Vegetarian Lasagna is a great family dish for so many reasons. Firstly, you can disguise a plethora of vegetables between that familiar bolognese and cheese sauce combination that most children love. It is also an excellent meal to prepare in advance to keep in the freezer for a busy day. Even better, the longer you leave the lasagna to sit before eating it, the more flavoursome it becomes. If you’re short on time, this vegetable-packed lasagna is an excellent stand alone dish. But likewise, it is easy to pair with steamed vegetables in the cooler months, and a salad and crusty bread in the warmer months.
Furthermore, in a world where food waste is increasingly a problem, Vegetarian Lasagna, ticks so many boxes. Give any tired-looking vegetables from the bottom of your crisper a longer life by throwing them into the bolognese sauce. No one is going to know what they once looked like once they are part of that deliciousness. From squashy tomatoes to celery leaves, anything can be added and saved from clogging up our landfill. And your family will benefit from the wide range of nutrient dense vegetables. Then there is the fact that your lasagna is meat free. This also saves our world’s resources, is better for your health, and wastes less meat.
So there you have it. Choose Vegetarian Lasagna this Meat-free Monday and save the world at the same time!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 90 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 2 tbs organic olive oil
- 120 g organic spinach
- 2 organic carrots grated
- 2 organic zucchini grated
- 2 stalks organic celery leaves (optional)
- 1 organic brown onions finely diced
- 2 organic red capsicum finely diced
- 3 cloves organic garlic finely diced
- 3 organic tomatoes chopped
- 400 g organic passata
- 1 cup red wine optional, can exchange for water
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbs organic tomato paste
- 2 organic bay leaves
- 1/2 cup organic basil leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup organic oregano chopped
- 3 tbs organic plain flour
- 65 g organic butter
- 2 cups organic milk
- 100 g organic cheese grated
- 250 g lasagna sheets fresh or dry
- 200 g organic cheese grated, for on top of the lasagna
Ingredients
For the veggie bolognese
For the Cheese Sauce
For the lasagna assembly
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- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Sautee the onion, capsicum and garlic.
- Add the zucchini, carrots, spinach, celery, tomatoes and fry for five minutes on medium heat.
- Add the bottle of passata, wine and water and bring to the boil
- Reduce to a simmer and add the herbs, bay leaves, tomato paste and sugar.
- Ideally, simmer the sauce for as long as you can but if you are short on time, half an hour should be enough.
- Remove the bay leaves, transfer the sauce to a blender and puree
- Transfer the pureed sauce to a bowl, ready for assembling the lasagna.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
- Stir in the flour and don’t let it go brown, (the flour and butter should combine to make a thick cheesy substance).
- Gradually add a little of the milk at a time so that the sauce remains thick.
- Once all the milk has been added, stir over low heat until it is bubbling.
- Add the grated cheese and stir until it melts.
- Set the cheese sauce aside for assembling the lasagna
- Begin by placing the lasagna sheets down on the bottom of the lasagna dish. Add a few ladlefuls of the veggie bolognese on top of the sheets and then a couple of ladlefuls of the cheese sauce. Mix them around together then repeat the process several times until the lasagna dish is full.
- Top the assembled lasagna with grated cheese and cook for forty five minutes. Put foil over the top of the lasagna for the first half an hour and then take it off in the last fifteen minutes so that the cheese on top makes a delicious crust.
- Serve with crusty bread, a side dish of vegetables or a fresh green salad.
