This easy mediterranean lasagna is packed with roasted vegetables and is a great vegetarian dinner for your meatless Monday! Make this tasty recipe and adapt the ingredients with the veggies on hand and layer them with pasta sheet and creamy ricotta! Who knew that comfort food could taste this good?
Not only this recipe is a great option for a delicious Mediterranean dish on a weekday but it also present well for a dinner with friends or for your next potluck. Above all, this is a great make-ahead or freezer meal. If you are a Mediterranean diet lover then enjoy 30-minute salmon , chickpea salad with mint and lemon, or Greek tabbouleh.
⭐ Why you will love this lasagna recipe:
- A great recipe to make ahead
- Easy to adapt and add extra ingredients
- Freezer meal for the organized one
- Delicious Comfort meal
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🧀 Ingredients Needed
The amazing part of this Mediterranean lasagna is how versatile it is. Of course, the fact that it is a great make-ahead recipe is also a bonus! Ultimately, this ingredients list is a suggestion as you can adapt it to your liking or what you have on hand.
A few notes on some of the ingredients:
- Lasagna Sheets: Use fresh pasta for tastier results
- Ricotta: Adds a creamy taste
- Tomato sauce: Use your regular sauce but if you like a garlic or basil flavored one, it is a great option
- Bell pepper: I prefer yellow, orange, or red for their sweetness
- Shredded cheese: For a cheesy top layer of this vegetarian lasagna! I used mozzarella cheese but you can use any type such as cheddar, emmental or parmesan cheese to stay in the Mediterranean theme!
📋 Variations and Substitutions
Depending what you have on hand or the family taste, here are a few ideas and suggestions to make this recipe your own. There are so many ways you can make this lasagna with a Mediterranean flare.
- Meat: If you want to add some protein to your dish, add some ground beef after sauteing the onion and garlic and cook until no longer pink. Then, add the tomato sauce.
- Vegetables: The options are endless for the Mediterranean lasagna recipe. You can also add eggplant, artichoke hearts, fresh or dried tomatoes, olives.
- Cheese: Some recipe will call for an egg to be mix with the ricotta and use this ricotta mixture the same way. Also, if you prefer, you can use feta cheese (no egg mixture though) instead but it will change the texture a little.
🔪 Instructions to prepare it
The recipe is in 2 main steps: roasting the vegetables and preparing the tomato sauce. First things first, turn on the oven at 425F.
Next, you will need to wash and chop all the vegetables, the one you will need to roast but also for the tomato sauce (Picture 2).
TIP: It is more efficient to chop everything that needs to be at the beginning of the recipe as opposed to chop as you need.
On a lined baking sheet, put your zucchinis, bell peppers and mushrooms (Picture 1). Add salt, herbs and olive oil, toss well and cook 20 minutes and ideally toss the veggies after 10 minutes.
Then, in a hot pan over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic with some olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes or until translucent. Add the tomato sauce and stir gently (Picture 3). Let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes and add the spinach (Picture 4).
Lastly, let's assemble! In a baking dish, place the lasagna sheets, then put some tomato sauce over and top up with some roasted vegetables and add ricotta cheese (Picture 5). Repeat in this order until you have use it all up and cover with the shredded cheese (Picture 6).
Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
TIP: Spread a little bit of tomato sauce at the very bottom of the dish to prevent from the pasta to stick.
🍽 What to serve with it?
Although this is a great recipe on its own, I like to add an option of vegetables or salad on the table:
- Beet and Apple Carpaccio with feta: if you are hosting, this first course will bring the Mediterranean theme.
- Tuscan Kale Salad: Add some leafy greens to the table with this tasty Italian salad.
- Roasted Veggie Salad: If you can't get enough of roasted vegetables, this salad might be for you!
💭 Recipe FAQs
Absolutely, you can make it the day before and keep it, covered, in the fridge until you are ready to put in the oven. Or, you can freeze the lasagna and thaw it out over night before cooking it 30 minutes. If you wish to pop it in the oven frozen, consider leaving it for an hour. Lastly, you can also freeze it once cooked and warm it up in the oven or microwave once unfrozen.
I would not go any longer than 48 to 72 hours in an air-tight container. Bring some Mediterranean lasagna for lunch at work!
Absolutely! In the pasta aisle, you should find 2 types of pastas: the 'oven ready' one that will not require any pre-cooking of the pasta or another one that will require to cook the pasta before using them. Follow the instructions on the box.
I would not recommend to do that. Zucchini, mushroom or eggplant for example contain a lot of water and your lasagna would be soggy.
👩🏻🍳 More Comforting Recipes
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📖 Mediterranean Lasagna
Equipment
- 1 baking dish 9 x 13
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables
- 227 g mushrooms
- 2 zucchinis
- 2 peppers
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon herbes de provence optional
For the tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 740 ml tomato sauce 2 cans
- 1 cup spinach washed, chopped
Other
- 360g Fresh lasagna sheets 1 packet
- 475g Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
For the roasted vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Wash and chop all the vegetables.
- On a lined baking sheet, put your zucchinis, bell peppers and mushrooms. Add salt, herbs and olive oil, toss well.
- Cook in the oven for 10 minutes, toss and another 10 minutes.
For the tomato sauce
- In a hot pan over medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the tomato sauce and stir gently. Let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes and add the spinach. Stir well.
Assembling
- In a baking dish, place the lasagna sheets, then put some tomato sauce over (about 2 generous ladle) and top up with some roasted vegetables and add ricotta cheese (3 generous tablespoons).
- Repeat in this order until you have use it all up (3 layers).
- Cover with the shredded mozzarella.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 400F or until the pasta are tender (put a knife through your lasagna).
Notes
- Make ahead and store it in the fridge over night.
- Make ahead and freeze it! Add 30 minutes to the cooking time if you don't thaw it out.
- Add other vegetables such as artichokes hearts, eggplants to your roasting tray!
- Don't skip the step of roasting the vegetables!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
I haven't had lasagna in ages and now I am craving it real bad! This looks soooo good. A true classic :)
Mélanie says
No way, It is such a perfect dish in winter! It is our comfort food!