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This Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna is full of fall flavors, perfect for entertaining and is a real show stopper of a recipe. It is packed with real, whole ingredients like butternut squash, spinach, rosemary, sage, ricotta and parmesan cheese and is loaded with flavor. A fun meal your whole family can enjoy!
Butternut squash is my absolute favorite type of squash and this Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna is a go-to recipe for me this time of year. It is just loaded with incredible flavor like sage, rosemary, lemon and parmesan and it just tastes like fall to me.
Plus it is a lighter white lasagna recipe you can enjoy and still stay on track. Love that!
This warm and comforting lasagna recipe does take slightly more effort than some of my other recipes but trust me, it is so worth it! If you are looking for a simpler, more lazy style lasagna recipe then check out these Skinny Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups that are super simple to make but also incredibly delicious.
Why you will just love this lasagna recipe
- Perfectly roasted, buttery-tasting butternut squash, yum!
- Just the right amount of soft melty cheese in all the right places
- The perfect mix of herby fall flavors like fresh rosemary and sage (my fave’s)
- Tender, thin cooked noodles that hold all of the incredible filling together.
- Less dairy than traditional white lasagna, but still all of that creamy goodness.
- One of the easiest butternut squash lasagna recipes I have ever made!
- A very impressive recipe to serve to your family and friends.
Ingredients needed to make this recipe
Variations
- Make this lasagna gluten free. Sub the lasagna noodles with your favorite gluten free lasagna noodles.
- Add more veggies. You can add in sautéed mushrooms, onions, zucchini or even kale to this recipe along with the spinach. Sautéed red bell peppers would also be great and add a nice punch of color to this recipe.
- Make it vegan. Use vegan ricotta cheese, vegan mozzarella and vegan parmesan cheese.
- Add in some meat. If you prefer meat in your lasagna (but trust me this recipe is so good on it’s own), you can add in some cooked sausage or cooked ground turkey.
How to make Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna
This recipe is similar to traditional lasagna since it still has all of those beautiful layers but we swapped out some of the noodles and replaced them with golden, buttery, roasted butternut squash. Yummy! Here is how to make it!
- Slice and roast the squash – Cut the ends off of the squash, peel it, remove the seeds, and slice it into 1/4 inch thick planks. Lay the squash onto a sprayed baking sheet, drizzle the squash with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Remove and let cool for a few minutes.
- Sauté the spinach. Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the garlic and toss and cook it for 1-2 minutes. Toss in the spinach and cook it for few minutes until wilted. Remove and set the spinach aside.
- Make the creamy filing – Add some butter to a medium-size saucepan heated to medium heat. Once it melts add in the flour (I used whole wheat white flour). Whisk the flour in with the butter for a minute or so, then add in the milk about a 1/2 cup at a time, whisking lightly. Add in the nutmeg and a bay leaf. Simmer on low for 3- 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Make the ricotta filling. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the ricotta with lemon zest, freshly chopped sage, rosemary, parmesan, mozzarella, salt and pepper, and mix.
- Assemble – Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Ladle some of the white cream sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Layer on some of the lasagna noodles then some of the butternut squash. Next layer on some of the sautéed spinach and top that with a layer of the ricotta mixture. Pour some more of the creamy white sauce all over everything then repeat with one more layer. Finish the final layer with lasagna noodles, the remaining creamy white sauce, the remaining cooked spinach and a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Bake the lasagna for 35 minutes on the middle rack of the oven until the top is nice and golden brown and bubbly. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Slice and serve! Super creamy, but still light and healthy. My new favorite lasagna for fall!
Slice and roast the squash 
Sauté the spinach 
Mix up the ricotta filling 
Make the creamy sauce 
Layer on the noodles, squash and spinach 
Add the Ricotta 
Spread Pour on the creamy white sauce 
Repeat layers Bake
Tips for making this butternut squash lasagna
- Choose a squash with a longer neck since you want long “plank” pieces to layer in the lasagna. You can also just cut large slices of squash if you cannot find one with a long neck.
- No boil lasagna noodles, lentil lasagna noodles, or store-bought lasagna sheets all work well in this recipe. You can also use whole wheat lasagna noodles, but those would need to be boiled first. See variations in post for gluten free recommendations.
- Bake the lasagna uncovered, this allows it to get nice and golden brown on top and all around the edges.
