This healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna is the perfect fall dinner to warm up to! Layers of butternut squash, spinach, and cheese bake into a dreamy gluten free and grain free casserole. Make this butternut spinach lasagna to freeze and reheat on a busy night!
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How to Make Butternut Squash Lasagna
This recipe is fall wrapped up and delivered in a baking dish. I lose no time breaking out the winter squash as soon as the weather starts to chill.
This lasagna is layers of sweet butternut squash, a tangy (fast) homemade garlic marinara, and creamy, melty cheese. Fall comfort food at it’s best! No need for soggy noodles here.
The only slightly tricky part of this recipe is cutting the butternut squash into “noodles.” Luckily, there is no need for perfection here.
If you are a butternut lover like me, you might also like these Butternut, Black Bean, and Spinach Enchiladas, or this Butternut Baked Spaghetti.
First, cut the “bulb” end off the squash. The part of the butternut with the hollow inside isn’t right for this recipe. Save it to roast later on!
Peel the long straight part of the squash, and then use a large, sharp knife to shave off the “noodles.”
Ingredients in Butternut Lasagna
- Butternut squash “noodles”
- Spinach
- A ricotta mixture — simply ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg and parsley.
- A garlic tomato sauce — simply canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, onion, garlic, cumin and Italian seasoning.
Once you have your noodles, layer these simple ingredients into a baking dish!
The Perfect Vegetarian Freezer Casserole
I am working on creating more recipes that are the perfect “make once, eat twice” meals. This vegetarian lasagna is perfect. We’ve frozen 2 lasagnas now to test the best way to cook them after reheating.
The easiest (and what we deemed the most fresh tasting), was to freeze the casserole uncooked. Double the recipe, assemble 2, and then wrap one up tight in foil and plastic to freeze. Keep 1/3 cup of sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese in separate containers. The casserole still needs to be baked without the topping, and then topped for the last 15 minutes of baking time. This is because I haven’t precooked the butternut squash, so the casserole takes longer to cook than a typical lasagna.
On the day you’re ready to enjoy the 2nd casserole, take it out of the freezer at least an hour prior to baking. This is especially important if you’re using a glass or ceramic baking dish.
Add an extra 10-15 minutes onto the baking time, and dinner is ready with no mess and no hassle! It’s a perfect dinner win!
Other Vegetarian Freezer Friendly Recipes:
- Black Bean Veggie Burgers, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Butternut, Spinach and Black Bean Enchiladas, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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Butternut Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Ricotta Parmesan Mixture
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
Garlic Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare garlic tomato sauce by adding olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until softened and just beginning to brown.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Stir together, and then simmer for about 15 minutes to allow sauce to reduce. Set aside.
- Prepare ricotta mixture by adding all ingredients together into a bowl and mixing well. Set aside.
- Make butternut noodles by cutting the bulb end of the butternut squash off. Use the straight solid part to make noodles, and save the other end to roast at another time. Peel the solid part of the butternut squash. Using a sharp knife, cut down the side to create noodles about 1/8 inch wide. If noodles are cut too large, they will not fully soften while baking the lasagna. See notes.
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- In an 8x8 baking pan, add 1/3 cup of the garlic tomato sauce, followed by a layer of butternut noodles. Next, add another 1/3 cup of the garlic tomato sauce, followed by 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with one more layer, ending with butternut noodles on the top. Reserve 1/3 cup tomato sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese for the topping.
- Wrap the lasagna tightly in foil, and bake for 50 minutes -1 hour, until the sauce is bubbling and the squash is soft.
- When the lasagna is finished baking, top with reserved garlic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Increase the temperature of the oven to 425ºF, and return to the the lasagna to the oven for 15 minutes, until the top is browning and bubbly.
- Allow to sit and set for 10 minutes prior to slicing.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days, or freeze the leftovers wrapped tightly for up to 3 months.
This butternut lasagna looks superb! I love recipes that can be made into 2 meals with one prep! Will definitely be making this very soon!
I am just loving the idea of using butternut squash in lasagna. This sounds like such an incredible and comforting recipe!
Love this! butternut squash is such a wonderful veg!
We have someone coming for Thanksgiving dinner that is a vegetarian! Now I know what I’m making them!
Oh, what a wonderful idea for a vegetarian main course!
I might be having a “mama-brain moment”: I can’t seem to find the temperature for the first hour of baking. Help?
Lol, no, actually it was me having a “mama brain” moment. I bake it at 400º F for the first hour — and then bump the temperature up to 425º to brown the cheese at the end! I just added it in to the recipe. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I hope you love it! We have really been enjoying it.
Aunty Michelle. Quinn, Emily and I just made this and it was an absolute hit! They had a lot of fun helping and we ate almost the whole thing between the 4 of us. We’re making your orange / banana drink for breakfast too
Oh, I LOVE hearing that! So glad you let me know you tried it. Missing you all.