Vegetable Lasagna is what you make when you want to load up on veggies with something that’s filling, comforting and so moreish, you don’t even think twice about it being Meat Free!
This incredible Vegetarian Lasagna is made with a creamy ricotta and spinach filling as well as layers of roasted vegetables and a homemade tomato lasagna sauce. It’s one of my favourite fridge clean out recipes because it can be made with just about any roastable veggies!
Why you’ll love this Vegetable Lasagna
It is hard to top an epic, meat lasagna made with layers of slow cooker ragu, béchamel sauce and oodles of cheese. But if there’s anything that can give it a run for its money, it’s this Vegetarian Lasagna. Here’s why you’ll love this so much:
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Roasted Vegetables – Roasting trumps stove sautéing when it comes to bringing out flavour in vegetables;
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Jar Roasted Red Peppers – with a touch of smokiness and sweetness, this is an optional extra that I love to add because it adds that extra special touch;
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Customisable – use whatever roast-able veggies you please;
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Spinach and Ricotta layer – It just takes this over the top! But it’s optional – you could easily just double up with another layer of roasted vegetables;
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Simple homemade lasagna sauce – skip the jar, this homemade tomato sauce is simple and so good!
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Cheese – goes without saying that melty cheese is all part of a great lasagna experience!
How to make Veggie Lasagna
There are a few components to putting together a Veggie Lasagna so we love that it makes a BIG batch and that it reheats 100% perfectly!
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Roast vegetables;
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Mix up ricotta and spinach;
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Make the simple tomato lasagna sauce;
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Layer the lasagna as follows:
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Smear tomato on base (to stop lasagna sheets from sliding)
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Top with lasagna sheets
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Roasted vegetables
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Some tomato pasta sauce plus cheese
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Another layer of lasagna sheets
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Spinach and ricotta filling for lasagna
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Top with lasagna sheets and pasta sauce
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Sprinkle with cheese. Ready to bake!
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Vegetarian Lasagna ingredients – vegetables
Roasted Vegetables
I used pumpkin, zucchini and onion as my roasted veggies, but feel free to use whatever you have / want. Anything roastable is fine, just chop it so it cooks in the same time.
I cut mine pretty chunky because otherwise they cook too quickly in the oven – I like to roast veggies for at least 20 minutes minimum to get the maximum benefit of caramelisation.
Roasted Red Peppers
My “special ingredient” – Roasted Red Peppers! Basically, it’s capsicum / bell peppers that have been fire roasted so they have that gorgeous smokey flavour.
It’s sweet, soft and slippery and it adds an awesome extra dimension to this lasagna. Yep, I take the easy route and buy it in a jar but if you’re a keen bean, make your own!
Vegetable lasagna is sensational served fresh out of the oven, but it’s also one of those dishes that are terrific the next day. The flavour of those roasted veggies and that spinach ricotta layer develop overnight, and just a quick reheat in the microwave is all that’s required to bring it back to the original molten state.
So, fellow Carnivores. Have I convinced you to give this a go??? 😜 – Nagi x
My favourite Meat-Free Comfort Foods
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Chickpea Potato Curry – big curry flavours made with pantry staple spices!
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Browse the Vegetarian recipes collection
Vegetable Lasagna
Watch how to make it
Sometimes it helps to have a visual, so watch me make this Vegetarian Lasagna recipe!
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Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables (Note 1):
- 500 g / 1 lb pumpkin , 2cm / 4/5" cubes
- 2 large zucchinis , cut into 2cm / 4/5" chunks
- 2 onions (any type) , cut into wedges
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- Salt and pepper
Spinach Ricotta:
- 250 g / 8 oz frozen chopped spinach , thawed
- 500 g / 1 lb ricotta (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup / 50 g grated parmesan (or 3/4 cup shredded cheese)
- 1 egg
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg, optional (fresh or powder)
- 1/2 tsp each Salt and pepper
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small onion , finely chopped (any, I use brown)
- 700 g / 24 oz tomato passata (Note 3)
- 400 g / 14 oz crushed tomato
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml water
- 3/4 tsp each dried thyme and oregano (or basil, parsley)
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (can omit / adjust to taste)
- Salt and pepper
Lasagna:
- 330g / 11 oz jar roasted red pepper strips, drained (Note 4)
- 375 g / 13 oz fresh lasagne sheets (Note 5)
- 300 g / 3 cups shredded mozzarella (or MORE!)
Instructions
Roasted Vegetables:
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Place vegetables on the tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Toss.
- Roast for 25 minutes, turning at 15 minutes, until tender and browned.
- Remove from oven, loosen from tray with spatula while warm (can stick when cools).
Sauce:
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 3 minutes until golden.
- Add passata, crushed tomato, water, dried herbs, chilli, salt and pepper. Stir. Simmer on medium low heat for 20 minutes. Adjust salt at the end. *Add a teeny touch of sugar if it's a bit sour, depends on quality of tomatoes used.*
- Remove from stove and let cool for 5 minutes before using.
Ricotta Mixture:
- Place ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.
Lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F.
- Spread a ladle of tomato sauce on the base of a large baking dish (Note 5).
- Cover with lasagna sheets, tearing as required to fit.
- Top with roasted vegetables, scatter over red peppers. Spoon over 2 1/2 cups of Sauce, then sprinkle with half the cheese.
- Cover with lasagna sheets. Spread over Ricotta mixture.
- Cover with lasagna sheets. Pour over remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cheese is golden. If using dried lasagna sheets, stick a knife in the middle to ensure it's cooked - if it needs longer, cover and stick it back in the oven.
- Rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Store leftovers per notes - brilliant reheated!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This Vegetarian Lasagna recipe was originally published February 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare!
Life of Dozer
Whenever I go away, I never pack until the night before. Because the sight of a suitcase reduces Dozer to this:
Absolutely delicious. Assembled day before ready to have & just popped in oven next night. Easy Sunday night dinner.
This was a lively main dish for a vegetarian dinner. And I used blended full cream cottage cheese instead of the ricotta to up the protein and it still turned out fantastic!
I always use cottage cheese for this recipe! It’s a brilliant substitute and Lidl’s full fat option is fantastic – much tastier and creamier than any ricotta I’ve ever had.
Great punchy and delicious recipe for vegetarians and non-vegetarians to enjoy. The textures and flavours were great. Made as per recipe but used fresh English spinach as we had that and my oven must run a bit lower as i needed to extend cooking times for the roast vege and browning of the lasagna by about 15-20 mins. It makes a lot ie 10 very very generous or 12 generous portions so there is plenty to freeze for another night.
This came out great! In place of the Passata I used tomato paste and added more water.
Fresh-tasting and utterly delicious. I used roasted eggplant (using Nagi’s recipe with big chunks and high temperature) with kumara for first level.
I’m in the process of making this so can’t comment on it yet, but it looks everything a lasagne should be.
But, how many people have pointed out the conversion of cms to inches for the veggie cubes are reversed? Those Americans will be struggling!
THE Best recipe! I cooked this for my vegetarian mum in a family of meat eaters and the whole lot loved it! I followed the recipe to a tee. I always, always use your website recipes and cookbook recipes because I know it can’t go wrong. Thanks so much Nagi x
Wow, I thought I made pretty good vege lasagna but wanted a recipe that would use up some tasty pumpkin I had. Gee, I’m so glad I decided to try something new as this recipe was absolutely delicious. All my dinner guests loved it. A real winner and it’ll now be my go-to lasagna.
This was super delicious and is a big recipe – I had to use a roasting dish not my usual lasagna dish. Have some portions frozen from this first batch to enjoy without the big cook up.
Would you use eggplant with the veggies?
This really is delish, and so quick and easy. I used 2 eggs because they were small, and also fresh baby spinach because I couldn’t get frozen. Best vegetarian lasagne I’ve ever had!
I made this last week for a visiting ovo-lacto-vego colleague. Made it the night before so the flavours could mature, also so I could talk to her, not be reading and cooking, and it was brilliant. Roasted the red capsicums instead. Delicious. Also did roast pumpkin, sweet potato, eggplant, yellow zucchini. Used fresh lasagna sheets (which I prefer) and reckon the spinach-ricotta layer is a brilliant addition. I’m a long-time follower of Nagi and Dozer (🤗🤗). Another fab recipe; thank you Nagi.
Yummo! Great flavour. I think the bell peppers add magic to this dish. I also included sweet potato. So easy. Thanks again Nagi! xx
Great recipe! Its delicious, adaptable (for different vegetables) and turned out just like the pictures. We used gluten free, dry lasagna sheets which worked just fine. This is the perfect dish for using up the glut of summer garden vegetables. We used: zucchini, eggplant and pumpkin as well as our own silverbeet in the ricotta layer. We even made our own passata from our own tomatoes.
Our glut of home grown veg was so large, we made a couple of trays of this and froze in individual portions for an easy, nutritious week night dinner.
Thanks Nagi and team!
Awesome recipe! Tried it today and my 3 kids wiped their plates clean!! This and your vege burger are their favs!! Thanks!!
I made this last night, including my own pasta, and it was delicious! Definitely a keeper and a great way to use up some excess zucchini.
Fabulous recipe, thanks Nagi!
Just needed to increase the vege baking time and the lasagne baking time each by 10-15 minutes.
Suggest one brown and one red onion.
The Latina sheets separated fine but I always leave them out for 30+ minutes first as with all ingredients.
Just a big TY for ALL your recipes. I made your pavlova for Christmas dinner and have made other versions but yours is simply the best. I am making your veggie lasagne today and the ingredients look amazing.
I has lost count on how many of your recipes have been perfection ‼️I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for recipes and end up on your website. I’m very sure what you do is hard work and I’m dismayed when people post opinions and they have changed at least 1/2 of the ingredients and then complain that it wasn’t great. Your seasonings and spice are always perfect. Happy New Year to you and Dozer ‼️😋
Making again for this Xmas as was a big hit when I first made it last Xmas. Nagi which brand of fresh pasta separates easily please – I had a lot of difficulty getting the fresh lasagne sheets (Latina) to separate last time – had to buy twice the amount to have enough usable pieces! Greatly appreciate any help – I’ve seen a couple of other brands in supermarkets (LaTosca, CommunityCo & I think Aldi stocks a fresh lasagne) but unsure which to buy.
Or is there a trick to getting them to separate I don’t know about? (I’d tried microwaving upon opening for a short time as suggested on pack but still didn’t help). Thanks so much for any suggestions.
Hi Robby, I’ve only ever used the Aldi lasagna sheets in the fridge section and they’re great (they’re never stuck to each other)!
Thanks Nagi this is indeed the perfect carnivores’ veggie lasagne. Great layering of flavours – delicious! Takes a while to make bit worth the effort especially if you go for the serves 8-12 lasagne option. Followed you since the early days & yes I have your recipe book 👌🏽