Lasagna With Spinach and Roasted Zucchini

Lasagna With Spinach and Roasted Zucchini
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Rating
5(3,174)
Notes
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You may think of lasagna as a rich, heavy dish, but it needn’t be. There’s no need to compensate for the absence of a traditional Bolognese sauce by packing these casseroles with pounds of ricotta and grated cheese. Some of each of those elements is welcome, but I cut the usual amounts by half in this recipe, and it was plenty satisfying. You can get ahead on lasagna by making up big batches of marinara sauce and freezing it, or in a pinch use a good commercial brand. The noodles are no-boil, which really makes these lasagnas easy to assemble. They can be made ahead and reheated, or frozen.

Featured in: Layers of Flavor: Lasagna With Roasted Vegetables

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2medium zucchini, cut in half crosswise, then cut lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1pound bunch spinach, washed and stemmed, or ½ pound bagged baby spinach
  • 3cups marinara sauce, preferably homemade from fresh or canned tomatoes
  • 8ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1egg
  • 2tablespoons water
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 7 to 8ounces no-boil lasagna
  • 4ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

363 calories; 15 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 19 grams protein; 862 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the zucchini with the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and top with the slices of zucchini. Place in the oven and roast 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, close the oven door and, using tongs, flip the zucchini slices over. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender when pierced with a knife and browned in spots. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Steam the spinach for 2 to 3 minutes above an inch of boiling water, just until it wilts. Rinse briefly with cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely.

  3. Step 3

    Blend the ricotta cheese with the egg, water, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Lightly oil a rectangular baking pan. Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with a thin layer of ricotta, then a layer of zucchini and spinach, a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with tomato sauce and Parmesan.

  5. Step 5

    Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Uncover and, if you wish, bake another 10 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: You can assemble this up to a day ahead and refrigerate, or freeze for a month. The lasagna can be baked several hours ahead and reheated in a medium oven.

Ratings

5 out of 5
3,174 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

The recipe says a rectangular pan. what size? I have several rectangular pans, all different sizes.

Instead of ricotta, I used béchamel sauce in the lasagna with beets recipe (in the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/health/nutrition/lasagna-with-roasted-....
I used homemade "classic marinara sauce" (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015987-classic-marinara-sauce).
Instead of steaming the spinach, I heated up a skillet w/ a bit of olive oil, piled in the spinach, turned the heat off, & covered it. (Faster/easier)
Delicious!

Bottom line - I think you need to double it for a rectangular baking dish. I did it for 8 x 8 or 9 and it was fine. I made some adjustments for a large glass baking sheet. Could use more spinach (had 10 oz), used the spare zuch (might cut them a wee bit thinner next time and not go long ways), and now think I need more sauce. I added a can of petit cut tomats to about 22 oz of marinara sauce, but have too many tomats for remaining sauce. Hope this helps.

Do not recommend using cinnamon(Italians don't do this)...use pinch of nutmeg instead

This is a terrific lasagne recipe. You could actually add more zucchini... it shrunk up quite a bit after roasting.
When re-heating the lasagne, keep it covered as it tends to dry out.
Five stars.

I agree with others on the need for more veggies. I used 3 zucchini, 1 bunch of spinach, and 1 bunch of chard. I also used the NYT Classic Marinara recipe (1 batch was enough). I used gluten free noodles, but they were not no-boil. I soaked them in cold water for about 20 minutes, but this proved unnecessary and resulted in slightly overcooked noodles. (Despite my best efforts, I think there was enough water in the vegetables that I could have just used the noodles raw.)

In step 4...After the grated cheese, add a handful of shredded mozzarella to the layer. Adds body to each piece when serving.

Very good but proportions are off for a 14x9 lasagna pan. If cooking a big lasagna: double the vegetables and add sauteed mushrooms to the tomato sauce, double sauce or add a can of tomatoes and some spices, 1.5x ricotta sauce and parm, 1.5x lasagna noodles.

This was fantastic. I too added more veggies and would probably add more spinach next time as well. Very easy to make. I let it sit uncooked in the fridge for a day until we were ready to eat it. Will try making two smaller loaf pans next time as well to see if it cooks just as well in serving sizes better for two.

I recommend using double the amount of vegetables. The lasagna wasn't very hearty in the end. It was comprised of a lot of pasta and not much else. It's possible that I was using too large a pan--it would be helpful if this recipe specified a size (as others have mentioned). That said, the pan I used was standard, so I was surprised at how sparse the veggies were. I was only able to create two layers as a result.

Definitely more zucchini. Used spinach (as in recipe) and added (sauteed) mushrooms and roasted eggplant. I like lasagna saucy so increased that (used Rao's). Added a 1/4 c diced mozzarella to the layers, chopped parsley and basil to the ricotta, and crushed dried oregano to the zucchini while it roasted. Used regular lasagna noodles soaked in hot water so they did not suck up too much of the sauce. Needed to bake longer - cover around the 45 minute mark so top does not dry out.

