Ok, the title of this post gives it away, but let me start by saying you will not miss the noodles in this vegetable lasagne recipe – I promise!
It’s oozy, yummy and so good just like traditional lasagne but instead of being just meat, grains and dairy – this recipe is almost entirely made up of vegetables. A huge win in the nutrition department, if you ask me.
This dish freezes beautifully (I’ve got half a dish in my freezer right now myself) and is the perfect straight from the freezer into the oven kinda meal when you are short on time or have a busy week. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser too, perfect for gatherings and potlucks.
I posted a picture of this recipe a couple of weeks ago on my facebook page after craving this while writing about my favorite healthiest pastas. Several of you requested the recipe, so here it is! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do around here – it’s one of my husband’s favorites.
- 1 jar of strained tomatoes (24 ounces)
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1 container of ricotta cheese (15 ounces)
- 1 tbsp dried italian herbs or ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- ½ cup shredded raw parmesan
- ½ cup goat mozzarella or other raw cheese
- 1 large zucchini sliced long into ½ pieces
- 1 large yellow squash sliced long into ½ pieces
- 4 cups of baby kale, spinach or other dark leafy greens
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- For the tomato sauce, start by sauteeing onions in olive oil for 5 mins on low/medium heat in a pan on the stove
- Once onions are cooked tender, add garlic and sautee 2 more minutes
- Add tomatoes, red pepper, and salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer
- Allow tomatoes to cook for at least 10 mins
- (Alternatively you can use your favorite jarred tomato sauce)
- In a bowl combine egg, ricotta cheese and herbs and stir well
- Place about ⅓ of the cooked tomato sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish
- Layer zucchini on top of tomato sauce
- Spread ½ ricotta mixture on top of zucchini
- Layer with ⅓ more tomato sauce
- Layer squash to top of tomato sauce
- Spread ½ ricotta mixture on top of squash
- Layer greens on top of squash
- Top with remaining sauce, shredded cheese and bake covered for 30-40 mins until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned
- Allow lasagne to rest for 10 mins before serving - it's HOT!
If you know someone who loves lasagne, please share this post with them, and remind them to buy organic zucchini and squash to stay away from GMOs.
Buon Appetito,
Food Babe
P.S. We’ve just finalized all the recipes for September’s Meal Plans for Health program using some amazing seasonal ingredients and some really nutritious and yummy ingredients. If are you unhappy with the way you’ve been eating this Summer and need to get back on tract, this is the program to start ASAP! You get a monthly calendar with weigh-loss recipes, exactly what to eat and which Food Babe approved groceries to buy. Signing up for this program helps to support all the Food Babe investigations – so thank you!
Looks Yummy! My husband will love this he is on a low carb diet and I have been looking for a way to still have pasta! Thank you food babe!
What is the nutritional information for this recipe?
Thanks! You’re wonderful!
Hi Jacqueline – sorry we don’t supply the nutritional info. There are lots of great websites and mobile apps that let you plug in the ingredients and it will give you info. Good luck!
Although not associate with Food Babe, My Fitness Pal has a recipe nutritional calculator. Not sure about its veracity, but MFP is a “go-to” site for a lot of people.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
That will give you the nutritional value of the foods in their raw state; when they are cooked they lose a lot of that nutritional value.
Doing this raw would be a lot better as you lose a lot of the nutrients when you cook it as much as this cooked.
RAW!!!
Raw crap tastes disgusting….
What RETARD is going to eat this great recipe RAW?
Go make a pot of chicken soup and eat that RAW also!!!!
agreed!
Loving the Food Eating Guides! Seriously, people… if you’re wondering how to get started on eating good food with recipes that are out of this world… You need these guides!
I’m so happy to hear that you are loving them. Thanks for all your support and keep up the good work 🙂
Looking forward to September!
I recently had this tea in Bermuda & love it! Any thoughts?
Organic Chamomile Blossoms Blend No.2062
La Camolile Fleurit
by http://www.tealeaves.com
🙂 Mary Perkins
Nutritional info would be great. We have T1 Diabetic kiddo in the fam, and need recipes for all.
Although not associate with Food Babe, My Fitness Pal has a recipe nutritional calculator. Not sure about its veracity, but MFP is a “go-to” site for a lot of people.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
The info you get at that site or anywhere else is for the ingredients in their raw state, not cooked. You lose a lot of the nutrients when you cook it.
The nutritional info you get from that site and others is for the foods in their raw or uncooked state. When you cook foods they lose a lot of their nutritional value.
