This vegetarian lasagna recipe is my favorite dish to make for family and friends! Filled with savory roasted vegetables, it's healthy and delicious.
Vegetarian lasagna was the first big dinner I learned how to make. When I was in college, a vegetable lasagna would always be the main event when I cooked a meal for a group. Fast forward to now, and I still like to make one when I’m serving a crowd, especially around the holidays. A veggie lasagna is comforting, flavorful, and great for making ahead. Plus, who doesn’t love to swap stories at the table over red sauce and pasta?!
I’m sharing my favorite vegetarian lasagna recipe below. It’s savory and satisfying, filled with roasted veggies, creamy ricotta cheese, ruffly noodles, and plenty of marinara sauce. I think you’re going to love it!
How to Make Vegetable Lasagna
My vegetarian lasagna recipe starts with these ingredients:
Vegetarian Lasagna Ingredients
- Fresh veggies, of course! I pack this vegetable lasagna with roasted red bell peppers, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and baby spinach. They add SO much flavor.
- Lasagna noodles – No-boil noodles seem convenient—but trust me, the regular kind are better. They take less than 10 minutes to cook, and they have a perfect tender texture in the final lasagna.
- Marinara sauce – Make homemade marinara sauce, or use a 24-ounce jar of store-bought sauce. I like Rao’s.
- Ricotta cheese – It creates a creamy, cheesy layer between the noodles, sauce, and veggies. I season it with garlic and lemon zest for bright, savory flavor.
- Shredded pecorino and mozzarella cheese – For topping the lasagna. Not a pecorino person? Parmesan cheese works too!
- And fresh basil and/or parsley – For garnish.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Before you assemble the lasagna, complete these 3 prep steps:
- Roast the veggies. Toss the peppers, zucchini, onions, and mushrooms with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 425°F until they’re tender and caramelized.
- Boil the noodles until al dente. Toss them with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking!
- Make the ricotta filling. Mix the ricotta cheese with the lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper.
You’re ready to layer!
How to Layer Vegetable Lasagna
Start with a 9×13-inch baking dish. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom.
- Then, add a layer of noodles.
- Top the noodles with half the ricotta mixture.
- Layer half the spinach over the ricotta, and scatter half the roasted vegetables in an even layer.
- Dot the vegetables with 2/3 cup of the marinara sauce.
Repeat the layering process in the same order:
- Noodles
- Ricotta
- Spinach + roasted veggies
- 2/3 cup marinara sauce
Top with a final layer of noodles, the remaining sauce, and the shredded cheese.
That’s it!
How Long to Bake Vegetarian Lasagna
If using fully cooked lasagna noodles: Bake uncovered at 400°F for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
If using no-boil lasagna noodles: Cover the veggie lasagna with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
Let the vegetable lasagna stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Variation
To make vegan lasagna: Replace the ricotta mixture with this vegan ricotta. Skip the cheese on top of the lasagna. Bake, covered, until the pasta is tender and the lasagna is heated through, 30 to 50 minutes at 400°F.
What to Serve with Vegetarian Lasagna
This vegetable lasagna recipe is a satisfying meal on its own, but it pairs well with all sorts of side dishes, too!
Serve it with a salad, such as
- this green salad,
- this kale Caesar salad,
- or this chopped salad.
Or pair it with a veggie side dish like
You also can’t go wrong with garlic knots or garlic bread!
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Leftover vegetarian lasagna keeps well in an airtight container or covered dish in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or a 350°F oven.
To freeze vegetable lasagna: Assemble the lasagna in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost overnight in the fridge before baking. When ready to serve, bake, covered, for 20 minutes at 400°F. Uncover and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the lasagna is heated through.
More Veggie Comfort Food Recipes
If you love this vegetarian lasagna, try one of these veggie comfort food recipes next:
Best Vegetarian Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ medium yellow onion, cut into ½-inch pieces
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 15 lasagna noodles*
- 3 cups marinara sauce, 24 ounces
- 3 cups fresh spinach
- 2 cups grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated pecorino cheese
- Fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Ricotta Filling
- 3 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, 24 ounces
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Oil a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Place the mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, and onion on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Spread evenly on the baking sheet and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tender and browned around the edges. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles.* Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions, cooking until al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Make the ricotta filling: In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
- Assemble the lasagna. Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce at the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles, followed by half the ricotta mixture. Spread the ricotta in an even layer, then arrange half the spinach evenly on top. Top with half the vegetables and dot with ⅔ cup of the remaining marinara sauce.
- Repeat with another layer of noodles, followed by the remaining ricotta, spinach, vegetables, and another ⅔ cup sauce. Top with the remaining noodles.
- Spread the remaining ⅔ cup marinara over the pasta, then evenly sprinkle with the mozzarella and pecorino cheeses. Bake in the 400°F oven for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Let stand for 20 minutes before garnishing with fresh basil or parsley, slicing, and serving.
Notes
- No-boil noodles tend to be shorter than regular lasagna noodles. Instead of counting noodles, expect to use about ¾ of a 1-pound box.
- Change the bake time: Cover the lasagna and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the noodles are tender, then uncover and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
To make this vegan (vs. vegetarian) what would be a good substitute for the 2 cup of grated smoked mozzarella cheese?
HI Joan, I just skip the cheese and bake the whole thing covered with foil for less time (about 20 minutes). This keeps the top saucey without the noodles drying out. Just be sure to use regular cooked lasagna noodles and not no-bake ones.
Alternatively, you could use grated vegan cheese, but I prefer it this way. Hope that helps!
I saved a bit of the ricotta substitute and tomato sauce and grated over some vegan cheese.
Hi!
Is the nutritional yeast an essential ingredient or can I make the tofu ricotta without it? I’ve not familiar with nutritional yeast and i feel a little uncertain.
