This vegan butternut squash lasagna is the ultimate comfort food! It's made with a creamy butternut squash sauce, vegan ricotta and a spinach mushroom filling. Perfect for a fall/winter dinner or a holiday main dish.
This butternut squash lasagna might not be the simplest recipe you'll ever make, but it sure is one of the best! It's filling, comforting, cheesy, and everything you're craving in vegan comfort food.
Plus, this lasagna can be easily frozen and reheated, so why not make it on a Sunday and enjoy on a busy weeknight? Your future self will thank you.
Components
This vegan lasagna is made with 4 layered components:
Butternut squash sauce
This creamy, silky sauce is made with a base of roasted butternut squash, onion, garlic, vegan cream and various seasonings. It's also delicious as a sauce for regular pasta!
Ricotta
To simplify this recipe, you could use plain vegan ricotta. However, we like to add a few mix-ins to boost the flavor (it makes a huge difference!). Extra ingredients include shredded vegan mozzarella and parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Spinach/mushroom mixture
A simple mixture of mushrooms, spinach, onions and garlic are sautéed in olive oil, white wine, salt and pepper for a flavorful, meaty filling. For a simpler lasagna, you could leave this layer out, but it adds a lot of texture and depth of flavor.
Lasagna noodles & cheese
We pre-boil the lasagna noodles (we used gluten free), then layered the cooked noodles in this lasagna. Finally, this lasagna is topped with a thick layer of vegan cheese!
Instructions
- Roast the squash: Peel and dice the butternut squash and yellow onion. Toss in olive oil and seasonings and roast for 25 minutes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. After 25 minutes, add the garlic and roast for an additional 10 minutes, until the squash is fork tender.
- Make the mushroom filling: Start by sautéing diced onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the mushrooms and wine, cooking until softened. Add the kale, salt and pepper and cook until the kale is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Make the ricotta filling: This step is simple - mix together all of the ingredients and set aside.
- Cook the noodles: Cook the lasagna noodles until al dente.
- Make the sauce: Add the roasted squash mixture to a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until silky smooth.
- Assemble and bake! Assemble in this order: a layer of sauce to cover the bottom, lasagna noodles, half of ricotta, sauce, half of mushrooms, more noodles, remaining ricotta, sauce, remaining mushrooms, last layer of noodles, sauce (cover well) and finally, cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes to crisp up.
Tips/FAQs
- In order to get perfectly melty vegan cheese on top, make sure to cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil while baking. The steam helps melt the cheese.
Yes. However, in order for the noodles to fully cook, make sure every inch of exposed pasta is covered in sauce and/or ricotta. If not covered, they won't have enough moisture to cook.
Yes! You can roast peeled pumpkin the same way you roast butternut squash. You can also use acorn squash, kabocha squash, or even sweet potato.
You can leave the mushrooms out altogether and add more kale or spinach. Alternatively, try using finely diced eggplant or zucchini.
When it comes to the ricotta, a few vegan brands we love include Kite Hill and Tofutti.
For shredded vegan mozzarella and/or parmesan cheese, you can't go wrong with any of these brands: Violife, Daiya, Follow Your Heart, So Delicious. (We used Violife as the topping in these photos.)
Storage
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Best enjoyed in 4-5 days.
How to freeze lasagna
- The first option is to store each slice of lasagna individually. This is the best option if you think you'll only reheat a few slices at a time. To do so, store each slice in a separate small container, or wrap each slice in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and freeze. You can store the individually-wrapped slices together in a bag once frozen.
- Alternatively, you can freeze an entire pan of lasagna. If you plan to do this, line the baking pan with aluminum foil before baking. Once cool, freeze the lasagna. Once frozen, remove the lasagna from the pan, wrap in more aluminum foil and return to freezer for 3-4 months.
- To reheat, let defrost for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then bake at 375˚F for 30 minutes, until fully heated through. Alternatively, you can bake frozen lasagna straight from the freezer, but it may take up to 90 minutes in the oven.
