La-la-sagna! GREEN lasagna that is! Just as cheesy as regular lasagna, plus it’s packed with all sorts of glorious green stuff: zucchini, spinach, peas, and basil, and spinach lasagna noodles to boot. Make it vegan with our 1-minute vegan ricotta and vegan mozzarella or make it vegetarian with traditional ricotta and mozzarella.

What is green lasagna?

Traditional lasagna is a baked pasta dish made with tomato sauce, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, and of course, the eponymous lasagna noodles. For our green lasagna, we’re keeping the pasta and the cheeses, but we’re replacing the tomato (or red) sauce, with a green one made from fresh spinach, frozen peas, handfuls of fresh basil, a touch of lemon rind, and a little butter (or margarine).

How do you make green lasagna?

This lasagna, like traditional lasagnas, is made by making each of the layer components, and then layering them in a baking pan.

There are 4 or optionally 5 layers.

Layer 1: Green Sauce

For the green sauce, add the water and spinach to a blender and blend well. Add in the peas, basil, butter, lemon rind, and salt and pepper. The recipe calls for fresh spinach and fresh basil. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can substitute with dried (see the Recipe Card.  for details.) We use frozen peas or sometimes a mix of frozen peas and frozen shelled edamame beans. The edamame is a bit denser, so you’ll likely need to add a few extra tablespoons or more of water to the mix.

Layer 2: Ricotta Cheese

If you want a vegan or dairy-free cheese, make our 1-Minute Vegan Ricotta. If you’re vegetarian, use store-bought ricotta.

In a pinch, you could omit the ricotta entirely, and just layer in more mozzarella.

Layer 3: Zucchini (Optional)

For the full-on green lasagna experience, include a layer of lightly sauteed zucchini.

To prepare the zucchini: Slice the zucchini into long thin strips. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, and saute the strips for a few minutes, until starting to brown. You will likely need to saute in batches, or in separate pans.

If you’re thinking about adding the zucchini raw to the lasagna, we don’t recommend it: We found that even after the baking period, it still seemed raw and was a bit jarring against the creamy sauces and pasta.

Layer 4: Pasta

For the greenest of green lasagnas, spinach lasagna noodles are the ultimate choice. However, regular old wheat noodles will be just fine too. For the speediest preparation, use no-cook noodles. These will be labelled “oven ready” or something similar and they are real time-savers, as you don’t need to boil them first.

You can also skip the pasta and replace with more zucchini if you’re looking for a wheat-free or gluten-free dish.

Layer 5:

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

The final layer is shredded mozzarella cheese. If you’re vegan, you should be able to find shredded mozzarella in most well-stocked grocery stores. For vegetarians, you can either buy a large piece and shred it yourself, or buy a package that’s pre-shredded.

Overall Steps

The detailed steps are in the recipe card below, but big picture:

If your noodles are the kind that require boiling, get them started. While the noodles are boiling you’ll pan-fry the zucchini in a bit of butter or margarine. Once your noodles and zucchini are done, set them aside while you make the green sauce in the blender. Measure out the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and now you’re ready for assembly.

Assembly

We used a 6 by 9 inch lasagna pan for this. Put about one third of the green sauce in your pan, then layer about 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, a layer of zucchini, and then the noodles. Repeat this one more time, and then make a last layer with the remaining third of the green sauce and top it all with mozzarella.

Now just bake at 350F for about 25 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Comments