I suggest a totally vegan and raw diet for anyone with diabetes or any chronic illness, also for “healthy” people.
Diabetes Type 1 and 2 CAN and has been cured with that kind of diet as have many illnesses.
Funny, but there are several posters on Primal Eats who were totally vegan and then developed diabetes, so now they are trying to eat more meat! Everyone really needs to figure out their own body type and what works for them. My diabetic brother was told he was not getting enough nutrition from a totally vegan diet and now eats fish and occasionally chicken.
If you eat correctly, at least 50% RAW, you get all the nutrition you need. This has been proved time and time again. I suggest watching “Simply Raw” documentary.
Our whole family has been totally Vegan since March of this year and we are way healthier than before, even though before we were vegetarian and organic. My husband’s blood work was totally normal within less than 1 month of doing so, starting with green juicing for 1 week. His cholesterol was almost 300, triglycerides were over 1500, he had hypothyroidism, and his sugar was high; all that was normal in less than 1 month.
I was hypoglycemic, thought I could not do without meat, but that too was totally tone within the first 2 weeks of eating correctly! You CAN get all the protein and nutrients you need from a vegan diet if you do it correctly.
I am a holistic practitioner who has not only cured may of her own conditions but helped many others do the same and has been through most of the “popular” diets with clients and my own family. You can view my own health testimony, which is why I learned and continue to learn what I know, here. http://mountaingrannysorganicherbs.com/news/2013/07/my-testimony-on-the-road-to-regaining-vibrant-health/
While type 2 diabetes can be cured with proper diet, exercise and lifestyle changes, type 1 can not. In type 1 diabetes your body is unable to produce any or not enough insulin and you have to take insulin to make up for the deficit, no amount of diet change will cure that. In type 2 diabetes your body produces insulin properly, however your body does not respond as it should due to decreased insulin sensitivity meaning you need to take extra insulin. Once you change your lifestyle and improve your body’s insulin sensitivity you will no longer need to take extra insulin.
Tanya and the rest. We are enjoying her recommendations. Go along and do what you do, don’t preach here please. Mmmmkay? Thanks!
Good stuff, tried it this week!
Sounds yummy! I’ll have to add it to my meal plan for next week!
BTW, you spelled “noodles” wrong in the headline. 🙂 I like your word though. So-and-so has the “noddles” today. They just nod whenever someone says something to them, even though they’re not really listening! That’s what it seems like sometimes when I try to spread the word about healthy eating to friends and family. They just want to bury their heads in the sand and eat whatever tastes best or is the cheapest. ::sigh::
HA! Good catch – Thanks for letting me know.
I know! what is it with people? I want to share all my new nutritional insight (mostly from Food Babe!) but they don’t want to hear it (even my husband, unfortunately). I think it’s because they all know they eat unhealthy and don’t want to hear about how bad it really is! Keep it up though – sooner or later they will all become evangelized! Mwahahaha! 🙂
What a creative idea!! I cant wait to try this out on my husband!
Thanks food babe for your inspiration and motivation to eat and live a healthy lifestyle.
Looks yummy, and can’t wait to try it. It looks like it may be missing a step (or maybe it’s me)… does the last 1/3 of the sauce go on after the greens, before the cheeses, i.e. between steps 14 and 15?
Yes exactly!
You can also layer it with eggplant and spinach
I tried both eggplants and zucchini and I prefer the eggplants. I did grill them for a few minutes.
Thank you Food Babe! I am excited to try this recipe with the yellow squash I just harvested. Happy vacation! Xoxoxo
Could you suggest some dairy free options?
Easiest ever – leave out the dairy! My husband makes his regular lasagne recipe all the time without cheese. If you need a creamy center then blend up some cashews to make a schmear layer. Experiment and have fun!
Perfect timing – I picked a HUGE zucchini from the garden yesterday and told my husband I was going to make lasagna 🙂
Does anyone know how this would freeze? I am thinking of making a couple of smaller pans and freezing before I cook them.
freeze? cook first and cool in fridge , cut in serving pieces and put in ziplock bags .or vacume seal bags . Will last ok for 6 months + . works just as well on eggplant parmesan
This looks amazing! I will be trying this out tonight on my boyfriend. Thanks Food Babe!
This is an excellent recipe. Save electricity by turning on the oven when you start to assemble the lasagna. Ovens need to preheat only for popovers or cakes, etc. If the squash is at room temp, the lasagna needs only 30 min to cook.
