Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce

This veggie lasagna is an easy way to get the kids excited to eat their vegetables! Layered between tender pasta and doused in a creamy white sauce, the veggies turn out flavorful and delicious.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 20

Servings slices

Calories 358kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the vegetable filling:

9 lasagna noodles
3 teaspoons olive oil divided
3 cups spinach
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1 yellow squash thinly sliced
1 bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup carrots shredded
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Parsley for garnish

For the white sauce:

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To make the veggies:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a skillet, over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and let heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is wilted. Remove the spinach from the skillet and place in a colander. Use a wooden spoon to press out any excess moisture. Set aside.
In the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, and carrots. Sauté on medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, dried oregano, dried basil, and salt and pepper, and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Drain any extra liquid from the veggies and set aside.

To make the white sauce:

To make the white sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the flour and whisk continuously to form a roux. Lower the heat to medium/low.
Gradually pour in the milk while whisking to avoid lumps. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
While the white sauce is cooking, boil the noodles according to package instructions and drain well.

To make the lasagna:

In a greased 9x13-inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of white sauce.
Place a layer of cooked lasagna noodles on top of the white sauce.
Add half of the spinach and sautéed vegetables evenly over the noodles, followed by a layer of white sauce and 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese.
Repeat for the next layer.
Add a final layer of noodles, white sauce, and remaining 1/2 of shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the white sauce.
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
Allow the lasagna to rest for 10 minutes before sprinkling with parsley and slicing into 9 pieces.

Notes

To slice the yellow squash and zucchini, a mandolin slicer is great to use because you will get nice and even slices. If you prefer not to, just try and keep the slices even. This will help cook everything evenly.

For the white sauce, allow it to cool slightly before layering into the lasagna. Once it cools, it will thicken a little bit more. The consistency should be similar to a pudding before it had been set. It should be thin enough to easily spread but not so loose that it resembles milk.

Be sure to remove any excess liquids from both the spinach and the sautéed veggies. There will still be plenty of great juices during the baking process but we want to avoid it becoming too watery.

Nutrition