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.
So much yum! I subbed sweet potatoes and kale instead of carrots and spinach (since that was what I had) and it was a big hit. It’s nice to have another lasagna recipe in the winter rotation.
I’m glad you liked it, Angela! I appreciate the review.
Extremely watery. :(
This really is the Best Vegetable Lasagna! So good. Rave reviews from my husband and one of the children. Rarely do they all approve. So it is a win! Thank you.
Just made this tonight and it was a big hit with our grandkids who often struggle through mealtime. I doubled the recipe and used more pasta than it called for and since the filling seemed so generous I made and additional 9×9” pan to put in the freezer. It was amazingly flavourful!!
I’m glad your grandkids enjoyed it! Thanks for the review, Adriana.
Hello, can I ask what brand of baking dish you’ve used? Or, could you perhaps give me a link to where I can buy it? Thank you!
Hi Bailee! Head over to my shop page. I have a link for it there. :) https://capital-fly.pro/healthy-kitchen-essentials/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
My husband and I love veggies, my picky 20 month old – not so much. He gobbled up a massive piece and with all of the veggies hidden inside!
I’m happy he loved this one! Thanks for sharing, Laura.
Me and my partner just tried this and it’s absolutely delicious. When the recipe said it was prep heavy I groaned inwardly as I’m not much of a cook but was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was, nice clear directions! I didn’t have enough cottage cheese but it didn’t seem to be a problem. Really impressed at how well this lasagne holds its structure and I think it’ll replace meat lasagne in our life! Thanks ☺
Thank you for your comment, Dan! I’m glad you both loved it.
Predicted power outages led me to whip up your lasagna while my oven was up and running! My husband and I loved it and can easily reheat the yummy leftovers!
Power outages are no fun! I’m glad you had something delicious to get your through, Debra.
Hello Kate, I made this today and it was delicious! Thank you for sharing. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
You’re welcome, Amy! I love hearing from you so please keep letting me know what you think as you try recipes.
This is a wonderful vegetable lasagna. We’re trying to eat more plant based and even the carnivore husband loves this. I’ve made it about 3 times and it’s always a winner. I have to confess that I’ve made it with jar sauce each time. I would make the sauce from scratch as in the recipe, but schedule hasn’t allowed it yet. One of these days…
Jar sauce works too! Thank you, Julia.
Y’all this is the real deal of lasagnas. I just need to emphasize that you NEED to make your own marinara. I’ve tried this with store-bought marinara and then with Kate’s marinara recipe as stated above and the difference is night and day. Don’t cheat yo self.
This comment is everything! You’re funny, Meg. I’m glad you loved it!
Just made this. Was so excited from the rave reviews but mine was a complete bust. It very well could be because of my calculated risk in using a 9×13 pan since I didn’t have a 9×9…BIG MISTAKE. I’m not sure I’d like it made correctly. Hate to be negative but just wanted folks forewarned about the size of the pan.
I’m sorry you didn’t have good luck with this recipe. Pan size is definitely part of the success of this recipe. Thanks for your feedack, Kat!
Just to let you know, I just made mine in a 9X13 pan and it came out wonderful!
Do you think this could be made is a slow cooker??
I’m not sure about that, HB. Maybe see if someone else has tried it by looking through the comments.
Delicious! The sautéed vegetables concentrated the delicious vegetable flavors while reducing the liquid that could lead to a watery lasagna The cottage cheese makes it lighter but it still retains all its delicious cheesy goodness!!
Thanks for sharing, Nicole!
We are not vegetarians but appreciate delicious food. Love this lasagna! I made it on a Sunday to take on a three day ski trip starting that Tuesday – it was still fantastic reheated on Thursday. Keep up the inventive work!
Thank you, Linda!
I’m wondering what the temperature should be for the final product. I doubled the recipe and baked in two separate (larger than 9 x 9 pans), and the top looks good. Knowing the internal temperature would help me know if the product is ready.
Looking forward to sharing with 10 dinner guests tonight…yikes
Hi Nancy, sorry I don’t know the internal temperature of this. I just worked on what it is to be baked to and timing for a single recipe. How did it go?
Delicious. Really loved this recipe. I too used a jarred marinara because of time so maybe next time I’ll try making my own. Very flavorful and light. I cut back a little on the mozzarella cheese and didn’t miss it at all. The only thing I would do different is cook it for 5-10 more minutes because my noodles were still a tad undercooked and maybe add a little seasoning to the vegetable mix.
Thank you for sharing, Helen! I’m sorry your noodles weren’t perfect right away, but happy you found a solution.