I make a pasta free lasagna using homemade crepe layers to replace the pasta.Be careful to make your crepes with a healthy flour,eg-buckwheat,nut flour.It turns out delicious and much lighter.
I have tried zucchini lasagna before, not your recipe. The lasagna was not good, to watery. Should I broil the zucchini first? I want a lasagna that does not run all over the plate. I know I have to wait 10 min. before serving though.
Yes – could could broil the zucchini ahead of time, it does release water during the baking process.
Hi,
You said that white pasta is bleached is that organic?
When you say it freezes really well, do you mean frozen cooked or uncooked?
Thanks. Love your website!
Bake first. See Mike Carney’s reply to Barbara on 8/30.
Delicious looking recipe, Vani! I can’t wait to try it!
Question; with so many recipes requiring different herbs and spices; is there any chance of you doing a short article on what to look for when purchasing our herbs and slices? (Unhealthy ingredients, additives, etc.)…or have you already done one? Thanks for your wonderful site!
Hi James – the most important thing is to always buy organic spices. Conventional ones are often irradiated (treated with radiation)
I forgot, Vani!
Is there a reliable source of Organic Herbs and spices that you like?
Yes! Whole Foods has a lot of organic spices in bulk. Buy only as much as you need at very reasonable cost!
I am vegan and find a lot of great ideas on your blog and facebook. I was really looking forward to making this vegetable lasagna until I noticed the egg and cheese, which of course vegans don’t eat. Are you aware of the large body of research that shows the consumption of any animals by humans causes cancer in humans, and if not, why not?
Hi Kat – Vani is not vegan but does not eat eggs and cheese very often. Everyone has to find what works for them and support other people’s decisions.
Finally made this tonight with my girlfriend and my family. holy crap it was so good! I had never tried zucchini or squash before but i said why not, it turned out so amazing, tastes like a “regular” lasagna but i definitely didn’t miss the blah feeling i used to get after eating lasagna loaded with pasta. I added a pound of beef as well and it was a great addition, if anyone wants to add protein to it i recommend some quality grass-fed ground beef or turkey, i actually ate it before my workout!
Everyone should definitely try this asap its awesome. I already tried the tomato and kale soup (awesome), and the Chia seed fruit salad (really awesome) which is now a regular item in my diet, i make this stuff once a week! I am actually making the burritos and the home baked pizza tomorrow, i cant wait to make everything else on here too..
Llove the site and all your helpful articles, im pretty sure im on here more than any other site haha, keep up the good work!
ps cant wait for food babe tv!
Yay!!!
NIck, when and where did you put the meet( what layer). Can you give a little more details about the meet portion pls
I put the beef after step 11, I had it cooking on the side while getting everything else ready and just spread it on top when it was ready. I did have to use a little extra sauce though!
Please, please,please write about water filtration. I know bottled and tap can be awful please let us know the best method of filtering water. Please!!
Hi Rachel – Vani uses a 4 stage filtration system in her house. http://www.amazon.com/Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filter-System/dp/B000ALDQY6
I made this tonight and it was excellent! Thank you!
2 comments on it:
1) Prep time is 10 minutes? What a joke! Unless of course, the sauce is pre-made, and the squashes magically wash and slice themselves, and the kale and cheese shred themselves too. Real prep time, making tomato sauce by starting with fresh tomatoes, is more like an hour. Good thing I started early!
2) This needed WAY more tomato sauce — half again would be good. I had to substitute 3 more Roma tomatoes for the middle layer of sauce so I’d have enough for the top layer.
But, as I said up front, excellent!
Sorry it took you longer but so glad that you liked it!
I started drinking the lemon juice in the morning but hoe long after should I wait for breakfast? Also is the naked juice a good green juice I don’t have a juicer but understand the importance of get a green drink everyday? Thanks have a blessed day!
Hi Kim – you can eat breakfast shortly after drinking your lemon water but Food Babe recommends trying to go 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. https://foodbabe.com/2011/12/30/habits-for-the-new-year-and-beyond-3-fast-every-single-day/
And, no to Naked Juice! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/naked-juice-class-action-lawsuit_n_3830437.html
Have you ever tried this in a crock pot before? Sounds like a good idea on busy soccer nights. I’m going to give a try! Looks yummy.
We haven’t tried it that way but I bet it would work. Please let us know!
