Wonderful Veggie Lasagna
Lasagna is a great Italian dish that is delicious no matter how you make it. Make it the traditional way with Lasagna pasta and some Marinara sauce with a little Italian spice. Layer these, some ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese in a casserole dish, bake it in the oven and there you have a wholesome, satisfying casserole.
Or make it more interesting, colorful and healthy. Bring in some garlic and colorful vegetables for more tantalizing flavor. Add some pepper and give it a personality of its own. Use cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Add some provolone cheese along with mozzarella.
The beauty is that you can bake this in the conventional oven and have that unique taste and flavor, or use a microwaveable casserole dish and cook it in a large enough microwave oven for a few minutes. The amazing thing is that either way the dish comes out delectable!
Another versatility of this dish is that you can do everything from scratch in the most old fashioned way if you have the time and patience, or if you are on the go, or want something easy, or just basically lazy, there are easier ways to get it done. There is even ready-made lasagna available that is precooked. They are ready to be layered as they come. There is no need to boil water and cook them, drain them and all that jazz. You can just take them out of the package and layer them along with the sauce and cheeses, and bake as usual. Now tell me, isn’t this dish great or what?
Hover over the highlighted Keywords below for Images and/or Description of some of the Ingredients:
Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Cloves, Olive Oil, Spinach
Wonderful Veggie Lasagna
Print recipe| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 35 minutes |
| Dietary | Diabetic, Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot |
| Region | Italian |
Ingredients
- 9 Lasagna noodles
- 6 - 8 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 Package Spinach (frozen, or you can use fresh spinach chopped)
- 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 oz.)
- 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 8 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian blend spices
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 cups Ricotta Cheese (or cottage cheese)
- 2 - 4 cups Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Optional
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 6 Slices Provolone Cheese
Directions
| Making the Sauce | |
| Step 1 | |
| Place a medium non-stick pan on medium heat. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Add oil to the pan. When oil is hot, add the onion. Cook for 3 minutes. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Add garlic and half a teaspoon salt. Cook until onion and garlic are cooked. | |
| Step 4 | |
|
Add the spinach and half a teaspoon salt. Mix with a non-stick spoon or spatula. Cook for 5 minutes or until spinach is cooked.  | |
| Step 5 | |
|
Add the tomato sauce and the spices. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from stove.  | |
| Step 6 | |
|
Add the ricotta or cottage cheese to the spinach sauce mixture. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.  | |
| Preparing the Lasagna | |
| Step 7 | |
| Cook Lasagna according to package directions. Drain. | |
| Step 8 | |
In a 13 x 9 casserole baking dish, spray or spread cooking oil. If you are going to use the microwave oven, make sure the casserole baking pan is microwave safe. Also make sure that the dish will fit in your microwave oven. | |
| Step 9 | |
| Place 3 lasagna noodles lengthwise. Add a layer of the spinach sauce mixture over the noodles. Add a layer of mozarella cheese over the spinach sauce. | |
| Step 10 | |
| Place 3 more lasagna noodles on top of the cheese layer. Add a layer of the spinach sauce mixture over the noodles. | |
| Step 11 | |
|
Add a layer of mozarella cheese over the spinach sauce. If you don't have, or don't want to use much mozzarella cheese, skip this step.  | |
| Step 12 | |
| Layer the provolone slices on top, if you like. | |
| Step 13 | |
|
Place the last 3 lasagna noodles on top of the cheese layer. Add a layer of the spinach sauce mixture over the noodles.  | |
| Step 14 | |
|
Add the last layer of mozarella cheese over the spinach sauce. | |
| Baking the Lasagna in a conventional oven | |
| Step 15 | |
| Preheat the oven to 375 degrees f. | |
| Step 16 | |
|
Place the casserole dish in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted.  | |
| Step 17 | |
|
If you prefer a crusty, crispy top, you can set the oven to "Low Broil", and place the baked dish for a couple of minutes in the oven. Make sure to watch every minute so that the lasagna does not get burnt. As soon as the top is slightly golden brown, remove the casserole from the oven and set it on the counter top.  | |
| Baking the Lasagna in a microwave oven | |
| Step 18 | |
|
Place the casserole dish in a large microwave oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is thoroughly melted. | |
| Step 19 | |
| Remove the casserole dish from the microwave oven and set it on the counter top. | |
| Finish and Enjoy | |
| Step 20 | |
Cut the lasagna into slices, in sizes that you prefer. Serve hot. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if you like. Enjoy! | |
