Easy, Traditional and the Best Homemade Lasagna Recipe
If you like Italian food, you surely are a fan of this Italian dish lasagna. A layered pasta sheet with flavored sauce and loaded cheese. Every bite feels mama mia. While this delicious dish is a task for many people to make at home, here is the best lasagna recipe for you to make at home.
- Preparing time: 30 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Total time: 1 hour (15 minutes extra cooling time)
- Serves: 8 people
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Italian
This is the best vegetarian lasagna recipe filled with juicy bell peppers, zucchini and carrots, well-cooked till it turns golden on the edges. This is a perfect version of homemade lasagna. It is also a healthy and tasty option for your kids as it is a lasagna recipe with cottage cheese.
Ingredients
Vegetables:
- 2- tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (any olive oil works, it’s just the healthier version ha nothing to do with taste)
- 3 large finely chopped carrots, about a cup full
- 1 finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1 medium finely chopped zucchini
- 1 medium finely chopped yellow onion
- ¼ teaspoon of regular salt
- 5 to 6 fresh ounces of baby spinach
Tomato puree:
- 1 large can of diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup of roughly chopped fresh basil (save a little for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon of regular salt
- ¼ teaspoon of chili flakes
Other ingredients:
- 2 divided cups of low-fat cottage cheese
- ¼ teaspoon of regular salt
- Freshly grounded black pepper to taste
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles (pasta sheets)
- 2 cups of freshly grated low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Keep your oven on a preheat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Then start cooking the veggies. Take a large skillet on medium heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add in the carrots, onions, zucchini, bell pepper and toss it adding some salt. Keep stirring the veggies and cook it for around 8 to 12 minutes or until they are golden on the edges.
- Now add in the handful of spinach and stir it well until the spinach starts to cook. Now add in the remaining spinach and cook it for around 3 minutes or until all the spinach is well cooked. Now remove the skillet from the stove and set aside.
- Now prepare for the tomato sauce: pour all the tomatoes in a fine colander and let drain all the excess juice from it, set it for a minute. Now take the tomatoes and add them into a food processor bowl and add in the basil, garlic, chili flakes, olive oil and some salt.
- Now grind this all together making it into a thick sauce with no lumps left behind and spreading consistency. Shift this into a bowl, check for the quantity. It must be a little more than two cups.
- Now take half of the cottage cheese, add it in the processor and blend it until it becomes smooth. Take this mixture out in a huge bowl.
- Now take the cooked veggies and spinach and add them into the processor. Blend it until they are chopped thinly and mixed well. You don’t have to puree them. Check it while blending and mix it in. Now transfer this mixture in the whipped cottage cheese. Now add in the remaining cottage cheese and add salt in it to taste and enough of freshly grounded black pepper. Give it a nice stir to mix the flavors into each other well. Let us get lasagna assembled.
- Take a baking dish and spread ½ cup of tomato sauce over the bottom evenly. Now layer it with 3 lasagne noodles or arrange it well according to your tray size. After the noodle is placed, cover it by spreading the cottage cheese mixture evenly, no tomato sauce on this layer. Now sprinkle a ½ cup of shredded cheese on the top of it.
- Taking a parchment paper sheet, wrapping it around the top of the lasagna. You can also use the aluminum foil to cover the lasagna, but keep in mind that the foil should not touch the cheese. Now, bake it covered for 18 minutes, after that remove the cover and rotate the tray by 180 degrees and continue baking for the next 10 to 12 minutes or until the top has turned golden brown.
- Now take it out of the oven and set aside for it to cool down for 15 minutes minimum, so it gets to a reasonable temperature. Before you serve, sprinkle some basil on the top, cut it in slices and serve.
Notes:
Noodle recommendation for lasagna:
You can use a variant of whole wheat noodles from any good brand in the no-boil category. For a healthier option check out the gluten-free suggestion available around you.
Make your change:
Despite this vegetable lasagne recipe was a version of a traditional lasagna recipe. You can try adding any of your favorite vegetables, it will go well with this easy lasagna recipe.
Make it healthier and gluten-free:
You can switch to no-boil lasagna noodle sheets which are also gluten-free despite the basic lasagna noodles. You can also choose from many variants of multigrain lasagna noodles or whole wheat lasagna noodles. Also, try to follow the cooking instructions well as all these noodles take different amounts of time to get cooked well.
Switch to vegan:
You can also switch to the vegan option to make your lasagna much healthier and in nature’s favor. You can switch to vegan sour cream despite cottage cheese and also adding a little more flavor, you can make a white sauce for lasagna using this sour cream by adding in some basic spices of your choice, which will also increase the taste.
I am sure that you are excited and all geared up about trying this classic lasagna recipe at your home. I hope this easy lasagna recipe is helpful for you and your family and kids are gonna love it.
