What do you get when you combine macaroni and cheese, lasagna, and healthy? You get this amazing butternut squash lasagna that will rock your world.
I was a little nervous about Bjork liking this (or, more accurately, not liking this). After all, it does seem a tad girly considering I took out the meat and replaced it with a delicate butternut squash puree.
But not to worry – he told me he liked it and ate the whole piece! How lucky am I to have a butternut-squash-lasagna-liking husband! Or at least one who pretends to like it! It’s awesome.
I was also worried about this being kind of time-consuming. I was looking for some inspiration online and found one recipe that required roasting the squash, pureeing it, and straining it through a cheesecloth – all before assembling and baking.
- Ummm… what is cheesecloth?
- Where the heck do I buy a cheesecloth?
- Can it be done without a cheesecloth?
Answer: Yes! You will love me for this. Unless you love using a cheesecloth.
I did add an extra 100 calories per slice by topping each piece with Gouda cheese and broiling it for a few minutes. I think standing up to get yourself seconds will burn enough calories to negate the extra cheese.
Butternut Squash Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This butternut squash lasagna is a perfect vegetarian version of a classic – thick, creamy squash puree between layers of lasagna and cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash puree (i.e. Farmer’s Market Organic canned)
- 1 1/2 tbs. sel de cuisine (features cinnamon, rosemary, and salt)
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 short whole wheat lasagna noodles
- sliced cheese to top pieces (optional – but not really)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine squash purée, sel de cuisine, garlic, salt, and pepper; mix well. Combine ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper in second bowl and mix well.
- Coat 8×8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Put a little butternut squash on the bottom of the pan. Place 2 noodles in bottom of dish, overlapping slightly. Spread half of squash mixture over noodles. Layer 2 more noodles on top, and spread with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat layers—noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta—then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Top with sliced cheese and bake/broil an additional 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Covering the lasagna might help the top not to get so crispy looking – especially if you don’t plan on melting cheese over each piece. It might also help keep some of the moisture in. I made this uncovered and it tasted great, but next time I would either cover it while baking or add a little more liquid, like vegetable stock or something, to keep it super creamy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: squash lasagna, butternut squash lasagna, lasagna recipe
Breaking News: Bjork just walked by me eating a jumbo bowl of Fruity Pebbles (30 minutes after eating lasagna). Maybe the squash didn’t quite do it for him after all.
But if you’re a butternut squash lover (and looking for healthy comfort food), I promise you will love this as much as I did!
Or at least you’ll tell me you love it before you go for the Fruity Pebbles.
Did you cook the noodles before putting them into the lasagna?
Nope!
Just finished making this! So yummy!
Glad you liked it Kristin!
Just finished making-was good but very dry, even though I covered it. I would recommend adding a liquid and pre- cooking the noodles. My noodles were still crunchy after 45-50 minutes. It has potential but the recipe needed something else for flavoring as well. Will tweak for next time!
Bummer! I haven’t made this in such a long time, and all I remember was that I loved it when I made it, but that it was more dried out the next day. It sounds like you have some good ideas for tweaking. 🙂 Good luck!
I made this yesterday and I mixed soft/silken tofu with the ricotta cheese to boost up the protein content. As a result, no cereal eating for me or my b/f after eating this lasagna! Also, I added some spinach to the ricotta cheese to add some color..
So yuuuummy! I just looove butternut squash!
Great idea with the tofu!!
I am going to make this next week with a friend. So excited! Looks and sounds delicious!
what do you do if you can’t find sel de cuisine?
Just replace it with another seasoning. It’s like a seasoning mix, so just make sure to add some dried herbs that you like so it doesn’t lose flavor. 🙂
Try adding a little vegetable stock to the purée. It will add moisture and flavour. I use fresh lasagna noodles blanched in boiling water. Really you just dip them in for 3 min or so. Also spice wise. Try using white pepper,garlic, nutmeg( yes nutmeg) and sage. It’s amazing together. I make this all the time and even the kids love it.
Making this tonight & so excited! Maybe I’m missing it, but is there a serving size/calorie amount for this recipe? Thanks so much!
Hi Kellie! I guess I don’t have one for this recipe – you’ll have to create your own (Calorie Count is a good resource)! Sorry about that.
I make pumpkin/butternut ravioli, and use a butter sauce with mushrooms over them. I also love the comment about adding stock to the puree (this is what I do when I make the ravioli filling). I thought that the mushroom/butter sauce might be a nice finish on top, to keep the top/noodles moist. Can’t wait to try this! Sounds fab!