Go Back
A fully baked vegetarian lasagna with a golden and crispy cheese on top.
Print Recipe

Best Vegetarian Lasagna

You can’t go wrong with this vegetarian lasagna recipe!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Resting time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: lasagna, vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 540kcal

Equipment

  • 1 baking tray (mine was 35cm x 25cm x 6cm) (14in x 10in x 2.3in)

Ingredients

For the vegetables:

  • 400 g Zucchini, chopped (14 oz.)
  • 400 g Mushroom, chopped (14 oz.)
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

For the tomato sauce:

  • 3 Tablespoons Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Eggplant, chopped (very small cubes)
  • 2 cans Canned tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
  • 600 ml Water (2.5 cups)
  • 2 Garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Dried basil (or ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon Sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Baking soda (secret ingredient)

For the white sauce: 

  • 2 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
  • 2 Tablespoons White flour
  • 480 ml Milk (2 cups)
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

For assembling the lasagna:

  • 12-16 Dry lasagna sheets (no need to pre-cook them before)
  • 150 g Mozzarella (5 oz.)
  • 150 g Parmesan, grated (5 oz.)

Instructions

  • Start by preparing the tomato sauce. In a pot add the olive oil, eggplant and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Cook it in medium-high for around 3 minutes.
  • Add the 2 cans of tomato sauce, salt, black pepper, sugar, basil and water. Mix everything well and then reduce the heat to low. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
    Tomato sauce with vegetables after simmering. It is ready to be used for the vegetarian lasagna.
  • While the tomato sauce is simmering, we can start preparing the vegetables. In a medium heat pan, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and spread it well around the pan. Add the zucchini slices. Cook each side for around 4 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper on each side. Remove them from the pan and reserve.
    Grilled zucchinis that will be added to the vegetarian lasagna
  • In the same pan, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil, the 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and the mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook them for around 2-3 minutes. Set them aside.
    Grilled mushrooms with garlic, salt and pepper. One of the vegetables layer in the vegetarian lasagna.
  • Time to make the white sauce. In a medium-high heat pot, add the butter and the flour. Mix it well. Add the milk, a pinch of salt and pepper and keep mixing it until you reach a creamy consistency. It will take around 5 minutes.
    How the Béchamel sauce looks after mixing it for a few minutes.
  • Now it is time to check the tomato sauce that is simmering. Adjust the seasoning as you like it (more salt, pepper) and if it is still very acidic, add ½ teaspoon of baking soda. It will remove the acidity immediately.
    Tomato sauce after adding baking soda. It is losing its acidity so it has so bubbles.
  • All the layers are ready. Time to build the lasagna. There is no need to precook the dried lasagna sheets. One tip is to let the tomato sauce rest for some minutes (or cook it on the day before) so it is not super hot when you assemble the lasagna. When the tomato sauce is too hot, the dried lasagna sheets get curvy and make it harder to assemble it.
  • In your baking tray, add a bit of the tomato sauce at the bottom. Then place the first lasagna sheet layer. Another layer of sauce. Another layer of lasagna sheet. Tomato sauce again.
    In a baking tray, tomato sauce is added at the bottom to avoid the lasagna sheets to stick.
  • Now on top of the tomato sauce, make a layer with the grilled zucchinis.
    In a baking tray, grilled zucchinis are added as a layer to the vegetarian lasagna
  • Add a layer of mozzarella cheese.
    A layer of cheese is added on top of the zucchinis.
  • Add tomato sauce on top of the cheese. Another layer of lasagna sheets, and the tomato sauce. Make a layer with the grilled mushrooms. A little bit of tomato sauce. The last layer of lasagna sheets. On top of everything add the white sauce and the parmesan for last.
    Grilled mushrooms with garlic, salt and pepper. One of the vegetables layer in the vegetarian lasagna.
  • Put the lasagna into a preheated oven at 180°Celsius (350°Fahrenheit) with a foil paper for 30 minutes.
    A vegetarian lasagna baking tray, covered with foil, to be placed in the oven.
  • Then remove the foil, and bake it until the parmesan cheese is melted and a bit crunchy (it takes around 15 minutes).
    A vegetarian lasagna is covered with cheese and placed in the oven again.
  • Let the lasagna cool for around 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy! :)
    A piece of a fully cooked vegetarian lasagna served on a plate.