Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce
The best recipe for vegetable lasagna with white sauce! It’s full of veggies and baked in a cheesy and creamy bechamel sauce - a vegetable lasagna can hardly get any better.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 630kcal
Equipment
- Rectangular casserole dish of about 12x 8 inches/ 30x20 cm
Ingredients
- 9 no-boil lasagna sheets Note 1
Vegetables:
- 3 shallots or 1 medium onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 carrots Notes 2, 3
- 2 red or yellow bell peppers
- 1 medium zucchini
- ½ broccoli Note 4
- 7 oz mushrooms 200 g, Note 5
- 1 cup peas defrosted, 200 g/ 7 oz
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes 400 g/ 14 oz each
- ½ cup water 125 ml
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
White sauce:
- ¼ cup butter 60 g/ 2 oz + 1 teaspoon for the baking dish
- ½ cup all-purpose flour 60 g/ 2 oz
- 3 cups whole milk 750 ml
- a few gratings of nutmeg
- fine sea salt and black pepper to taste
Cheese:
- 2 balls mozzarella 125 g/ 4.4 oz each
- 3.5 oz vegetarian hard cheese or Parmesan, freshly grated 100 g, Note 6
Instructions
Cook vegetables:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/ 180°C.
- Prepare vegetables: Peel and finely chop the shallots (or onion) and the garlic. Keep them separated. Cut the peeled carrots, bell peppers, and zucchini into small cubes. Set them aside in a bowl. Divide the broccoli into small florets and chop the broccoli stem into small cubes. Add to the rest of the vegetables. Defrost the peas.3 shallots + 2 garlic cloves + 3 carrots + 2 red or yellow bell peppers + 1 medium zucchini + ½ broccoli + 1 cup peas / 200 g
- Cook mushrooms: Wipe them clean with a paper towel and slice them thinly. Set aside in a different bowl. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan and fry the mushrooms until golden and all the released juices are evaporated. Remove them from the pan.7 oz mushrooms / 200 g
- Saute shallots and garlic: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook the shallots until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the sugar and stir for another minute or until slightly caramelized. ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- Add the chopped vegetables (except the mushrooms) and cook for about 8 minutes or until softer. Stir well a few times in between.
- Simmer vegetable sauce: Add the chopped tomatoes, water, dried herbs, and lemon juice. Stir well, bring to a boil, and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the cooked mushrooms and adjust with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a bit of extra sugar if necessary. 2 cans chopped tomatoes + ½ cup water / 125 ml + ½ teaspoon dried thyme + ½ teaspoon dried oregano + ½ teaspoon dried rosemary + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
White sauce:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir for 1 or 2 minutes until lightly golden. Slowly start adding the milk while whisking all the time to avoid the formation of clumps. ¼ cup butter / 60 g + ½ cup all-purpose flour / 60 g + 3 cups whole milk / 750 ml
- Simmer the bechamel sauce for 2 or 3 minutes while whisking or stirring continuously. Adjust the taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.a few gratings of nutmeg + fine sea salt and black pepper
Assemble the vegetable lasagna:
- You should have 3 layers of noodles and finish with a layer of Parmesan.
- Butter the baking dish with about 1 teaspoon of butter.
- Cheese: Chop the mozzarella into cubes and grate the Parmesan. Set them aside in different bowls. 2 balls mozzarella + 3.5 oz vegetarian hard cheese/ 100 g
- First layer: Cover the bottom of the buttered dish with a few tablespoons of white sauce. Add a layer of lasagna sheets (they should not overlap). Cover with ⅓ of vegetable sauce. Add ½ of mozzarella and ⅓ of hard cheese. Cover with ⅓ of white sauce.
- Second layer: Lasagna sheets + ⅓ of the vegetable sauce + ½ of the mozzarella + ⅓ of the hard cheese + ⅓ of the white sauce.
- Third layer: Lasagna sheets + remaining veggie sauce + remaining white sauce + remaining hard cheese.
Bake vegetable lasagna:
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbling and golden. Check if the noodles are cooked through by inserting a fork into the lasagna.
- Rest for 10-15 minutes, cut into 12 squares, and serve.
Notes
- Lasagna sheets: I needed 9 sheets of no-boil lasagna sheets. Use more or less according to the size of the lasagna sheets; you should have 3 layers of noodles. If using lasagna sheets that need to be cooked before baking, boil them according to the package instructions. However, I have never tested this recipe with this type of lasagna sheet; they don’t exist where I live.
- Vegetables: About 1.5 lb/ 750 g vegetables, not including canned tomatoes.
- You can vary the vegetables according to what you have or like. For instance: eggplants, cauliflower, green beans, small fennel, parsnips, pumpkin or butternut squash, some celeriac, etc.
- Or use only broccoli stems.
- Cremini or white mushrooms. You can replace them with more of the other vegetables if you wish.
- Parmesan is not vegetarian. To keep the dish vegetarian, please use vegetarian hard cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 2squares | Calories: 630kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 700mg | Potassium: 941mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 9827IU | Vitamin C: 109mg | Calcium: 623mg | Iron: 2mg