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Vegetarian Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna


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4 from 1 review

  • Author: Amy Estes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna makes the best weekday dinner! Made with a warm pumpkin ricotta filling, and hearty spinach layered between tender lasagna noodles and creamy cheese. This is a vegetarian main dish everyone will love!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cooked spinach

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 6 ounces fresh spinach
  • Salt and pepper

For the Pumpkin Filling

  • 2 (15oz) cans of pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling
  • 1/2 cup plain unsweetened milk of choice – I used almond milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Ricotta Cheese Filling

  • 15 ounces of reduced-fat, part-skim ricotta cheese or any kind of creamy ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano or dried basil
  • Kosher salt and black pepper 

Additional ingredients for layering

  • 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Fresh chopped basil or parsley for garnish

Instructions

To cook the spinach

  1. Heat up a skillet or non-stick pan to medium heat on the stovetop and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. 
  2. Once hot, add in the chopped onion, season with salt and pepper, toss and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
  3. Add in the fresh spinach, it will seem like a lot in the pan but it will wilt down a lot. Try to toss the spinach with the cooked onions and garlic to get it nice and coated with all of that flavor.  Taste and add in more salt and pepper if needed. 
  4. Once the spinach has cooked and wilted down (about 3-4 minutes), set it aside to cool. 

Make the pumpkin filling

  1. While the spinach is cooking, you can prepare the pumpkin filling. Add all ingredients to a medium size mixing bowl and stir into a nice creamy pumpkin sauce. 

Make the creamy ricotta filling

  1. Add the ricotta cheese, egg, mozzarella, parmesan, oregano, salt, and pepper to a medium-size mixing bowl and stir to combine. Fold in the cooked spinach.  If you are adding in cooked sausage or ground turkey this is where you would add it in. 

Layer and bake the lasagna

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish or lasagna pan with cooking spray. 
  2. Assemble:  Place 1/2 cup of the pumpkin filling into the bottom of your prepared pan.  Layer in 5 of the lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese filling, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese then more pumpkin filling and 1/2 of the shredded parmesan cheese.  The repeat:  Noodles, cheese filling, pumpkin filling, mozzarella, parmesan. 
  3. Cover with foil and bake in the center rack of the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake covered for another 15-20 minutes.
  4. Remove let cool for at least 25 minutes and top with freshly chopped herbs. 

Notes

  • For the greens you can use spinach or kale, both work. You can use frozen spinach but you will have to thaw it, ring out the excess liquid, and then sauté it.
  • To make this recipe vegan, use dairy-free ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan. There are a lot of vegan lasagna noodles that are pretty good. My fav is lentil lasagna noodles but you would need to cook them per the package instructions before layering the lasagna.
  • You can use any lasagna noodles in this recipe. I opted for no-boil lasagna noodles, which you can also buy gluten-free, which I love! If you use whole wheat noodles then you will need to boil them per the package instructions before layering the lasagna.  Make sure to rinse the noodles after cooking and lay them on a sprayed baking sheet to cool for a few minutes before you use them.  
  • Mashed or canned sweet potato or even butternut squash are all alternatives to the pumpkin in this recipe but I think the pumpkin is the best!
  • You can leave this recipe vegetarian or add in some crumbled, cooked sausage or ground turkey and add it as a layer or mix it in with the ricotta cheese filling.
  • You can store this lasagna covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. It just gets better as it sits. Great for meal prep!
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: healthy dinner ideas
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: Itallian