Let’s Make Lasagna Vegetarian (And Delicious)
What do I need to say to get you to believe me that walnuts, zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms make for a very delicious, very feel-good, very cozy and comforting, sauce-bubbling, cheesey-browning, and all-around winning vegetarian lasagna?
I can promise you that all the veggies are blitzed up in the food processor so we have zero watery veggie chunks, and instead they really resemble something more like ground meat (but with better flavor, IMHO)?
I can point out the layer of mascarpone cheese with the grated fresh garlic for a creamy little bite?
I can mention that not only did Bjork and I really, really enjoy this vegetarian lasagna, but our two-year-old also gave it her rare seal of approval and asked for, um, thirds?
Who knew vegetarian lasagna could be so good.
Watch How To Make This Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe
What’s In This Recipe
Meatless Bolognese
There’s a lot happening in this meatless sauce, but my oh my is it worth it. We’ve got garlic and onion for flavor, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini for veg, walnuts for that meaty texture, oregano and Italian seasoning for spice, and a jar of your favorite tomato sauce. Simple but delicious!
Cheeses
This is a triple-cheese situation. Mascarpone cheese for creaminess, Parmesan cheese for saltiness, and mozzarella for that perfect stringy cheesy goodness. No ricotta cheese here!
Noodles
You’ll need one box, or about 12 lasagna noodles for this. And NOT no-cook noodles – just the standard lasagna noodles. We won’t even need to boil noodles since they cook right in the lasagna!
Best Vegetables For This Lasagna
There’s so much goodness here, and all the veggies work perfectly together to be flavorful, hearty, and just the right texture (love you, food processor).
Here’s the lineup:
- Mushrooms (for heartiness)
- Zucchini (for a punch of green and some good nutrition)
- Carrots (for a touch of sweetness and more wholesome goodness)
Not a veggie, but we’ve also got walnuts in the mix for more heartiness and all those healthy fats, too. You need to trust me on this one because it brings just the right meatiness to this vegetarian sauce. It is so good.
If you want to use different veggies, I could also see spinach, bell peppers, butternut squash, and eggplant working well too!
How To Make Vegetarian Lasagna
This is a bit of a process, but I pinky promise that it’ll be worth it.
- Make a Veggie Bolognese Sauce: Featuring veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots, plus a handful of walnuts which really make it into something special and filling. You can make your own marinara sauce, but I have a personal rule that if I’m making something that’s going to involve several steps of layering and such, I will take the opportunity to use my favorite jarred sauce, thank you very much.
- Layer Your Lasagna: Your plants-only bolognese gets tucked in between lasagna noodles (unboiled – I prefer to let the oven do the work for me) and several layers of cheese, including a creamy mascarpone layer that is flecked with a clove of fresh grated garlic that really takes the whole thing to the next flavor level.
- Bake It: Cover with aluminum foil and get it in the oven, and let it brown and melt together so perfectly while you, I don’t know, make a salad or drink a glass of wine? Yes.
- Serve: Let it reset for a bit, sprinkle it with fresh parsley or basil and more parmesan (maybe some red pepper flakes, too), slice, and serve.
The smells, the texture, the whole mood in the house when you make this…
Crave-able and super satisfying. Highly recommend.
How To Make This Lasagna Vegan
I would like to note – we did try making a cheese-less version of this that was pretty good, but I couldn’t get Bjork’s approval on that one. I guess for us, we needed the cheese for it to feel like a good solid lasagna.
That being said, if you are vegan, I have used the vegan bechamel from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley and that made for a really nice, creamy replacement to the mascarpone and other cheese in between the layers. You could probably also use vegan cheese shreds or a vegan cream cheese like Tofutti.
Whether you’re doing the vegetarian cheesy version, or something totally cheese-less and vegan, this is one of my favorite fun and interesting and plant-forward ways to eat a big ol’ saucy, bubbly pan of lasagna.
What To Serve With Lasagna
I like to keep this simple, and by simple I quite literally mean this Simple Green Salad. It perfectly compliments to richness and melty cheese of the lasagna and some freshness and crunch.
