15 Vegetarian Lasagna Recipes That Are Hearty, Yet Totally Meat-Free
No meat, no problem.
Fred Hardy
When it comes to making a classic lasagna, there are four main ingredients you need: lasagna noodles, ground meat, tomato sauce, and plenty of cheese. However, if you follow a vegetarian diet, or are just trying to cut back on your meat consumption, the meat layer is out of the question. Luckily, there are plenty of vegetarian lasagna recipes to choose from that are just as delicious (if not more so) than the classic layered pasta dish you’re used to. If you simply want to omit the meat, we suggest trying our Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna, which relies on the titular vegetables in place of ground beef. If you’re willing to experiment a bit, give the Vegetarian Pumpkin Lasagna a whirl, which, in addition to having zero meat, calls for a pumpkin sauce instead of marinara sauce. Hungry yet? Keep reading for more vegetarian lasagna recipe ideas!
Related: 19 Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipes That Are Downright Delicious
No-Bake Summer Veggie Lasagna
Since there’s no meat in this veggie-forward lasagna, you don’t need to worry about baking it. Instead, it’s packed to the brim with tasty summer ingredients like cherry tomatoes and chopped zucchini. Silky ricotta and a sauce infused with fresh oregano and garlic add flavor and texture, while boiled lasagna sheets hold everything together. Top with freshly grated Parmesan and enjoy!
Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna
When it comes to substituting for meat in a lasagna recipe, mushrooms and spinach are a winning combination. Here, the vegetarian duo brings woodsy flavors and adds extra depth to this baked pasta dish. There’s no tomato sauce here either. Instead, you’ll find a creamy sauce made with butter, flour, milk, cheese, and spices.
Pesto Skillet Lasagna
Fred Hardy
This pesto lasagna largely comes together in a skillet, but you’ll pop it in the broiler for a few minutes near the end of the cooking process so the cheese fully melts and gets a little brown and crispy on top. Inside you’ll find store-bought pesto (opt for the refrigerated stuff), sautéed baby spinach, broken-up lasagna noodles, and plenty of tangy, creamy cheese.
Slow Cooker Spinach Lasagna With Romaine Salad
Fire up your slow cooker for this vegetarian lasagna recipe, which calls for a mere 15 minutes of hands-on work. Here, you’ll layer marinara sauce, pasta, mozzarella, and a spinach-ricotta mixture, and cook everything slowly until the ingredients meld and the noodles soften. Serve with a simple salad to round out the meal.
Broccoli, Spinach, and Three-Cheese Lasagna
This meat-free lasagna is the perfect weeknight meal, in part, because it calls for frozen broccoli and no-boil lasagna noodles, among other ingredients. Those shortcuts mean it’s ready in a little over an hour, and will have you reaching for seconds in record time. We’ll take it!
Slow-Cooker Squash Lasagna
Squash in lasagna? You bet! The gourd flourishes in this meat-free, tomato-free dish, and is instead joined by baby spinach and creamy ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. Plus, since the meal comes together in a slow cooker, it only requires 15 minutes of your time.
Last-Minute Lasagna
Lasagna isn’t really a dish you can throw together with short notice, yet this recipe is ready in under an hour and calls for just 10 minutes of hands-on work. The trick here is to use jarred pasta sauce, frozen cheese ravioli, and frozen spinach. The only fresh ingredients you need to have on hand are shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Related: 35 Perfect Pasta Recipes You'll Want to Make for Dinner Tonight (and Every Night)
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Give your oven a break with this classic lasagna recipe, which comes together in the slow cooker following a low and slow four hour cooking time. In addition to lasagna noodles, this recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes, ricotta, Parmesan, Swiss chard and mozzarella, but feel free to play around with the cheese and veggie combos until the recipe is just right.
Simple Microwave Lasagna
The microwave is a kitchen workhorse, and this recipe proves it. The key here is to use no-boil lasagna noodles and jarred marinara sauce, which help make this oven-free (and meat-free) lasagna recipe possible. You’ll start by building your lasagna layers in a microwave-safe dish. Once that’s done, just pop the dish in the microwave for 15-20 minutes so the lasagna can cook, then dig in!
Lasagna-Style Baked Ziti
This baked pasta dish calls for ziti, but it’s really more like a classic lasagna thanks to ground beef, tomato sauce, ricotta, and even more cheese. Fresh spinach adds protein, but if you’re not a spinach fan, feel free to swap in kale or another green instead.
Cheesy Baked Ravioli and Romaine Salad
This isn’t a lasagna recipe per se, but it has all the makings of the classic baked pasta dish, minus the meat. In this clever recipe, you’ll find plenty of store-bought four-cheese stuffed pasta, a quick DIY tomato sauce, and a shower of shredded mozzarella cheese. Serve this gooey, comforting vegetarian pasta dish with a side salad and you’re all set.
Vegetarian Pumpkin Lasagna
The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska
Perfect for a cold fall night, this lasagna calls for a pumpkin sauce in place of a red marinara sauce. The meat-free dish also features mushrooms, dried sage leaves, and plenty of cheese, resulting in a creamy, earthy dish that everyone will love. The bright orange hue doesn’t hurt either!
Vegetarian Lasagna Soup
If you love lasagna, chances are you’ll dig lasagna soup, too. As you may have guessed, the dish is basically lasagna in soup form, with a tomato-based broth tying everything together. This version calls for mushrooms, zucchini and spinach, as well as a creamy ricotta-and-mozzarella topping. Serve with crusty bread so you can sop up every last drop.
Butternut Squash Lasagna
In this vegetarian lasagna recipe, butternut squash is king. The creamy, orange gourd is layered in the lasagna along with noodles, cheese sauce, and spinach, yielding more than enough food for a group of eight. Whatever you don’t eat, simply wrap up and freeze for later. Once frozen, the lasagna will remain at peak freshness for about two months.
Related: 7 Easy Acorn Squash Recipes You'll Want to Serve Again and Again
Vegetarian Lasagna Rolls With Pesto
Brian Hagiwara / Getty Image
Vegetarian Lasagna Rolls with PestoBored with traditional layered lasagna? Try lasagna roll-ups instead. This vegetarian version of the trendy dish is made with lasagna noodles stuffed with fresh basil pesto and sweet potatoes, as well as ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. Additionally, each roll-up is sandwiched between layers of tomato sauce, and topped with even more cheese.
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