Made this tonight and it was yummy! Agree, definitely took longer than 10 minutes to prep. I substituted homemade “tofu ricotta” for the ricotta and it worked great. Recipe was perfect, just the right amount of squash. Only complaint – my son wouldn’t eat it and my husband said this didn’t even come close to filling him up. I ate mine with a sausage, but he’s a strict vegetarian, so he had to eat a couple of wholegrain rolls with dinner (which sort of defeats leaving the noodles out). Will freeze the leftovers for myself.
I would like to know more about the effect caffeine has on your body, especially your metabolism.
I would like to know about the effects caffeine has on your body and your metabolism.
Hmmm… Any ideas for what I could substitute for ricotta cheese?
I made it last week and it was delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. I even made extra and gave it away to her and her family loved it also!!!
how do you bake? with microwave oven? wont it kill all the nutrients? what is the alternative you use to microwave oven?
Hi Savitha – bake in a regular oven at 375 for 30-40 minutes. Hope you like it!
10 minutes for prep? Even with jarred sauce I couldn’t pull this together and pop into oven in 10 minutes.
Do you bake this covered as stated in your recipe? if yes – do you uncover it to bake a little longer so the cheese gets brown? wasn’t sure since you said that we should start seeing the cheese turn brown. thanks!! cooking it tonight
Hi,
I am making this tonight for dinner with my 23 year old daughter, she is pretty food adventurous when I try new things on her, It was quick to put together, after my trip to Wholefoods. I can’t wait for her to get home so we can try it out.
Thank you for the recipe.
Kevin
I was wondering if salting and putting weight on the zucchini (as you would do with eggplant) would help to take the excess moisture out of the lasagna.
Thanks food babe. Loved the recipe. I just did this and loved the taste! However, mine came out real watery and wanted to know how I can avoid this?
Adriana,
I grilled the zucchini and summer squash first not only reduced the amount of water but it gave it a nice flavor. You could also roast the veggies and that would help with lessening the amount of water.
Thanks for this, mine came out a soupy mess. Tasted good but looked like ricotta tomato goop with zucchini. I’ll try roasting the squash first, would it also turn out better if the sauce was done longer than 10 minutes?
This was excellent, thanks Food Babe! I grilled the zucchini
and yellow squash first. It gave it a nice flavor. This also helped reduce the water.
I’ve used eggplant to replace the noodles too when I don’t have zucchini. I peel them & put them in the oven to just soften a bit, before I use them. We love it!
I grilled the zucchini, added a layer of mushrooms and one of sausage. It was delicious, although I had to use more tomato sauce.
Um… sorry, folks, but if there’s no noodles and no meat, it ain’t lasagna 🙂
Think of another name.
I loved this recipe and so did my husband!! We have been eating it for the last two days and just finished it! Please keep the recipes coming!
Great to hear Emily! Vani will definitely have more to come.
Most people are aware that olive oil should never be heated as it breaks down. Use coconut oil or clarified butter (ghee) for cooking. As a holistic nutritionist trained in Ayurvedic medicine, it is important to understand that raw food is not good for everyone and can cause major health issues for the Vata body type. In many instances cooked food has more nutrition that raw – more zeanthin in cooked kale than raw kale, more lycopene in cooked tomatoes than in raw (avoid tomatoes if you have inflammatory diseases like arthritis). You are not what you eat but rather what you absorb and raw food is harder to digest. Who cares what nutrient is in a food if it is not available to the body. Rocks are a great source of minerals but can we digest rocks? Of course not. Someone needs to tell the supplement companies that, as a lot of calcium supplements are made from ground rocks – deadly!
Thanks for a reasonable approach to raw foods.
LOVE this recipe! Thank you FoodBabe!
🙂
It’s good with grilled eggplant!
I love this! But I am sensitive to tomato sauce, as in it upsets my stomach. Any ideas on an alternative to the highly acidic sauce? Thanks!
Just made this tonight and it turned out fabulously! Thanks, Vani!
Hello! Thank you so much for this WONDERFUL recipe!! I’m 5 months pregnant and have been trying to watch my diet very carefully. There’s a fine line between being super healthy and a pregnant woman’s craving for a dish pan of lasagna!
Lasagne in the oven.. Can’t wait!
My version has everything above minus the mozzarella and parmesan. I replaced the Ricotta cheese with paneer (Indian cottage cheese).
“Real” Garlic from Whole Foods gives a great flavor. The organic squash and Zuccini are from Costco. (Yes, it had the USDA Organic Seal). Thank you, Foodbabe for the wonderful recipe 🙂 Waiting for more from you.