I made this last night for supper and it was delicious!! I will definitely be making it again!!!
Thank you for sharing, Candace!
Great to hear, Candace!
Incredibly delicious and simple to make. I’ve made quite a few super complicated veggie lasagna’s that were so disappointing. I am so glad I’ve finally found a solid recipe!
I’m glad this one worked so well for what you are looking for!
Can I use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese?
I believe other readers have used that and it has worked just fine. I prefer cottage cheese. Let me know what you think!
Dear Kate, I have just made your vegetable lasagne and it got the thumbs up from both my daughters and myself. My youngest daughter became a vegetarian a year ago and I’ve been struggling with meals, trying to satisfy everyone. I tried a vegetable lasagne a couple of months ago and it was a disaster! I am so happy I have ‘discovered’ Cookie & Kate, your lasagne was delicious! I love the fact you explain the reasons for using ingredients, suggesting alternatives, and a video it’s all pretty amazing. My next attempt will be vegetarian curry – I’ve had a couple of disasters with those too, I have high hopes. Thank you!
Heck yes, thumbs up! Thanks for sharing, Mary. I’m happy to hear you find the posts helpful. :) I’m glad you are reading them!
This is my all time favorite GF vegetarian lasagna recipe! I’ve made it at least 3 times now and even my grandchildren eat it. I use cottage cheese and even added some nutritional yeast (‘nooch’) for a little extra protein boost.
Love it, Carole! Thanks for sharing.
Has anyone tried to make this in a slow cooker? I need to bring a lasagna to work, and I love this recipe, but there isn’t really a good way to heat up lasagna at work so I prefer to make it right in a slow cooker. I appreciate any tips, thanks!
I haven’t tried it, but would love to know how it works for you!
Hey I see everybody raving about this recipe, I would love to give it a try but I don’t have a food processor. Any suggestions on how I can get the vegetables to the desired texture without the food processor?
My best recommendation is to chop the ingredients as small as you can!
Hi Kate!
Just made this and wanted to say…will you marry me!??!?! My wife won’t know really! :) OMG this was beyond fantastic! The flavor was excellent and it tasted perfect and definitely not watery by any means. I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan.
I was beyond impressed!
Another 10 out of 5 stars for this recipe from me!
I’m glad ou loved it! 10 out of 5, if only. Thanks so much Michael!
Wow this is so good. One of the best lasagne recipes I’ve made, and I’m not even vegetarian:)
Love to here this, Melissa! Thanks for your review.
I just want to say that blending the cottage cheese (I actually did the entire amount) and pulsing the veggies and then mixing it together is genius! The flavors really shine through. And, I used this method for the ziti recipe too! Thanks Kate.
I’m happy you agree, Anne! Thanks for trying this lasagna and for your review.
This truly is the best vegetable lasagna! I’ve been looking for the right veggie lasagna recipe for a while and I have found it! It’s pretty easy to make and I love the cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Hooray, Elena! Thanks so much for your review and feedback.
Definitely a winner!!
Thanks, Nicole!
Absolutely delicious! Didn’t miss the ricotta at all. Left the veggies chunky. Used organic marinara, but added lots of fresh basil and red pepper flakes. Not overly cheesy, but very flavorful! A keeper for sure!
Thanks for letting me know it’s a keeper for you, Sara! I appreciate the review.
Oh man! This was delicious. I could have eaten the whole dish. I didn’t have a food processor, so I used someone else’s recommendation and smashed the veggies up some with a potato masher. I will definitely be making this again.
I’m glad the potato masher worked. Thanks for the feedback, Ashley!
I DOnt hve fresh or dried basil on hand. Could I leave it out?
You can, but basil really helps make this dish the best!
Kate, this recipe is delicious! I made it this evening for guests. They loved it. I mentioned I would be making it again and they said, “Be sure to invite us when you do!” High praise, indeed! Thanks for the recipe.
I love that! I’m happy it was such a hit, Mary. I appreciate the review.
I just made this and it was delish!
Thanks for the review, Shira!
Thanks for helping me cook my first lasagna, and the best one I’ve ever tasted!
Thanks you, Ravi!
This is really the best lasagna recipe! The taste is fantastic, and we make it all the time
This week we are making the baked ziti, and I am sure it will be just as fabulous! I always look at your site when I make my weekly menu.
❤️
I’m so glad you love it and are now making the ziti, too. Thanks so much for your review, Judy!
