Chunky Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce and Pesto

This delicious chunky vegetable lasagna recipe made with white sauce and basil pesto is sure to be a hit! It’s easy to make, full of flavor, and packed full of garden vegetables, creamy white sauce, and plenty of cheese! No matter what time of year it is, this creamy cozy lasagna is sure to hit the spot, and have everyone coming back for more!

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Around here we love lasagna, and my mum makes the most amazing homemade lasagna, with sweet Italian sausage, tomato sauce, and tones of cheese. Maybe someday I’ll share her recipe here as well. And though my mum’s homemade lasagna will always be our favorite, we enjoy just about any kind of Lasagna around here.

Chicken lasagna, veggie lasagna, lasagna soup. Pretty much if it has lasagna in the title and lots of cheese, chances are we are going to like it.

That being said, however, a good cheesy, white sauce vegetable lasagna is almost always our first choice, topped only of course by classic Italian meat lasagna. (My mum doesn’t actually have a name for hers, it’s just lasagna.) I guess there is just something about your favorite veggies layered between pasta, and cheese, with a creamy white sauce, that seems to hit the spot time and time again.

I especially enjoy this recipe in the fall, it’s cozy and comforting, while the veggies add a nice touch and a break from the usual pumpkin, pecan, and apple fall dishes.

But really this recipe is great any time of the year, Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter. This easy vegetable lasagna is always delicious, It’s easy enough to make for weeknight dinners, and is sure to have everyone coming back for seconds! Just be sure to have this recipe handy to share!

Chunky Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce and Pesto

Ingredients

For the lasagna

• Lasagna noodles, –You can use homemade lasagna noodles, oven ready lasagna noodles, or boil lasagna noodles 
• broccoli florets, fresh or frozen 
• carrots, coarsely shredded 
• Green and red bell peppers, thinly sliced 
• Green pesto 
• Sea Salt 
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded

For the white sauce

• unsalted butter 
• Minced garlic, –you can sub garlic powder if needed 
• all-purpose flour
• whole milk, you can substitute 2%, 1%, or even skim milk, but your sauce won’t be quite as creamy.

Cheese mixture

• Ricotta cheese, You can sub cottage cheese if needed
• Grated Parmesan Cheese 
• dried or fresh parsley 
• egg

How to Make Chunky Vegetable Lasagan with White Sauce and Pesto

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9/13 baking dish with melted butter or olive oil. I like to use a glass baking dish/casserole dish, but a steel/no-stick dish or ceramic dish will also work well.

Prepare your noodles. If you are making homemade pasta, make the noodles according to the recipe and set aside to dry while you prepare the rest of the lasagna. If you are using regular uncooked lasagna noodles, boil them according to package instructions, rinse them with cold water, and set them aside till ready to use. But if you are using oven-ready noodles, you don’t need to do anything to prep them.

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli florets, shredded carrots, sliced peppers, pesto, and sea salt. Toss to combine, making sure that all the veggies are coated in the salt and pesto. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, grated parmesan cheese, parsley, and egg, stir to combine, and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the minced garlic, cooking for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant, stirring constantly.

Add the flour and whisk to combine.

Finally, add the milk, and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, Whisk for 1-3 minutes or until the sauce is smooth and thickened. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Assemble the lasagna

Spread a thin layer of white sauce on the bottom of your prepared pan. Place 3 lasagna noodles on top of it.

Scoop half the cheese mixture on top of the noodles and carefully spread it over the noodles with a spatula. Add another layer of lasagna noodles and half of the vegetable mixture and spread it out as best you can.

Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over the veggies. Carefully pour half of the white sauce over the cheese and spread it out as best you can.

Repeat the layering process, noodles, cheese mixture, noodles, veggies, cheese, and sauce. You should have 4 layers of noodles, 2 layers of the cheese mixture, 2 layers of the vegetable mixture, and 2 layers of mozzarella cheese. The sauce should be gone and there should be 1 cup of cheese left.

Sprinkle the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of the lasagna, and place the pan in the preheated oven.

Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes, or until the lasagna is hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted. Allow the lasagna to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a side salad and crusty bread, enjoy!

Notes

Any leftover chunky vegetable lasagna can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

This chunky vegetable lasagna can also be prepared ahead of time. Make as directed, but instead of baking it, tightly cover your pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Uncooked lasagna can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking. Just keep in mind that lasagna stored in the fridge will need a slightly longer cooking time than room-temperature lasagna.

If you want the top of your lasagna to be more golden brown, switch your oven to broil and broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is crispy and golden.

If you are feeling fancy you could use a homemade béchamel sauce in place of the white sauce in the recipe. You can also make this white sauce with heavy cream or half and half for an extra creamy sauce.

You can also add any other vegetables you like to this lasagna, just be sure they are shredded or thinly sliced. Fresh spinach, yellow squash, mushrooms, eggplant, and zucchini, would all be great!

If you prefer your lasagna to be more flavorful, you can also add salt and black pepper to the sauce, as well as red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.

You can also feel free to use different kinds of cheese in place of the parmesan and mozzarella. Just be sure to use another hard cheese when substituting the parmesan cheese.