Butternut Squash Lasagna

I spotted it yesterday while I was turning the earth in the potato bed – the first tinge of rouge on our towering maples. The color in the leaves reflects the drop in temperatures and signals the bona fide start of fall on the homestead.

There are other signs of the change of seasons, too. The potatoes have been dug and stored, and we’ve already had to burrow into the closets in search of fleece jackets and tall boots for our invigorating walks to school and back.

Since the weather has turned chilly, I am prepping less salads and roasting more vegetables. I like to have cooked squash on hand to tuck into foods like mini quiche, soups, and today’s lasagna.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

The arrival of autumn and the brisk weather had me craving this comforting casserole, but I opted for a lighter version, featuring roasted butternut squash instead of a meat sauce. The lasagna also contains plenty of herbs, which are still flourishing in the garden, and a generous helping of cheese for a vegetarian take on a family favorite.

Any roast winter squash would be lovely in this recipe (Nigella Lawson has a recipe for a pumpkin and goat cheese lasagna in her book Nigella Christmas that I am curious to try next), I just happened to use butternut, as that was what I had roasted and sitting in the fridge.

Many of the components of this recipe can be prepared in advance, or even purchased, making it a good option for a weeknight dinner. It can also be assembled in the morning, stored – well wrapped in the refrigerator – for the day, and baked up hot and bubbly for dinner at night.

Perfect for Meatless Monday, I recommend doubling this butternut squash lasagna recipe and freezing the second (after assembly, before baking) for another week.

Butternut Squash Lasagna

A vegetarian version of a family favourite.
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 352kcal
Author: Aimee

Ingredients

  • 2 cups marinara sauce homemade or purchased
  • 9 lasagna noodles cooked
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper
  • 2 cups roasted winter squash I used butternut, but any variety would do
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella divided
  • 5-7 roasted tomatoes optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • In the bottom of an 8x10 casserole, spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce and top with three lasagna noodles.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, salt and pepper together until foamy. Add the roasted squash and beat it into the egg until combined. Don't worry if there are a few lumps.
  • Sprinkle the thyme and the Parmesan into the squash mixture and mix well. Spread the mixture over the lasagna noodles in the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
  • Layer another 3 noodles in the casserole and top with 1 cup of marinara sauce. Place the remaining 3 noodles in the dish and spread the last 1/2 cup of sauce over the top of them.
  • Finish the lasagna with 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Top with 5-7 roasted tomatoes, if you wish.
  • Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the cheese is golden and the sides of the lasagna are bubbling.
  • Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 352kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 936mg | Potassium: 680mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 9080IU | Vitamin C: 22.8mg | Calcium: 296mg | Iron: 2.3mg

 

Have you shifted into fall cooking yet?

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40 Comments

  1. And I was just wondering what to make for dinner tonight!! This looks wonderful, thanks for the recipe Aimee!! 🙂

      1. Turns out my local grocer either did not have butternut in stock yet, or my husband doesn’t know what the squash looks like. 😉 Substituted acorn instead and it turned out fantastic. I will admit I was a little worried with the lack of ricotta, but the squash provides the perfect texture, truly amazing! Thanks again for the recipe Aimee, yet another reason SimpleBites is my favorite blog! 🙂

  2. 4 stars
    Looks like a good candidate for the Dutch oven and you could also use zucchini instead of pasta noodles. Thank you for the recipe.

  3. Gorgeous! The tomatoes look so lovely sitting on the top of the cheese, and while I’m not quite into fall comfort foods yet, I could definitely get on board with this.

  4. Aimee! This looks amazing! I was lamenting the end of summer and all the quick salads and fresh meals I’ve been enjoying . . . and then I saw this. Mmm. Warm, hot casseroles and lasagnas and soups now sound mighty good. Can’t wait to try this.

  5. This looks amazing! And our butternut squash plant took over our entire garden this year so will need lots of great recipes to use it up! Just a quick question…Is there a reason that the last two layers of noodles only have sauce and not more of the butternut squash filling between them?

    Thanks for the great recipe!

  6. Aimée,
    This lasagna looks delicious. I’ve roasted and put up some squash, but I’m waffling between summer cooking and fall cooking as the weather waffles between 90 degree days and 70 degree days. Today was a soup day, so perhaps the transition is trending towards fall.

    Thanks!

  7. 5 stars
    Just had this for dinner. I actually had some ricotta to use up, so I just pureed it along with the roasted squash (I had to puree the squash anyway so that the kids wouldn’t know it was in there) and it worked out great. Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. Good to know that the squash can be pureed, I was wondering what I’d do if my guy saw some squash in the lasagna and stopped eating it!