarian and I am always searching for recipes to satisfy everyone- this is a winner! We use yellow squash instead of red peppers and it turns out great. I am a bare minimum cook so lugging out my food processor almost dissuaded me from trying- so glad I did! Thank you for sharing what is now one of my family’s favorite dinners!
I love you have made it 5 times! Thanks for sharing, Katie.