Veggie lasagna is one of our go-to weekend meals because we can make it once and eat it for three meals! Less prep = happy people. This recipe is for a veggie lasagna but you can easily add any sort of ground protein that you like.
Ingredients
- 1 box of oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 1 large can of pasta sauce
- 500g cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 onion
- 2 sweet peppers
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup frozen, cut spinach (or fresh and chopped)
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper
Process
Preheat oven to 375. I normally start the process with the veggies. I dice all the veggies and add them to a frying pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil (or oil of your choice). I like to soften the veggies before I add them to the lasagna to bring down the cooking time. While the veggies are cooking, I defrost the spinach in the microwave. Once defrosted, drain any excess water and mix the spinach with the cottage cheese and the egg. I also add my spices and herbs to the cottage cheese mixture so that there is flavour at each level. Make sure you keep an eye on the veggies while you are doing this!
If you are not using oven-ready noodles, you will need to cook the noodles by this point. Follow box directions.
Once all of your layers are ready and your cans of sauce are open, we can start making layers! I start with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a large pan (9 x 13). Then, put down a layer of noodles. Then, more sauce, then veggies, then the cottage cheese mixture. Repeat until you have about 1 cm height-wise or until you run out of veggies and cottage cheese. For the final layer, I just do a layer of noodles, then some sauce, and then the mozzarella cheese. Finish it off with a sprinkle of basil and oregano on the top and you are ready to go! Cover the pan with tin foil and place on a baking sheet (in case it spills!).
Bake covered at 375 for 45 mins then take the tin foil off and bake for another 10-15 mins or until the cheese starts to brown. I find that lasagna is best if you let it sit for about 20 mins so that all the layers can set. However, if you don’t have time – dig in!
**Vegan Edit**
If you would like to make this a vegan lasagne, you can do the following:
- Use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of Daiya Cream Cheese (Chive & Onion) instead of cottage cheese and egg. You will need to microwave it for about 1 minute to melt it.
- Use vegan shredded cheese ( I loved the Shredded Pepperjack) instead of regular cheese.
Happy eating!
Kathleen Read 