I also am not again eating carbs with carbs, so it’s an absolute must that you make this Homemade Garlic Bread.
Storage And Freezing
Here’s how to make the most of this lasagna beyond dinner!
- Freezing: I would recommend freezing this lasagna before baking. Assemble the full lasagna, then cover tightly with foil and place it in the freezer. It will keep for up to three months. When you’re ready to cook, take it out of the freezer and bake covered at 400 degrees for one hour or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Storing And Reheating Leftovers: You can reheat individual slices of lasagna in the microwave, or reheat the entire thing in the oven covered in foil.
Common Questions About This Vegetarian Lasagna
Yep! You could chop all your veggies in the food processor at the same time if you have a big enough food processor! However, I prefer to do it in batches because a) my food processor doesn’t fit all these veggies at once, and b) that allows you to put the softer stuff together, and the firmer stuff together, which helps them all chop more uniformly.
I would recommend freezing this lasagna before baking. Assemble the full lasagna, then cover tightly with foil and place it in the freezer. It will keep for up to three months. When you’re ready to cook, take it out of the freezer and bake covered at 400 degrees for one hour or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
You could use ricotta cheese instead.
We tried making this without cheese and it received a thumbs up me but not from Bjork. We liked the vegan bechamel though from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley – this worked really well as a creamy cheese replacement.
Spinach, bell peppers, butternut squash, and eggplant could work well too!
Yes! You could omit completely, or replace with more veggies.
We haven’t tested it, but walnuts have just the right mild flavor and buttery texture, so I highly recommend sticking with those!
Healthy means something different for everyone, but this lasagna is chuck full of good things – vegetables, protein, healthy fats, carbs for energy, and is really filling.
Basic + Awesome Vegetarian Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 jumbo servings 1x
Description
The very best Vegetarian Lasagna! Walnuts, zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms blitzed up into a meat-like texture that gets layered with lots of cheese and sauce. Cozy + nourishing!
Ingredients
Easy Vegetarian “Bolognese”:
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 small zucchini, cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1–2 teaspoons kosher salt + black pepper to taste
- one 24-ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce
Creamy Layer:
- one 8-ounce container mascarpone
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 box uncooked lasagna noodles (about 12 noodles for a 9x13 pan)
Instructions
- Place the mushrooms, walnuts, and zucchini in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture is very finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this process with garlic, onion, and carrots.
- Heat butter or olive oil over medium high heat. Add your chopped veggies along with the spices. Sauté for 7-10 minutes until very soft and fragrant. Add tomato sauce and salt; stir to combine. Taste and adjust! Your seasoning amounts will depend on your brand of sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix mascarpone cheese with grated garlic and salt.
- Start with spreading a layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Then, layer in the following order for each layer: a few noodles, 1 cup sauce, a few dollops of mascarpone, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and repeat (I usually get 4 layers out of this amount). End with noodles, sauce, cheese, and dollops of extra sauce on top to make it pretty.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes to get the cheese browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes or so, then cut and serve!
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegetarian lasagna, vegan lasagna, healthy lasagna, healthy lasagna, lasagna recipe
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I can’t wait to make this. Can I prepare and assemble it a day before and then wrap it up and refrigerate overnight, bake the next day without the noodles or any other element of the lasagna being negatively affected?
I make this lasagna at least once a month. It’s so easy to prep the night before then just throw in the oven. Every time I know I have a busy week ahead, I make this because it will last a few nights. My boyfriend and his daughter both dislike mushrooms, but LOVE this dish. (They don’t know there are mushrooms in it…)
I made this for dinner tonight and it was very good! Thank you for another great recipe.
Could I use cottage cheese of ricotta instead?
Yep, I think that should work!
This looks great! But we despise mushrooms in our house (one fam member becomes very ill when eating them unknowingly). What can be substituted without losing their effect?
I’d probably just increase the zucchini or carrots! Or you could add in some eggplant instead!
I do not have a food processor. Would pulsing in a blender work? Or do you foresee any issues if I chop everything by hand? Even though that will probably leave me with a tired wrist after awhile lol. I really want to make this recipe as it seems heart-healthy!
