Vegetable lasagna: 3 easy meatless lasagna recipes to try at home

More and more people are trying to cut back on meat these days, and there are many good reasons to do so. Two of the main reasons are: to protect the environment and to improve health. The trick when it comes to adapting to this new lifestyle is to make sustainable changes. To make eating less meat appealing for the long-term, it’s important to find plant-based meals that you really enjoy.  

To help you do just that, we’ve put together three different veggie spins on one of the best-loved meat dishes out there: lasagna. If you’re looking to create delicious meals and improve your health, vegetable lasagna is the way to go. Read on to discover how to make vegetable lasagna that tastes just as good as the original.

Making fresh pasta for a vegetarian lasagna recipe

When it comes to delicious meatless lasagna, it’s always worth making fresh pasta. Did you know? This doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as it sounds! There are some modern kitchen solutions that make the process incredibly simple, such as the Philips Pasta and Noodle Maker, which is equipped with a special shaping disc to make perfectly even homemade lasagna sheets in as little as 10 minutes.

How to make homemade lasagna sheets with a machine:  

1. After resting your dough, divide it into three equal portions. Keep two portions covered with a towel while you flatten one portion of dough into a rough rectangle.  
   
2. Remember to flour your dough before passing it through the widest setting of the pasta machine.  
   
3. Once extruded, reform your dough back into a rough rectangle before flouring once more, folding in half, and passing through the machine again.
   
4. Repeat this process until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Always have extra flour close at hand so that you can liberally dust your lasagna sheets before passing them through the machine. Don’t forget: fold the dough in half each time.  
   
5. Now, change the pasta machine to the middle setting or manually reduce the space between the rollers, before once again passing your dough through the machine. This time, you don’t need to fold the dough after extrusion.  
   
6. Repeat this step for all three portions of dough and then move to the thinnest setting on the machine or until your pasta sheets are roughly 3 inches wide and 1mm thick.  
   
   

How to make homemade lasagna sheets with a rolling pin:  

1. Divide your dough into three equal portions. Take one portion and roughly roll it flat before rotating it a quarter of the way around and rolling it out once again. Repeat this process to achieve an even thickness.  
   
2. Cut your pasta into sheets to fit the size and shape of your lasagna dish.   
   
   

Top tip: Whether you’re using a rolling pin or a pasta machine, leave your lasagna sheets to air-dry on a floured cloth for around half an hour.  

Now you’re ready for the filling!

Butternut squash lasagna recipe

If you’re looking for an easy no meat lasagna recipe, look no further than a butternut squash lasagna. This tasty veggie makes a great meat substitute, and its vibrant colour will give your dish a visual ‘wow’ factor.

Ingredients:

• One large butternut squash (chopped into cubes)
  
• 1 onion
  
• 2 cloves of garlic
  
• 75g mushrooms  
  
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes  
  
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (chopped)
  
• 23g butter  
  
• 3 tbsp flour (more if required)  
  
• 1.1L of milk
  
• 90g parmesan cheese (grated)
  
• 500g lasagna sheets
  
  

To make your butternut squash lasagna vegan, swap the butter and parmesan for a vegan or dairy-free alternative, and use almond milk.

Method:

1. Add the oil, onion, garlic, mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, thyme and butternut squash in a saucepan and season to taste.  
   
2. Simmer on a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the veggie is tender.  
   
3. Now make the sauce. First, melt the butter slowly and adding the flour spoonful by spoonful until a dough is formed. Cook this for around 2 minutes on low and then gradually add the milk while gently whisking.  
   
4. Once cooked, layer the vegetable mix, béchamel sauce, and pasta sheets in your dish until reaching the top.  
   
5. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 200°C for 45 minutes or until golden brown.