Not to be dramatic, but this recipe has taken me YEARS to perfect! I am so happy to finally write it down and share it with you. The secrets I discovered along the way…mascarpone cheese mixed with the ricotta, and roasted red peppers with the veggies make this lasagna incredible! I made this while my friend Sara was visiting and I think she ate it 4 or 5 times. As with many pasta dishes, it tastes even better left-over. It also freezes well, so stock up!
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 fresh zucchini, diced
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons minced dried onions
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained really well
1 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1 1/2 cups jarred roasted red peppers, diced
5 cups tomato basil sauce, divided
4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
16 lasagna noodles, uncooked
Directions:
- Pre heat oven 375 degrees F.
- Spray 9×13 glass baking dish with Pam cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.
- Add diced zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and dried minced onions.
- Cook, stirring often, for 8-10 minutes or until zucchini are crisp tender.
- Remove from heat. Season with garlic salt and black pepper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together mascarpone cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, spinach, and Italian herbs. Set aside.
- To assemble the lasagna, start by scooping 1 cup of tomato basil sauce into bottom of prepared dish.
- Next, place 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping, on top of sauce.
- Carefully scoop one third ricotta mixture onto noodles and spread out evenly with spatula.
- Top with 1/2 cup roasted red peppers and one third of the zucchini mushroom mixture.
- Top with 1 cup tomato basil sauce.
- Top with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, pressing down slightly. Top with one third ricotta mixture, then 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, then one third zucchini mushroom mixture, then 1 cup tomato sauce, then 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Repeat above step one additional time (finishing ricotta mixture, roasted red peppers, and zucchini mushroom mixture).
- Layer final 4 lasagna noodles, top with remaining 1 cup sauce, remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Cover tightly with tin foil and place in oven.
- Bake 45-60 minutes, until bubbly.
- Remove tin foil and continue baking 10-15 minutes, until cheeses are melted and lightly browned.
- Allow to set 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
I made this for a friend who just had a baby & her vegetarian husband, it turned out really good!! I am not a fan of peppers & because I made two small ones, one for them & one for us, I chickened out & didn’t use them. It was still great! I had leftover steamed carrots so I diced them small & put in the veggie mixture, anything to get more veggies down the kids! Thanks!
Thanks for your comment Julie! So glad you guys liked the lasagna!
I made this for dinner guests the other night and it was AMAZING! It took a little bit of time to put together but it was well worth the effort.
Meg–So glad you liked it and that it turned out well. This truly is an original recipe that took me forever to write down! Glad it worked 🙂
Mmmmm!!! This was a fantastic lasagna… I LOVED the marscapone cheese, it was so rich. I’ll definitely be using this recipe!