- Let the lasagna cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Letting it cool allows the slices to be lifted from the pan easier as well as results in perfectly square pieces of lasagna (see picture below).
Storing and Reheating
This Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna stores great and tastes even better the next day. To store this lasagna in the refrigerator, let it cool completely, cut it and transfer it to an airtight container. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Easily reheat in the microwave.
You can also freeze this lasagna. To freeze, let it cool completely then transfer the lasagna to a freezer-friendly airtight container and keep it in the freezer for up to 30 days. To reheat, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and reheat portions in the microwave.
More butternut squash recipes to try!
- Butternut Squash Noodles Bowl
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Roasted Beets and Butternut Squash Salad
- Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
- The Best Mashed Butternut Squash
- Easy Roasted Butternut Squash
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Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna With Spinach
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 people 1x
Description
This Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagna is full of fall flavors, perfect for entertaining and is a real show stopper of a recipe. It is packed with real, whole ingredients like butternut squash, spinach, rosemary, sage, ricotta and parmesan cheese and is loaded with flavor. A fun meal your whole family can enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt – divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper – divided
- 2 cloves of garlic – peeled and minced
- 5 ounces fresh spinach – washed
- 1/4 cup butter – unsalted or salted is fine, just use less salt in the white sauce if you use salted butter
- 1/4 cup whole wheat white flour, white all purpose flour or gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups plant-based milk (I used plain, unsweetened almond milk)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 16 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves – minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary – minced
- 10–12 no-cook lasagna noodles (see notes for variations)
Instructions
- Cut and roast the squash: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut the ends off of the squash, peel it, remove the seeds, and slice it into planks that are 1/4 inch thick. You can save the rest of the squash for roasting later. Lay the squash onto a sprayed baking sheet, drizzle the squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Remove and let cool for a few minutes. For easier clean up, line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sauté the spinach. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the minced garlic and toss and cook it for 1-2 minuets. Toss in the spinach and cook it for few minutes until wilted. Remove and set the spinach aside.
- Make the creamy filing – Add some butter to a medium-size saucepan heated to medium heat. Once it melts add in the flour (I used whole wheat white flour). Whisk the flour in with the butter for a minute or so, then add in the milk about a 1/2 cup at a time, whisking lightly. Add in the nutmeg and a bay leaf. Simmer on low for 3- 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Make the ricotta filling. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the ricotta with lemon zest, freshly chopped sage, rosemary, parmesan, mozzarella, salt and pepper, and mix.
- Assemble – Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Ladle some of the white cream sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Layer on some of the lasagna noodles then some of the butternut squash. Next layer on some of the sautéed spinach and top that with a layer of the ricotta mixture. Pour some more (half of what is left) of the creamy white sauce all over everything then repeat with one more layer. Finish the final layer with lasagna noodles, the remaining creamy white sauce, the remaining cooked spinach and a good sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Bake the lasagna for 35 minutes on the middle rack of the oven until the top is nice and golden brown and bubbly. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Choose a squash with a longer neck since you want long “plank” pieces to layer in the lasagna. You can also just cut large slices of squash if you cannot find one with a long neck.
- No boil lasagna noodles, lentil lasagna noodles, or store-bought lasagna sheets all work well in this recipe. You can also use whole wheat lasagna noodles, but those would need to be boiled first. See variations in post for gluten free recommendations.
- Bake the lasagna uncovered, this allows it to get nice and golden brown on top and all around the edges.
- Let the lasagna cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Letting it cool allows the slices to be lifted from the pan easier as well as results in perfectly square pieces of lasagna (see picture above).
- To store this lasagna in the refrigerator, let it cool completely, cut it and transfer it to an airtight container. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Easily reheat in the microwave.
- To freeze, let it cool completely then transfer the lasagna to a freezer-friendly airtight container and keep it in the freezer for up to 30 days. To reheat, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and reheat portions in the microwave.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: butternut squash lasagna recipe, healthy butternut squash recipes, spinach, butternut squash
Merci pour l’article
Thanks for sharing this great article
Made this tonight, followed recipe exactly, except I had to add an egg to the ricotta as the kind I bought was very dry. I think I might have enjoyed it even more with slightly less ricotta. Biting into the roasted squash was a treat. This was a big hit and will be a repeat.
★★★★★