My favourite vegetarian lasagne

Serves 6 | 45 mins prep time | 40 mins cook

We aren’t vegetarians in the Dream of Home household, but we do love to cook and eat the occasional veggie meal. They’re so packed full of flavour and nutrients and the best part is you can substitute lots of the ingredients for whatever you have in the fridge.

This veggie lasagne is one that I created myself and I personally prefer it to the standard beef-mince lasagne. There are so many great veggies in here that you just don’t miss the meat, which can be the case with some vegetarian recipes.

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What veggies go into a vegetarian lasagne?

This recipe is really flexible. I prefer to put a mixture of sweet and bitter veg in, so carrots and red peppers, for example. Sweet potato or butternut squash would work instead of carrots and you can choose any colour peppers you like. I also add in courgette.

If you wanted to, you could also add beans, chickpeas, peas, mushrooms, celery, aubergine, kale, leeks and more to create the perfect veggie lasagne for your family. Everyone is different, and I don’t like mushrooms, so I tend to avoid them from my version.

Do I have to make the white/cheese sauce from scratch?

I always make my cheese sauce from scratch, but you absolutely don’t have to. You can buy jars of white sauce and add cheese to them to top off your veggie lasagne if you’re short on time, or can’t be bothered with the effort/mess.

What can I serve with my veggie lasagne?

In terms of side dishes, there are loads of great ideas. You can go traditional with a salad and some garlic bread. You can add coleslaw on the side, too. If you want more veg, you can serve it with cooked kale or broccoli. To go all fancy, add some parmesan crisps on the side.

Can I make this recipe vegan/gluten free?

Absolutely, this recipe can be easily adjusted. For vegans, you can use a plant-based alternative to milk and butter to make the white sauce. For those who are gluten intolerant, you can swap out the lasagne sheets for gluten-free versions.

Ingredients

To make my favourite vegetarian lasagne, you will need:

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 3 large carrots
• 2 red peppers
• 1 large courgette
• 1 onion
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tub of passata
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 1tsp oregano
• 1tsp mixed herbs

For the cheese sauce, you will need:

• 4tbsp butter
• 4tbsp flour
• 1 litre of semi-skimmed milk
• 50g cheddar

For the topping, you will need:

• 50g cheddar
• 125g ball of mozzarella

 

Method

Step 1: Preheat the oven

Preheat your fan oven to 160 degrees celsius (or a little higher for a conventional oven).

Step 2: Chop your veg

Chopping the veg is one of the most time consuming parts of this lasagne. Chop the carrots, onion, courgette and red pepper into small 1cm cubes.

Step 3: Sauté your veg

Add a little bit of olive oil to a large pan and add all of your veg, sautéing it for about 5 minutes on a low-medium heat.

Step 4: Add the herbs

Herbs are the key to any lasagne. Add the oregano and mixed herbs and stir well, letting it fry off for around a minute or so to release those flavours.

Step 5: Add the tomatoes and stock cube

I like to add a mixture of tinned tomatoes and passata to my lasagne. The passata makes the sauce nice and thick, while the tinned tomatoes add that nice chunky texture.

Add both types of tomato now and crumble in your veggie stock cube. You shouldn’t need any water to loosen the sauce, but if you think it’s too thick, you can add a tiny bit now.

Step 6: Make the cheese sauce

While the veggie filling is simmering, you can move on to making your cheese sauce. If you’re using a jar, skip to the next step.

Make a roux by melting some butter in a pan and then adding the flour. Stir it well and it should look a little like the above. Let this cook for about a minute on a medium heat.

Then, gradually at your milk and use a whisk to mix it all together and avoid lumps. Once all of your milk is added, you should have a nice thick white sauce.

Add the cheese and stir in well.

Step 7: Build your lasagne

Now, it’s time to assemble. I like to add a double layer of lasagne sheets to the bottom of my dish. This gives the lasagne a nice solid base.

Start with this double layer and then add a tiny bit of boiling water to the bottom of the dish.

Then, add a layer of the tomato/veg filling on top. Add another layer of pasta, another layer of tomato filling and then a final layer of pasta.

Add your cheese sauce on top of your last layer of pasta sheets.

Step 8: Add the cheese and mozzarella to the top

Finally, you can top your veggie lasagne with cheddar cheese and mozzarella.

Step 9: Put in the oven

Put your vegetarian lasagne in the oven for around 40 minutes, keeping an eye on it so the cheese topping doesn’t burn near the end.

Step 10: Serve

Your lasagne is ready for serving with your sides of choice! I chose to stick to lettuce with mine.

Tried my recipe? Give others your feedback!