You will absolutely love this sweet and savory lasagna. Layers of butternut squash, ricotta, fresh spinach and a creamy white sauce. If you can find them, these spinach-flavored lasagna sheets are a huge time-saver.
Author Veg Life Staff
Ingredients
- Ricotta Mixture:
- 1 C vegan Ricotta
- ½ vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tbl Almond Milk
- 1 Tbl Parsley
- *****
- White Sauce:
- 4 Tbl vegan Margarine such as Earth Balance
- 3 C Almond Milk
- 2 Tbl vegan Parmesan Cheese
- ¼ C All-Purpose Flour
- Pinch of ground Nutmeg
- *****
- Filling:
- 1 Tbl Vegetable Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 C Butternut Squash or Kabocha Squash – I mixed the two
- 1 C fresh Spinach
- *****
- Panko Topping:
- ¼ C Panko Bread Crumbs
- ¼ C vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Tbl vegan Margarine such as Earth Balance, melted
- *****
- 4 8 x8 or 12 standard Lasagna Sheets
Instructions
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Cut the ends off of the squash and slice in half length-wise, scraping out the seeds. You can use all Butternut, but I was fortunate to have a selection to choose from and found this Kabocha squash. It’s a Japanese squash grown in California and Mexico. A little darker and richer tasting flesh. It is a bit tougher to cut, so use a very sharp knife and some caution 🙂
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Using a small amount of vegetable oil, brush the flesh side of each of the halves and season with salt and pepper. Place flesh side up on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for about an hour or until tender at 425 degrees. Cool enough to handle and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash it with a fork. This can be done a day in advance.
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In a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 Tbl of margarine until melted and whisk in the flour. Add the almond milk all at once, whisking until smooth. Add the parmesan and a pinch of nutmeg, whisk occasionally until thickened, about 15 minutes. Set aside, keeping warm.
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In a bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, almond milk and parsley. Set aside.
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In a separate bowl, combine the panko, parmesan and melted margarine. Set aside.
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In the dried pasta section, you can sometimes find these pasta sheets.
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These are spinach. If you cannot find the sheets, you can also use the standard dried noodles. ***Be sure to read the ingredients as many lasagna noodles contain eggs*** In a pan filled with warm water, stack and soak the sheets for a few minutes until pliable (not too long or they will stick together).
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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To assemble, place some of the white sauce on the bottom of an 8×8 pan and one sheet of the pasta.
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Using an offset spatula, add half of the squash and spread evenly. Top with another sheet of pasta.
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Top this sheet with half the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Add the fresh spinach leaves.
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Top with the white sauce.
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Add another lasagna sheet and top with the butternut mixture and follow with another sheet of lasagna.
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Add the remaining ricotta mixture, some of the remaining white sauce and top with the breadcrumb mixture.
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Reserve the leftover white sauce for serving later.
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Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked and bubbly.
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Cool slightly and add fresh thyme leaves to garnish, if desired.
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Serve with remaining white sauce.
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This recipe makes 6 large pieces or 9 smaller pieces.
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