Recipe for a lighter vegetarian lasagne {vegetarian}
When you read the recipe for this lighter vegetarian lasagne, you're going to ask what's so special about it. I don't know. I really don't. What I do know is that I made it three weeks in a row, for three different parties of four people, and each time not one single bite was left. In fact, we were stabbing with our forks at the last little bits stuck to the pan, unwilling to concede that we'd eaten the whole pan, which really should feed six or eight people. The sauce I use, Mayor's Own Marinara Sauce (a.k.a. Buddy sauce), is a very thin and light tomato-based sauce, not overly sweet, and that's the kind of sauce I recommend for this recipe, whether you're making your own or using a jar sauce from the market.
Lighter vegetarian lasagne
From the pantry, you'll need: eggs, nutmeg, no-boil lasagne noodles, marinara sauce, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Serves 8.
Ingredients
6 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
18 oz non-fat cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground black pepper
12 no-boil lasagne noodles
1 28-oz jar Mayor’s Own Marinara Sauce (or your favorite bottled or homemade sauce)
16 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 cup coarsely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine ricotta, cottage cheese, egg, nutmeg and black pepper in a small bowl.
In a 9x13 baking pan, begin the assembly: spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Top with a layer of the dry noodles (you might need to break some to fit them neatly in one layer), then plops of the ricotta mixture here and there (use 1/3 of the cheese). Add plops of sauce here and there (use a bit less than 1/3 of the sauce), top with a layer of 1/3 of the mozzarella. Then again: noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella. Then a third time.
Finally, add a fourth layer of noodles, and spread the remaining sauce on the noodles. Top with the parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover, and bake 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow lasagne to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Spaghetti with basil pesto, tomato and olives
Pasta with clams and vegetable sauce
Shrimp, lemon, herb and feta macaroni and cheese
Slow-roasted tomato macaroni and cheese
Traditional spaghetti gravy
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Gluten-free garlic chicken lasagna, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Spinach and basil lasagna, from Andrea Meyers
Vegetarian lasagna with quick-roasted tomato, garlic, and herb sauce, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Eggplant-chard lasagne, from Gormeted
Lasagna cupcakes, from Framed Cooks
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So good to wake up to lasagna!
It sounds delicious. I'm thinking maybe it's partly the sliced mozzarella that makes it so good. I haven't ever used that in lasagna, but I love the sound of it!
well i'm all for a lighter version.
my hubby is a lasagne junkie and we need a less fattening one for sure.
I haven't made lasagna in sooooo long--I don't think I can get that sauce here, but I have a similar one in mind. Looks lovely.
Susan, there's something about this one -- everyone who's had it cannot stop eating it!
Kalyn, the mozzarella I use is locally made fresh mozzarella. It's creamy and mild, and so good.
Vanillasugar, try this one, and if you are near Providence at some point, buy some of this marinara sauce. So delicious, even though it's Buddy Cianci's name on the jar.
Angela, we don't have it often, but when we do, this is the version most requested in my house.
That looks delicious, and the recipe sounds delicious. The addition of nutmeg is interesting.
I've never heard of the sauce you used, but maybe that's part of the trick, a thinner sauce that gets absorbed by the pasta. I'm all for a lighter lasagna, especially over the holidays!
Sounds delicious! Believe it or not, I have never tried Buddy's sauce. And to think I am a Rhode Islander! I do love my Dell's though :)
Curt, I often use nutmeg with cheese, just a little bit to bring out the flavor.
Jeanette, the sauce is thin and light, and that (with the cottage cheese) is the secret.
Jessica, I know many people shy away from Buddy's sauce, but it's all natural, vegetarian, and an indispensable item in my pantry. And of course he doesn't make it himself!
Stabbing at the last little bits in the empty serving dish is the best advertisement and word on the deliciousness of this dish! And my husband has been making lasagna over and over again this winter for some reason and boy do we need a light version! Excellent recipe. Thanks, Lydia and here is wishing you and your family a joyful, abundant and very happy holiday season!
LOL, I think Buddy is busy making license plates instead of red sauce these days? ;-)
Anyway this recipe sounds like a must-try to me!! I think the secret must be in the bit of nutmeg, the particular cheese blend and of course the sauce!
Jamie, I'm sure you can find some equivalent ingredients in France, and it's really fun to have a lighter lasagne every now and then. Happy holidays to your family!
Carol, Buddy is back in Rhode Island, making waves on the radio now. But the sauce is still the best.
Lasagna is my favorite and I'm up for a lighter lasagne recipe as well. Especially during the cold season when I usually gain weight.
This lighter lasagne was a dream!
I used only one kind of cheese (it was a spur of the moment dish, and I only had Monterey Jack) and unseasoned puréed tomatoes (again, just what I had lying around), but it still turned out delicious. The right amount of gooey cheesy goodness, while not being angina-inducing :D
Thanks for the recipe :)
Looks and sounds really delicious!