Veggie Lasagna
Do you spell it “lasagna” or “lasagne?” Either way, a big pan of my gluten free Veggie Lasagna will definitely leave your family happy and *might* leave you with leftovers for lunch the next day. If you are lucky! Three cheeses, veggies cooked with fresh basil and garlic, roasted red peppers and marinara layer this flavorful dish. Made with “no boil” gluten free lasagna noodles makes this faster to put together than many recipes too!
Start with the Veggies
I begin by cooking up the fresh spinach with a little olive oil, salt and pepper in a large frying pan. This cooks very quickly. Then I place it in a bowl and use the same pan to cook the onions, garlic, zucchini and fresh basil in the same pan.
Layer Prep
Although you can always roast red peppers in the oven then peel and seed them yourself, I save time by buying them jarred. Just drain and roughly chop or slice them, then pop them back in the jar until you are ready to layer them onto the lasagna. This gives you one less dish to wash too! In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of parmesan and season with salt and pepper.
No Boil Noodles
My favorite brand of “no boil” gluten free lasagne noodles is DeBoles. They have wonderful texture and flavor. Every time I have made this for wheat eaters, they couldn’t believe it was gluten free. It is that good! They are also the same length and width with little ridges along the side, just like regular noodles. I have also used Barilla lasagne noodles with great “no boil” success and they taste great. However, the shape and size isn’t standard, so depending on the size of your pan, they may be easier or harder to work with.
Layering the Veggie Lasagna
Begin by coating the bottom of the baking dish with tomato sauce. This will provide moisture for the noodles and prevent the bottom of the lasagna from sticking. Then place a layer of noodles across the pan leaving about 1/2 inch between noodles and the sides. Next, spread the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Add dot the ricotta with the cooked spinach.
Add another layer of noodles and marinara, then top with the cooked zucchini and onion mixture. Layer with mozzarella (I happened to have some slice buffalo mozzarella, but using all shredded it great too), another layer of noodles, marinara and the roasted peppers. Finally top with the remainder of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Then it is ready for the oven!
Make Ahead Tips
Since there are several steps to this recipe, feel free to make the Veggie Lasagna a day ahead. Store it covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. If your lasagna pan is glass or ceramic, don’t go directly from the fridge to the hot oven because it could cause the dish to crack. Allow the dish to warm up at room temp for about an hour before putting it in the oven. Another option would be to prep the different components a day ahead, then assemble and bake it the day of. Either way will work and it will still turn out fantastic!
More Gluten Free Italian Inspired Favorites
Zoodles with Easy Tomato and Basil Sauce
Italian Style Quinoa Casserole
Homemade Gluten Free Pasta
Meat Sauce
Italian Style Turkey Meatloaf
Check out this recipe
Pesto Zoodles
Gluten Free Italian Style Meatballs
Check out this recipe
Veggie Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 box gluten free lasagna noodles (oven-ready (no boil) (I like De Boles brand))
- 9 oz baby spinach (chopped)
- 2 medium zucchini (chopped)
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves fresh garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 16 oz roasted red peppers ( drained & chopped, or 2 fresh red peppers chopped)
- olive oil (for coating the pan)
- salt & pepper
- 15 oz ricotta
- 1 egg
- 24 oz shredded mozzarella (divided)
- 1 cup shredded parmesan (divided)
- 24 oz jar marinara sauce (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sauté spinach in olive oil, salt & pepper until wilted and set aside.
- Using the same pan, sauté onions, zucchini and garlic in olive oil, salt & pepper until just softened.
- Add the chopped basil and stir until combined and set aside in a separate dish.
- If using fresh peppers, sauté them as well and set aside. When I used jarred peppers, I drain and chop them, then put them back in the same jar.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, salt & pepper, 1 cup mozzarella & 1/2 cup parmesan until well combined. Set aside.
- In a 9 x 13 pan, pour 1 cup of marinara in the bottom. Lay 3 or 4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. The noodles should not touch the sides or each other.
- Begin layering. Spread all of the ricotta mixture in an even layer. Then top with spinach.
- Another layer of noodles. Then add 1 cup marinara. Top with zucchini & onions.
- Next sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add a final layer of noodles. Top with remainder of marinara and peppers. Sprinkle with mozzarella & parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 45 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered. Enjoy!!!