Really excellent tasting! As other suggest, I'd go for more zucchini and perhaps another half cup of Parmesan, but overall I was very pleased. Using the pre-cooked pasta makes this very quick and easy. I usually make my own marinara and bolognese, but used a jar of store-bought for this and it was still great.

Quantities unclear, should give weight for zuchinni. Spinach qty too low. No specificity on size on pan.

A great make ahead dish. Kept in the refrigerator until two hours before baking as suggested above. Let the lasagna warm up. Continued with recipe. Splits the work. Prepare one day, bake the next. I know freezing is also recommended, but I think that would compromise the texture. Portions were reheated in the oven with extra sauce added the next day. My refrigerator is very cold so I think three days was fine for freshness.

They are easier, for sure--one less pot. And the better brands are thinner than the dried noodles that have to be boiled, so the resulting lasagna is less starchy and doughy. They aren't as good as fresh pasta (or better yet, homemade!) but they are a big improvement over the heavy boiled kind.

I spent the better part of a work-from-home Friday on this recipe, with good results :) I doubled/tripled the zucchini as recommended by others, and added some roasted carrot. Salted zucchini before roasting. Ended up with 4 pasta layers in 9x13 pan. Didn't have spinach but mixed sprouting broccoli into ricotta mixture. Made the marinara using the recipe from Martha Rose Shulman's Zucchini Parm- sauce is very good but it came across very light in this recipe. Topped with shredded mozzarella.

What worked for me was to make one layer of zucchini on the first round of layers, and then one layer of spinach on the second round— instead of two layers of both vegetables combined. I added some shredded mozzarella on top. It was delicious and reheated beautifully. It didn’t feel too heavy in the heat of summer and made great use of the huge zucchini at the farmer’s market.

The best and fastest homemade marinara sauce is the sauce that’s used in Bon Appetits Spinach Lasagna recipe. Very easy and makes three cups.

-I added 2 more zucchini, it was not enough. - I added more spinach as well - I did the marinara sauce but I think for a quick recipe Rao’s will be perfect. Really good!

“Best lasagna I ever had” from the kids. Suggestions: - add at least one more zucchini. Not enough for three layers. - I added an onion too - chopped and pan cooked until soft. Needs savory notes without meat. - spread ricotta on the noodles with a spatula and then lay into pan. So much easier. - used Rao’s marinara (Costco - reasonable). - don’t overdo the cinnamon - very little. And maybe a grate of nutmeg. So yum!

For 8 x 13 dish I used 4 cups sauce and 1.5 cups ricotta. Could have probably used 16 oz of baby spinach. Good idea to saute spinach in a pan with OO instead of steaming.

Used broccoli rabe, eggplant and red pepper. Substituted ricotta with cottage cheese. Delicious!

This is a great recipe if you add fresh mozzarella. Any lasagna needs mozzarella in my book. I also added beet greens since I had them. Much appreciated by the vegetarians in my family though.

I’ve made this a few times, I’ve done it with jar sauce and homemade marinara w san marzano tomatoes. I’ve included ground turkey as well before. No matter what you do, this is a super easy and delicious lasagna that comes together quickly!

More veggies and add mozzarella

The trick to no boil noodles is to make sure each layer gets fully covered in sauce, especially the final top layer. So, plenty of sauce required. Mine: 2 onions, 6 garlic, 1 carrot, 1 green pepper, 12 oz mushrooms, S&P, 1 cup red wine, 2 28oz cans good tomatoes. Saute in sequence, then wine, then tomato, then simmer slow. 3 1/2 zukes were great for a full baking pan but spinach kind of got lost. maybe broccoli in second pan? Used 16 oz ricotta, 12 oz mozz, 2 cup parm. Fabulous veggie lasagna.

I cooked it. and I will do it again with he following modifications.. bake in an 8x8 inch pan. Double the amount of zucchini and spinach and go asbit more crazy with the parmesan.

This came out great. First time using oven-ready noodles. Ended up with 3 filling layers. Each layer is 3 noodles. Used 1 bag of frozen spinach plus a small bunch of fresh. Used 3 zucchini. Added 1 cup of grated mozzarella to the cup of ricotta. Used a combination of shredded Parmesan and shredded pecorino. Made two containers of tomato puree for marinara and used most of that—at least 4 cups. Next time I’ll oil the foil, and make sure the top layer of lasagna is completely covered in sauce.

Very good, but needs a few clarifications. The recipe is not designed for a lasagna pan or a 9 x 13 Pyrex; I have a smaller one, roughly 8.5 x 11, and it was perfect. I made three layers then a final topping of noodles, sauce and cheese. I used two medium-large zucchini and I’ll use three next time. Two bunches of Spinach were right. I had enough marinara and ricotta, but used more noodles, probably because of the extra layer. Don’t skimp on salt and pepper; maybe a touch of crushed red pepper.

I made this with the no boil lasagna noodles but it came out too soft. It was very good but I prefer the al dente “chew” to my pasta so I’ll try making it again with regular lasagna noodles.

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Credits

This is adapted from a much richer Italian vegetable lasagna recipe. Roasting the zucchini adds a welcome layer of flavor.

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