I made this recipe 1 day ahead. It turned out just fine baking it the next night for dinner. I’m not usually a commenter on recipes but wanted to reassure anyone who was interested that it turned out fine for me. I used gluten-free, no-boil noodles; otherwise, followed the recipe as specified.
I’m glad it worked out well to prepare it ahead! This will be helpful to know. Thanks so much for your review, Mary!
This took a long time, but it was worth it – everyone loved it, even my kids who never liked lasagna before! I did everything just as the recipe says, except I roasted the zucchini in the oven for extra flavor.
I’m happy you thought it was worth the effort, Amy! Thanks so much for your review.
Hi Kate,
This recipe was delicious. To make this recipe vegan, I used tofu in the food processor instead of Ricotta. It ends up being the same consistency. I added a little fresh garlic to the veggies as well. I used Daiya vegan mozzarella for the cheese which worked really well.
It is so great to have a hearty vegan lasanga recipe!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed it with ricotta. I appreciate the review!
I’m not a vegetarian, but my granddaughter is, so to prepare a dish she would enjoy, I searched the internet and chose this one. And it’s true.. the best vegetarian lasagna according to my family. I also loved it.
Great to hear, Carolyn!
Excellent recipe. I had to make double for more people and everyone loved it!
Great to hear, Nirm! I appreciate the review.
Delish! Made it for my family and everyone said it was the best lasagna they ever had. I used fire roasted tomatoes for an extra flare.
Thank you, Dawn! I appreciate the review.
I never gave this a 5 star rating just because it is very complex and prep time is quite long especially for a newbie on day 3 of my vegetarian journey (going meat free, including substitutes, for lent). I will say that I swapped out spinach for savoy cabbage as my wife can’t stand it. I also only had cheddar to hand instead of mozzarella but it turned out fantastic.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, but I’m glad you were able to make it work with what you had. I appreciate it, Leon!
Growing up in Queens, N.Y., I was always a hard core beef and sausage lasagna lover. Having travelled the globe, and sampled many diverse items, I have gained an appetite for many diverse items.
I am now older, and trying to follow a leaner diet. I ran across this recipe and opted to try it. WOW! I was blown away with the flavor, texture, and consistency of this dish. It was incredible.
I thought it might be runny and thin, but I was wrong. I used a small amount of oil to caramelize the vegetables, and also used full fat, full curd cottage cheese, as recommended. It was off the chain delicious.
Great recipe, Kate. It’s now in my book, and I’ve shared it with my friends.
JP
I’m glad you liked it, JP!
Hi Kate
I’m a life long vegetarian and it is true, this is the best veggie lasagna I have ever made or had anywhere! I used my own sauce recipe which is pretty chunky but followed the rest of the recipe pretty closely. My company loved it! Thank you!!
Wonderful, Mary! Thanks for letting me know you love it, and that is was a hit with your company.
Great flavor but some notes here…
First, I think there are too many variables on the vegetable amount quantities. Onion, carrot, zucchini and peppers are subjective in terms of size. Think a note specifying a total cup amount (2.5-3) of vegetables best. Leaves room for adding more or less of one and substitutions. Zucchini (loaded with water) made layers less firm and runny. Also, I went against my instincts using no boil noodles and wrapped with parchment. Noodles unevenly cooked. Wrapping tightly with foil allows steam to cook them. If using parchment, need to lower oven temp to 350 and cook longer. I sauteed mushrooms separately wth thyme and minced garlic added before browning them a bit which added great flavor and texture. Used a jarred marinara that I added fresh basil to after reducing a little.
That all said I would either use ricotta, drain cottage cheese or use full fat option.
Big fan and private chef so hope this makes sense!
Hi Ivy, thank you for sharing your opinion and approach to my recipe. I appreciate the feedback!
So excited to make this! I can’t see the nutrition information… what are the calories per serving?
Thank you for such a healthy alternative!
I’m excited you’re excited! Make sure you allow cookies allowed in your browser as it is a plug-in. That should work. Let me know!
Made it, ate it, didn’t love it. Imho.. too much onion and bell pepper, and it needs a bit more seasoning. I used fresh oregano in the sauce, and nutmeg in the cheese with veggies. Even still, it needs more depth. I used all fresh organic ingredients to give it a best effort.
I will not make this again per the recipe.
I wish I could have given this a better review.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one, Diane! I appreciate the feedback.
I want to make this and freeze it. How do I bake it from frozen? Or does it need to thaw then bake?
I haven’t tried it. I would see what other readers suggest. I’m hesitant it would be watery.
Best and most delicious veggie lasagna thank you for sharing this recipe
Love from Kuwait
You’re welcome, Mariam!