Veggie Lasagna

I've had this recipe for ages, and it never fails to disappoint. It's a great way to sneak more vegetables into your family's diet (and, truth be told, they probably won't even know they're there)! Try this on for size:

Sure, you can see some "green" in there (that's the spinach - we'll get to my tip about that later). But there are a few other veggies that you can't see, and that's the magic of this recipe! Get out your food processor for this one and mince away!

Veggie Lasagna

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach

1 large zucchini, minced

1 large carrot, minced

1 8 oz. package mushrooms, minced

1 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4.5 cups marinara sauce (if using jarred, this is 1.5, 26 oz. jars of sauce)

3 Tbsp olive oil

12 lasagna noodles, boiled, cooled, and separated

32 oz. ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp parsley flakes

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

16 oz. mozzarella, shredded

1. Place olive oil and zucchini, carrot, mushrooms, and onion in pan. Saute until vegetables are tender and are no longer giving off juices.
2. Place marinara sauce in a medium sized pot. Add vegetable mixture and heat through.
3. Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain thoroughly.
4. Place ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley flakes, beaten eggs, salt, pepper, and spinach in a mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Spray a 13 X 9 pan with cooking spray. Beginning with a thin layer of sauce, make three full layers each of noodles, ricotta mixture, sauce, shredded mozzarella, ending with shredded mozzarella.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

This recipe is delicious with Pesto Swirl Bread.

Notes:

The sauce will be very thick like this, which means that the lasagna sets up just fine:

By putting the spinach in the ricotta filling, you aren't running the risk of getting a "clump" of spinach in your lasagna (which I have had happen to me before). The ricotta offers a way for the spinach to be suspended evenly in the lasagna:

If you opt to use fewer veggies (e.g. "My daughter/son/monkey's uncle wouldn't touch this with a ten-foot pole if I put mushrooms in it, so I'm leaving them out!" I would recommend that you start with less sauce so that the lasagna doesn't become runny.)

Enjoy!