More vegan pasta recipes you'll love:
- BEST Easy Mac and Cheese
- Easy One Pot Pasta
- Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
- Pasta Bake
- Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
If you make this vegan butternut squash lasagna recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.
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Vegan Butternut Squash Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan butternut squash lasagna is the ultimate comfort food! It's made with a creamy butternut squash sauce, vegan ricotta and a spinach mushroom filling. Perfect for a fall/winter dinner or a holiday main dish.
Ingredients
Butternut Squash Sauce:
- 4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (1 cup)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp fine kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- ½ tsp dried sage
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ tsp minced garlic
- ¾ cup plain, unsweetened nondairy milk
- 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar (optional)
Mushroom Kale Filling:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 ½ tsp finely minced garlic
- 5 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (we used cremini and shiitake)
- 4 cups lacinato kale, finely chopped
- 2-4 tablespoon dry white wine
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Ricotta Mixture:
- 12 oz vegan Ricotta
- ¼ cup nondairy milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup shredded vegan mozzarella
- ⅓ cup shredded vegan parmesan
Assembly:
- 1 box of lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
- 1 bag shredded vegan mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- Peel squash and dice into 1-inch cubes. Toss with olive oil and diced onion. In a small bowl, stir together the Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, sage, and pepper. Toss well with squash mixture. Transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, stir in garlic and roast for additional 10 minutes, until squash is tender.
- Meanwhile, make the mushroom filling. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and cook for additional 2-3 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, add mushrooms and wine, cooking until wine reduces and mushrooms soften. Add in kale, salt and pepper and cook until the kale is wilted. Set aside.
- Stir together ricotta, milk, salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, parmesan, and mozzarella.
- Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
- Add squash to a high speed blender with milk, white wine vinegar, and ¼-½ teaspoon more of salt. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish with sauce (just enough to coat the bottom). Layer the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Evenly spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, top with some sauce, and then half of the mushroom/kale mixture. Repeat (noodles, ricotta, sauce, mushrooms). Top with more noodles, sauce, and generous layer of vegan mozzarella cheese.
- Cover lasagna tightly with aluminum foil. Bake covered for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Freezer instructions - individual slices: Store each slice in a separate small container, or wrap each slice in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and freeze. You can store the individually-wrapped slices together in a bag once frozen.
Freezer instructions - entire pan: Line the baking pan with aluminum foil before baking. Once cool, freeze the lasagna. Once frozen, remove the lasagna from the pan, wrap in more aluminum foil and return to freezer for 3-4 months.
Tips for reheating frozen lasagna in blog post.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 1187.6 mg
- Fat: 25.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.5 g
- Fiber: 5.4 g
- Protein: 7.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: vegan butternut squash lasagna
Cassie
AMAZING!! I make this all the time! It's really good with Miyokos liquid mozzarella on top!
★★★★★
Lorie
This recipe did take some time to prepare, but the end result was definitely worth it! I'm not vegan so I used dairy cheeses, and the flavor profile of this lasagna was incredible! It's absolutely on my list to make again!
★★★★★
Lexi
I'm so glad you enjoyed! Yes, it's definitely not the quickest recipe, but we think worth it 🙂
Joanne
Can you make this recipe the day before? If so, any special instructions?
Lexi
Hi! Yes you can make the day before and just wait to add the cheese and bake until before serving. Or, you can bake it the day before and reheat in the oven.
Mindy
Incredible paring! The butternut layer is just enough for the three layers. An additional cup of squash is helpful. I added fresh parsley to the mushroom kale mixture. I used dry white wine in place of vinegar. The ricotta cheese was skimping for my taste, I used two 16oz containers, then no mozzarella, fresh garlic throughout (no powder). I enjoy rich flavor, the herbs I doubled. This does require salt to enhance the flavor I eliminated 1.5tsp. Delicious!
★★★★★
Lexi
Hi Mindy, thank you for sharing your adjustments to the recipe! Glad to hear you enjoyed!