This veggie lasagna is so good and packed with nutrition- but by no means is it a traditional lasagna recipe! I have to say this up front, because I really don’t want all the Italian nonnas of the world coming at me to knock me on the head with their wooden spoons!
Of course traditional lasagna is super-delicious, but this one is too. When I’m craving comfort food I usually go for something like lasagna and this recipe definitely falls into that category. But I also wanted to add more veggies like carrots to up the nutritional value of the traditional dish and make it a little more healthy. I omitted the bechamel sauce for this reason. However, I did top it of with pecorino cheese, because what is lasagna without the cheese on top? I just couldn’t omit that. Cheese is too good… so cheese on top it is!
This veggie lasagna is vegetarian and can easily be made vegan by substituting vegan cheese for the pecorino I used here. Any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. To reheat, just warm it up in the oven with a lid or some alfoil on it, otherwise it will burn.
I used fresh pasta sheets, but you can use dried as well. I find there is not much difference between the two in terms of taste and texture. But there is a big difference in terms of cooking time. So follow the instructions on the packet to determine the required cooking time and oven temperature.
This recipe easily serves 2 adults and 2 children or 4 adults, if you serve it with a salad on the side.
Let’s get into the kitchen and make this veggie lasagna!
Veggie Lasagna
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Large pan
- Spatula
- Oven dish
- Grater
Ingredients
- 1 Onion (chopped)
- 4 cloves Garlic (chopped)
- 3 medium Carrots (grated)
- ½ Fennel (chopped)
- 2 Pointy paprikas or bell peppers (chopped or finely sliced)
- 2 Leeks (cut into rings)
- 1 bottle Tomato passata (sugo) (680 grams)
- 1 Tspn Dried thyme
- 1 Tspn Dried basil
- 2 Tspn Dried oregano
- ½ Tspn Dried rosemary
- 1 Small pinch Cinnamon powder
- Lasagna pasta sheets (I used 250 grams of fresh pasta sheets)
- Salt to taste (I used about ½ a Tspn)
- 100 grams Pecorino or vegan cheese (Enough to cover the top of the lasagna)
- 2 TBspn Olive oil
- 1 Handfull Fresh tomatoes (Optional)
Instructions
- Chop and cut the veggies
- Put in a nice layer of olive oil into a big pan and firstly cook the onions and garlic until they become a bit translucent
- Than put in the fennel and carrots and cook untill they are pretty soft
- Now add the herbs, leeks and pointy paprika/bell peppers and cook until soft
- When everything is ready add in the passata or sugo and salt to taste. Let this cook until you have a very thick sauce. The thicker the better, so you don't get a runny lasagna
- When the sauce is thick enough you can start layering it with the pasta sheets. Start and finish with a layer of sauce
- Top the lasagne with enough cheese to cover the top of the dish and put into the oven. Use the instructions on the packet of your pasta sheets to determine the cooking time
- When your veggie lasagna is done you can serve it as is or with a salad on the side. Enjoy!