Hi Danielle, it adds a wonderful cheesy flavor to the tofu – I wouldn’t be afraid, it’s pretty subtle. Here’s more about what it is: https://www.loveandlemons.com/nutritional-yeast/
I was skeptical about this recipe but it is fantastic! Or as a friend said, phenomenal!! If I didn’t know the “ricotta” was actually tofu, I wouldn’t have noticed. I’m so happy I found this recipe-I’ll be making it on a regular basis.
Super delicious. But FYI if you only printed out the recipe and read the comments for tips like I did… COOK the noodles before adding them to the dish. I put the noodles in uncooked *face palm*. Surprisingly though, most of the noodles did actually come out al dente, but there were a few crispy bits.
Seems like a great recipe but I’m noticing a lot of people saying that it’s vegan which it is not. I’m assuming they used a plant based cheese in place of the smoked mozzarella. At least that’s the hope if they are feeding vegans.
This lasagna is great, my carnivore husband went back for seconds. My vegan friends loved it. The tofu ricotta is rich and creamy.
I’m so glad you all loved it!
Perfect!
I would like to make this a day ahead… should I construct it, refrigerate it and bake it day of or should I bake it, refrigerate and warm it day of? Any suggestion or advice would be greatly appreciated!
BTW, I had made this previously and it was a crowd pleaser! Thank you for an easy peasy yummy veggie dish!
Hi Patty, I think you could probably assemble it, keep it in the fridge, and bake it the next day. You might have to bake it a little longer since everything will have started out cold. Let me know how it goes!
Instead of halving the ricotta, you may want to just flavor it up a bit more with the amounts of ingredients other than the tofu. My son loves basil and garlic, so I double (or triple…. I never measure these ingredients, I just add until the sould of my ancestors tell me “enough my child” and carry on). I also double the nutritional yeast and instead of measuring the lemon zest, I zest an entire lemon for the ricotta. It adds SOOOO much flavor to the lasagna. I also make double the ricotta to save for other recipes and salads.
This was my first ever, vegan meal made for my family… over a year ago. This was the meal that convinced them all that vegan could be super flavorful and delicious. I’m making it again today and got the veggies roasting in the oven before realizing that I was out of lasagna noodles! Fortunately, I have a marrow (way way overly large zucchini that was missed in my garden)… so I’m slicing it thin with my mandoline to create zoodles of my own 😉 Did this once last year and they are terrific! BEST lasagna ever!
Hands down the best vegetarian lasagna I’ve ever tried !!! If I ever want to cook it during winter or fall what vegetables do you think I can put instead of zucchini and cherry tomatoes ?
Hi Floriane, I’m sorry for my slow reply here! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the lasagna. In the winter, I would add some extra mushrooms and/or roasted butternut squash.
This is seriously the best lasagna I’ve ever had!! I added eggplant to mine (I recommend keeping it separate in the pan because it might need an extra 5 minutes to fully roast). The tofu ricotta was divine. My mom said it was better than real ricotta and my meat-eating brother in law said he would have never noticed it was vegan. I will come back to this recipe (and site) time and time again! Delicious!
Loved this recipe!! I 3/4-ed it because I was making it just for me and it turned out fantastic. The roasted veggies are a hearty addition and I LOVE the tofu ricotta. I’m lactose intolerant and had a hard time finding a vegetarian recipe that was also dairy free and looked this good. I used eggplant and bell pepper instead of fennel and zucchini and oh man was it good.
Hi Frances, I’m so glad you loved it!
I am not a vegetarian, but love vegetables and great tasting food. This recipe was very tasty and satisfying. I was hesitant about using the tofu, but was pleasantly surprised. It was also easier to make than it appeared! I will definitely make this again!
Has anyone tried freezing the pan and thawing it prior to baking it for the first time?
Thanks!
Hi Katie, that will work – I’d thaw it overnight in the fridge before you bake it.
Katie, when I’m making this, I always make a second one to freeze. It takes some time to prep all those veggies and since I’ve got all the tools out, making a second one for a quick meal on down the road saves time in the long run. As Jeanine said, defrost in the fridge overnight. I have also baked it and frozen it after baking and cooling. Works both ways
What can I substitute tofu for? Or could I just not add anything extra?
Hi Tajah, you could use regular ricotta cheese instead.
I never ever leave reviews on things but I am coming here to tell you to MAKE THIS LASAGNA. I loooove tofu but my partner…not so much. He ate 3/4 of the tray and thought it was cheese. If you are weary about the tofu ricotta… I promise it tastes like regular creamy lasagna filling once it’s baked.
I used cherry tomatoes, zucchini, white onion, a mushroom blend and whole roasted garlic cloves for the veggies. Added spinach and a layer of chilli flakes because I like my heat. Was a bit more heavy handed with the salt and lemon in the ricotta filling but W O W. Thank you for this recipe!!! I will be having a passionate love affair with it for the rest of the week 🙂
Hi Danielle, ha ha, I’m glad it was such a hit!
I want to make this with Banza chickpea lasagna noodles so it’s lower in grains – but the package for those says they are no-boil. Should I try it? Or boil the no-boil noodles first? For how long?
Hi Emily, I would cook them first – no-boil noodles haven’t worked for others in this recipe, it doesn’t bake as long as a traditional very cheesy lasagnas.
Loved this! I did a quick broil at the end to add a crust to the cheese.
I’ve made this recipe before and made it again for the cooking club! My husband is vegan and lasagna has been one of the dishes I miss most about eating together. But once we found this recipe, it satisfied all the cravings! I love the versatility of adding any veggie combo from our fridge, plus a lot of leafy greens. The tofu ricotta, though, it what makes it irresistible (we ate half the pan on Christmas)!