Blenders don’t usually handle chopping veggies very well so I’d probably chop by hand! For some you could even use the large holes of a box grater – like the zucchini and carrots especially.
Great recipe easy and quick to put together. If you are trying to do meatless Monday this is a good recipe to start with. I used a leek instead of an onion and my own tomato sauce which I made last summer. I roasted the tomatoes and flavored them with fennel and basil. I was just waiting for a recipe to use it. I added some red wine just because………total yum!
This recipe is so good, made it Twice now and everyone loves it! Thanks Pinch of Yum!
Definitely does not work well with uncooked regular noodles. Hard and chewy. It seems obvious to either use oven ready or pre-cook the regular kind (just like the instructions on the respective boxes indicate), but I read the comments and gave it a try. Bad move. Flavor is pretty good.
This was really good and enjoyed by vegetarians and meat lovers alike. The only change I made was to cook the noodles ahead of time. I will definitely make this again, and a bonus for me, it is a very good recipe for people with IBS, since the veggies are all pulsed until fine and cooked.
Can you make this us a day early or will it get too soggy? We always make meat lasagna a day early to improve the taste but not sure if it will work with a veggie version. Thanks
If I may, for the mascarpone layer, I’ve made a delicious vegan alternative with firm tofu! Break into chunks and zap in the food processor with garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, basil if you like, and any other seasonings you like, and some lemon juice. It works great, and I’ve used it to make spinach artichoke dip too. I can’t speak to the vegan mozzarellas out there, but I love using this to add protein and cut the fat content a bit. 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight and it is soooo good!! Even my meat loving father devoured it. So glad I have left overs!!
This recipe is simply amazing. Honestly, one of the best lasagnas I’ve tasted 🤌 my partner is allergic to carrots so I simply added a bit more mushrooms and another half of small zucchini and it was just as delicious as the original.
Thanks, Lindsay for these delicious, hearty vegetarian recipes!
I’ve made this dish three times now and LOVE IT. Comes out perfectly every time. (I use regular noodles that have to be boiled.) I don’t own a food processor, but I’ve discovered the ‘wet chop’ method with my Vitamix, and it works just fine. (You put your veg in the container, add water, and ‘pulse.’ Then strain in a colander and voila!) Any remaining water will cook off when you saute.
Will it be ok to bake without covering? I’m out of foil. Should I adjust the bake time?
Holy moly is this fantastic! This is my second time making this recipe and it is genius! I hate the texture of ground beef so I always make veggie lasagna, but veggie lasagna lacks the flavor that the fat in ground beef brings. This recipe with the walnuts is so ridiculously close to the real thing- so so good!
Oh my gosh, this lasagna was AMAZING! The only thing I changed was boiling my noodles beforehand because I was concerned they wouldn’t cook through. In the future I will only ever buy no-boil noodles though. 😂 My husband even asked what was in it because it was “so meaty”.
Awesome, like the title! I made it with homemade egg pasta, pre-boiled one minute. Came out delicious! Made it with three layers of pasta. Good stuff!
Delicious! Cut it in half and used homemade eggpasta, and reduced cooking time to 15 minutes until bubbly and nice.
Loveeeeee, love, love this lasagna!
Loved it!
This is the best lasagna hands down.
So easy to prepared.
So much flavor.
This is by far my favourite lasagna, meat or vegetarian! My kids also love it and the first few times they ate it, they had no idea it was meatless. The only reason they know is because one of them saw me make it! Amazing! Easy as well, but does use up lots of equipment and bowls.
Tried this for dinner. Super stress-free and easy! I didn’t have walnuts so I used pecans instead (a common substitution in my baking). I also had extra mushrooms to use up so I doubled the amount (16 oz total). I ended up with a bit of leftover sauce, which I’ll eat with pasta later.
Mascarpone is SO, SO much better than ricotta from a tub. I was nervous because this is quite different from my usual meat lasagna recipe but it’s A++, the whole family liked it.
So glad to hear it, Tina! Thanks for the comment!