Roasted Vegetable Lasagna White (Printable Version)

Oven-roasted vegetables and béchamel layered with tender pasta for a flavorful vegetarian main.

# What You Need:

→ Roasted Vegetables

01 - 1 medium zucchini, diced
02 - 1 medium eggplant, diced
03 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
04 - 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
05 - 1 red onion, chopped
06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
07 - 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
08 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ White Sauce (Béchamel)

09 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 - 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11 - 3 cups whole milk, warmed
12 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
13 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
14 - 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
15 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

→ Lasagna Assembly

16 - 9 no-boil lasagna noodles or regular noodles cooked as per package instructions
17 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
18 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
19 - Fresh basil leaves for garnish

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and onion with olive oil, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Spread evenly on the baking sheet.
02 - Roast vegetables for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until tender and slightly caramelized. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
03 - In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes until pale. Gradually add warmed milk while whisking constantly. Continue stirring until sauce thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with nutmeg, salt, white pepper, and stir in Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat.
04 - Spread a thin layer of béchamel sauce on the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer noodles, half of the roasted vegetables, one-third of the mozzarella, and one-third of the white sauce. Repeat layers with noodles, remaining vegetables, another third of mozzarella, and white sauce. Finish with a final layer of noodles, remaining white sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan on top.
05 - Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.
06 - Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The white sauce is so creamy and luxurious that nobody misses the red tomato sauce they expected.
  • Roasting vegetables first makes them sweet and concentrated, nothing like raw vegetables in other lasagnas.
  • You can prep everything hours ahead and just pop it in the oven when life gets chaotic.
  • It's vegetarian but genuinely satisfying, the kind of dish that meat-eaters don't feel like they're missing out on.
02 -
  • The white sauce needs to be warm and slightly thin when you layer it, because it will firm up as it bakes and continue thickening in the oven.
  • Don't skip the 10-minute rest; it's the difference between slices that hold together and ones that fall apart into a delicious heap.
  • If your sauce breaks or gets lumpy, pour it through a fine sieve and start whisking in fresh milk a splash at a time.
03 -
  • Make the entire lasagna the night before, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and bake it straight from the refrigerator the next day, adding just 5 to 10 extra minutes to the baking time.
  • If your white sauce is too thick, whisk in a splash of warm milk; if it's too thin, let it cook a minute or two longer over the heat.
  • Use a hot, wet knife to cut lasagna cleanly, wiping it between slices, which prevents the cheese from dragging and tearing the layers apart.

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