Hearty, Healthy Veggie Lasagna

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.

This super satisfying veggie lasagna is a hearty, healthy version of the classic Italian recipe. Made with whole wheat noodles, fresh herbs, packed with veggies and a mixture of cheeses, this is a one dish meal that will soon become a favorite among your family and friends.

My whole family absolutely loves lasagna, I think it might be their favorite Italian meal. But we rarely order it at restaurants because most veggie lasagna recipes are made with white pasta (no fiber, refined carbs), way too much cheese and extra oil (too much fat/calories), and barely any veggies (which makes it even more dense!) So I decided to re-make veggie lasagna to be healthier than the original with all of the flavor and heartiness you'd expect from a traditional lasagna recipe. And I have to say: it was a hit! Every time I've made this: for parties, for meat-eaters, for the holidays, for my family - everyone loves this recipe!

Kitchen Tools and Equipment You'll Need to Make Veggie Lasagna

What makes this Veggie Lasagna healthy?

With just a few healthy substitutions - this vegetarian lasagna is much more nutritious than the traditional version, but still tasty and full of flavor. Here are the swaps I made for this veggie lasagna recipe:

• Whole Wheat Noodles instead of white: Adds fiber and a healthy dose of whole grains which will keep you fuller longer.
• Less Cheese, and lower fat ricotta: I used a mix of low fat and full fat cheeses in this recipe. I also used less cheese overall to keep the decadence of lasagna while lowering the total calories and fat. This lasagna is still very cheesy even with those changes!
• Lots more veggies! This recipe is stuffed with veggies, Spinach, bell peppers, zucchini, and red onion increase the fiber and nutrient density of this dish.
• Vitamins and Minerals: Spinach is a superfood that has calcium, vitamins A and C, fiber, iron, and folic acid. It helps fight against cancer and protect against heart disease. Zucchini improves digestion and helps lower blood sugar levels, peppers give us B6 and folate and tomatoes provide both antioxidants and Vitamin C.

How to make Hearty, Healthy Vegetarian Lasagna

Directions - Noodles

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (leave them al dente). Once they're done, lay them flat on foil and set aside.

Directions - Vegetables

Quarter all 4 zucchini and thinly slice. Dice all 3 bell peppers and mince 3 cloves of garlic

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat, saute the garlic, half the diced onion, all of the zucchini and all of the bell peppers together.

Add the baby spinach at the end (when the zucchini/red pepper are almost done cooking), saute another 3 minutes until spinach is wilted.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning, salt, and crushed red pepper to taste on top, stir, and let it cook a couple more minutes. Then remove from heat.

1. Mince 3 cloves of garlic.
2. Spray a medium sized saucepan with cooking spray and lightly saute the garlic and remaining red onion until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes.
4. Add Italian seasoning to taste, if your crushed tomatoes don't have that already added.
5. Once the sauce is heated through, turn the heat down on low.

Directions - Sauce

Directions - Cheese

Combine 1.5 cups of the ricotta cheese and 1 cup of the mozzarella in a bowl. Keep the Parmesan cheese (or Italian blend, if using) separate.

Assembly

• Put a layer of the veggies.
• Take the cheese mixture, and put little crumbles of the cheese mixture all over the veggie layer (don't try to spread it out, the little crumbles seemed to work well).
• Put another layer of the lasagna noodles.
• Layer of sauce
• Layer of veggies.
• Cheese mixture crumbles.

• Layer of lasagna noodles.
• Layer of sauce
• Sprinkle 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese (or Italian cheese blend) all over the top.

Spray the bottom of a large casserole dish with cooking spray. Put a layer of sauce at the bottom of the dish (For every layer of sauce, I used 1/2 the self-made sauce and 1/2 the pre-made sauce.

Put a layer of the lasagna noodles.

Put another layer of the sauce (1/2 pre-made, 1/2 self made).

Method 1: Pre-Baked Lasagna

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Uncover and bake for 5 min. longer until the cheese has melted.

Method 2: Baked Lasagna

Will kids enjoy this healthy Veggie Lasagna recipe?

Absolutely! Both of my kids (aged 2 and 5) devour this recipe every time I make it. It's a great way to get some extra veggies into your kids since they're wrapped in a cheesy-carby-lasagna-bow. If you have especially picky eaters, I'd recommend chopping up the veggies super fine and mixing them into the sauce. For SUPER picky eaters, you can puree the entire veggie mixture after sauteeing it, and mix that with the sauce.

• Whole Wheat Garlic Bread
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
• Roasted Vegetables such as Broccoli or Asparagus
• A side salad with crunchy greens (like a ceasar or mixed greens salad)

• Salt water and cook lasagna noodles al dente (maybe about 4-5 minutes). They will continue to cook when you bake the lasagna in the oven - and that way you won't have mushy noodles!
• Lay the noodles flat on aluminum foil to prevent the noodles from sticking together. You can even spray the foil with olive oil spray to really make sure the noodles remain separated.
• Thinly slice the bell pepper and then cut in half so your pieces are about the same size as your zucchini.
• Cook the zucchini, peppers, onion, and garlic until almost done before adding spinach.
• A mix of fresh and dried herbs gives a bright and slow cooked flavor.
• Make the sauce in a separate pan from the veggies.
• Mix the cheeses in a medium mixing bowl.
• Spray or grease the casserole dish to prevent sticking.
• Use a combination of self-made and pre-made sauce for the layers.
• Start with a layer of sauce using a combination of pre-made and self-made sauce.
• Don't try to spread the cheese layer. Crumble the cheese on top of the veggies.

What vegetables go well in lasagna?

Spinach, zucchini, and bell peppers all work well in a veggie lasagna. Kale, mushrooms, summer squash, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and even carrots would work well in a veggie loaded lasagna.

Can you freeze veggie lasagna?

Yes, you can freeze veggie lasagna. There are two methods depending on if you're freezing leftovers, or you're freezing the lasagna before it's baked. You might want to prepare the lasagna whole and freeze it for a busy weeknight meal, or you might have already served the lasagna and just have a few leftovers to freeze for individual meals to eat later.

Prepare lasagna in an airtight container. Assemble and allow the warm ingredients to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer. This method helps retain the freshness of the dish than if you freeze after it is baked. Will last for 2-3 months in the freezer. When it's time to bake it, pull it out of the freezer and pop it into the oven directly, following the baking instructions in this recipe.

Store in airtight container. Will be best if you store in individual servings to retain freshness and use as a quick go-to weeknight meal. WIll last for 2-3 months in the freezer.

What do you serve with Veggie Lasagna?

Top tips for making Healthy Vegetarian Lasagna

Be sure to try these other healthy pasta dishes!

While this is not a quick weeknight meal (it takes about 2 hours including the baking/cooking time), it's so worth it in the end! Despite the cooking time, it is a straight-forward and easy recipe. It makes for great leftovers, and is super freezer-friendly as well. I hope you enjoy this veggie lasagna as much as we did!

If you have tried this hearty and healthy veggie lasagna recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!

Hearty, Healthy Veggie Lasagna