Easy Spinach Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe
Level: Medium
Time: 20min
Serves: 2 People
Cost: Low
Table of contents for this spinach veggie lasagna recipe
Spinach vegetarian lasagna Recipe Overview
This spinach veggie lasagna recipe uses a spinach béchamel sauce for the layering, along with mozzarella, parmesan, and uncooked lasagna pasta. I soak the noodles in warm water for 15 or 20 minutes just to give them a head start. The lasagna noodles do become soft in water. In this spinach veggie lasagna recipe the béchamel is the key ingredient because it offers a velvety creaminess and richness that a frequently miss-used ricotta cheese will not. Even the most authentic Italian lasagna bolognese recipe calls for béchamel sauce. The added spinach in the veggie lasagna version is a healthy, delicious fresh element added to the béchamel. This is one of my favorite variations on lasagna, and a go-to when I’m not feeling like a heavy beef lasagna version. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a wonderful rich & creamy delight.
Kitchen Tools For This Spinach veggie lasagna Recipe:
Cooking béchamel for our spinach veggie lasagna recipe tools
Large saucepan
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Whisk
Silicone spatula
Béchamel cooking tools
Cooking spinach vegetarian lasagna recipe kitchen tools:
Baking dish or casserole dish which can be used in the oven
Spoon for dishing and spreading sauces
Veggie lasagna cooking tools
vegetarian veggie lasagna Ingredients:
Ingredients for Lasagna Béchamel Sauce
Butter – 3 tablespoons
Flour – 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Whole Milk – 2 cups
Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
Spinach leaves – 3 cups fresh or frozen
Veggie béchamel ingredients
Ingredients for our vegetarian veggie lasagna
Parmesan cheese grated
Lasagna noodles
Mozzarella cheese shredded
Vegetarian lasagna recipe ingredients
How to Prepare Spinach vegetarian Lasagna Layers:
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan (1).
Add 2 tablespoons of flour (2) and whisk together until the butter and flour mixture forms small bubbles with a faint tint of color, (3) about 2 minutes.
While on medium heat, slowly add the milk while whisking to incorporate as you pour. Once all the milk is in, whisk in a figure eight motion (4) until creamy and well blended, no lumps. Whisk in the salt.
Make the blond roux: Whisk the milk until mixture is smooth (no chunks).
Keeping the heat medium, bring the sauce to a simmer with small bubbles breaking the surface and wisps of steam. Keep whisking the simmering sauce for an additional 2 minutes. Too much heat or not enough stirring could make the sauce scorch on the bottom. Keep stirring, then set aside when ready.
Place the dry lasagna noodles in a baking dish and cover with warm water to soften them. Drain well and assemble the layers as follows:
Put Veggie spinach béchamel at the bottom.
Add shredded mozzarella.
Lay lasagna noodles.
Repeat until you have at least 4 layers.
Create at least 4 layers for this spinach vegetarian lasagna recipe.
Repeat the steps to build build at lest 4 luscious, veggie lasagna layers with spinach and béchamel sauce.
While cooking vegetarian veggie lasagna, cover it with foil and bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Tip: Rotate half way through to make sure your spinach vegetarian lasagna cooks evenly since every oven has hot spots.
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Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.
Remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10 – 15 minutes to solidify a bit.
Start With Preparing the Béchamel Sauce Recipe For Our Spinach Veggie lasagna Recipe
Toss spinach in with béchamel and mix.
Assembling The Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe Layers
Common Questions About How to Make A Spinach veggie lasagna Recipe
Can I use store bought shredded cheese for my vegetarian lasagna recipe? You can, but most grocery store pre-shredded cheese has an anti-clumping agent mixed in (read the ingredient labels). This agent is not bad, but it prevents the cheese from melting as creamy as it could. Shred mozzarella and parmesan cheese by hand if possible.
What can I do to turn this into a quick and easy spinach lasagna recipe? Make your items ahead of time. It is so much easier to make the spinach vegetarian lasagna sauces ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble. Assembling the final lasagna just before baking for best results. I have made up multiple spinach veggie lasagnas and frozen for future use, and it seems to come out great.
How do I store my spinach veggie lasagna when ready? Keep your leftover vegetarian lasagna covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Or, wrap tightly in foil or transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. If it was frozen, leave the foil on while baking and remove just at the end so the cheese can get brown and bubbly.
What lasagna noodles do I use? Pretty much any kind except for the no-boil. Absolutely do NOT use no-boil noodles; they don’t have enough structure to hold the weight of a four layer vegetarian lasagna recipe!
Don’t I have to pre-cook spinach lasagna noodles before I make my spinach veggie lasagna? As long as you let your vegetarian lasagna sit and do not serve immediately after it comes out of the oven you don’t need to pre-cook the traditional lasagna noodles. In our classic spinach veggie lasagna recipe the lasagna noodles go into the baking dish and the sauces provide the liquid to cook them!
Comparing Spinach Veggie Lasagna vs. Classic Beef Bolognese Lasagna. Both lasagna recipes use the same layering process of cheese, lasagna noodles and béchamel sauce. The classic beef lasagna bolognese recipe however uses beef ragù in the layer instead of spinach or your veggie of choice.
After graduating from LeCordon Bleu at the top of his class Chef Randy dove head-first into a culinary career working in many top-tier restaurants including the Golden 1 Center Arena as a lead cook. He later owned and operated a mobile woodfired pizza concept where he championed whole and natural ingredients. Chef Randy is passionate about healthy food and developing relationships with local providers for true farm-to-fork food production.