This Summer Roasted Vegetable Lasagna is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It’s light, fresh and definitely will have you craving a second piece. It’s the best thing to make when you have a ton of veggies and herbs lying around from the garden. A creamy lemon basil ricotta fills the layers in between the delicious roasted vegetables and pasta. It’s topped with a smoked mozzarella cheese and served hot and bubbly.
I made this lasagna for my sisters mini backyard wedding. (Details here!) Growing up in Michigan there was always baked mostaccioli at every event. This lasagna felt like the sophisticated and homemade version of it. It was enough to feed a big crowd, fun to make with my family and it was absolutely delicious.
You start the lasagna by roasting the vegetables. The best part of this recipe is that you can pretty much use any vegetables you have lying around. It’s a great recipe to help clear out the fridge. The lasagna consists of almost 6 cups of vegetables, so even though its pasta it’s basically like a salad right? I like to think so.
The vegetables are roasted until golden brown and soft. Before I made the vegetables I did make homemade lasagna noodles. If you make them homemade, you do not need to boil them before baking. While the vegetables were roasting I made a marinara sauce. If you are short on time you can absolutely make the recipe with store bought noodles and sauce. If using store bought, boil until al dente. I luckily had a lot of help in the kitchen that day, so I decided to do it all by hand.
The ricotta mixture consists of ricotta, lemon and basil. It adds the best fresh flavor to the roasted vegetable lasagna and really brightens it up. The lasagna is assembled with layers of the sauce, noodles, ricotta, vegetables, and spinach. It’s topped with shredded mozzarella cheese and baked until golden brown and bubbling hot. Serve for a Sunday dinner party or your next summer event!
Summer Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 large leek, bottom half with white and green parts chopped
- ½ medium red onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced into rounds
- 8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
- 1 zucchini, sliced into moons
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, whole
- olive oil, for drizzling
- salt and pepper
Ricotta filling
- 1 15oz package ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ cup grated Parmesan Romano cheese
- juice and zest from 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
For the lasagna
- 12 lasagna noodles, store bought or homemade
- 24 ounces marina sauce, store bought or homemade
- 1 packed cup chopped spinach
- 2 cups grated smoked mozzarella cheese
- basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the chopped vegetables on the sheet and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft and golden brown. Remove the vegetables from the oven and reduce the heat to 375°.
- In a medium bowl add the ricotta, egg, Parmesan Romano, lemon, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir together until the egg is incorporated. Add the chopped basil and fold in until mixed thoroughly. Set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling water, boil the noodles until al dente according to the package.
- Drizzle the bottom of a 8×12 pan with olive oil. Spread one cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer 4 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the lemon basil ricotta on top of the noodles. Top with half of the roasted vegetables, half of the spinach and 2/3 cups of the marinara sauce. Top with 4 additional noodles, and then the remaining ricotta, vegetables, spinach and 2/3 cup of sauce. Top with 4 more noodles, the remaining sauce and shredded smoked mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the lasagna at 375° for 25-30 minutes. The top will be brown and bubbly. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting. Garnish the lasagna with basil leaves right before serving.