Vegetable Lasagna in Pumpkin Sauce

Vegetable Lasagna in Pumpkin Sauce featured tender vegetables in a warm, creamy pumpkin-based pasta sauce. This is an incredibly inviting dish and perfect for cold weather. 

When I was younger, I used to be really underwhelmed by lasagna. Now that I’m older (and I’ve made it a few times myself 😛 ), a nice lasagna is one of my favorite things. They’re delicious and I love how creative you can get with them. They can be a lot of work to put together, but the end result is so worth it.

This lasagna is no exception. The pumpkin sauce gives it a nice fall feeling and makes it seem even warmer and more inviting. This is going to make many appearances at my kitchen table as the weather continues to get colder.

Vegetable Lasagna in Pumpkin Sauce

For the sauce:

• 2 tbsps oil
• 2 tbsps onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups chicken OR vegetable broth
• 3 cups (2 15-oz cans OR 1 28-oz can) pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk

For the lasagna:

• 12 lasagna noodles, al dente
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, diced, and boiled* OR 2 small yellow crookneck squashes, sliced
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• 3-4 portabella mushrooms, diced
• 2 red peppers, roasted** and diced
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 bag shredded mozzarella
• grated Parmesan, to taste
• 2 cups diced chicken (optional)

Step 01: Make the sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the spices and cook, stirring, for two minutes. (This releases the oils and makes them more flavorful.) Add the broth, pumpkin puree, milk, and heavy cream. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, but do not boil. Set aside.

Step 02: Preheat the oven to 400.  Simmer a pot of water and boil the lasagna noodles according to the packaged directions. They don’t need to be completely boiled–just softened (al dente). In a large bowl, mix the vegetables (and chicken, if using) together and add the sauce.

Step 03: In a prepared 9×13 inch baking dish, pour 1/2 cup milk. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of the vegetable mixture, and a layer of cheeses. Repeat until all of the vegetables and sauce have been used. Do not top with cheese.

Step 04: Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake it for 45 minutes, or until the noodles are soft and the vegetables tender. Remove from the oven, add the cheeses, and bake (uncovered) for another 15 minutes. Cool and serve!

*Butternut squash will not become tender enough from just baking in the lasagna. It has to be boiled first. If you don’t want the hassle, yellow crookneck is also delicious and only needs to be sliced.

**You can find roasted red peppers in a jar. However, if you wish to make your own, cut two red peppers in halves or quarters. Lay them on a prepared baking sheet and put them under your oven’s broiler for 20 minutes or until the skins begin to blacken. Then allow them to cool on the stove for a few minutes. Remove the skins and voila! Roasted red peppers. Dice and add to the bowl with the other vegetables.

This lasagna was amazing. We’ll be having this again definitely. It’s also really versatile because you can just substitute whatever vegetables you don’t like.

What was your favorite pumpkin dish this year? I’m pretty sure this one was mine!

Vegetable Lasagna in Creamy Pumpkin Sauce

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Serves: 12-15 Prep Time: 30m Cooking Time: 1h

Ingredients

• For the sauce:

• 2 tbsps oil
• 2 tbsps onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cups chicken OR vegetable broth
• 3 cups (2 15-oz cans OR 1 28-oz can) pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk

• For the lasagna:

• 12 lasagna noodles, al dente
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, diced, and boiled* OR 2 small yellow crookneck squashes, sliced
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• 3-4 portabella mushrooms, diced
• 2 red peppers, roasted** and diced
• 1 small eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 bag shredded mozzarella
• grated Parmesan, to taste
• 2 cups diced chicken (optional)

Instructions

Step 01: Make the sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the spices and cook, stirring, for two minutes. (This releases the oils and makes them more flavorful.) Add the broth, pumpkin puree, milk, and heavy cream. Stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer, but do not boil. Set aside.

Step 02: Preheat the oven to 400F.  Simmer a pot of water and boil the lasagna noodles according to the packaged directions. They don’t need to be completely boiled–just softened (al dente). In a large bowl, mix the vegetables (and chicken, if using) together and add the sauce.

Step 03: In a prepared 9×13 inch baking dish, pour 1/2 cup milk. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of the vegetable mixture, and a layer of cheeses. Repeat until all of the vegetables and sauce have been used. Do not top with cheese.

Step 04: Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake it for 45 minutes, or until the noodles are soft and the vegetables tender. Remove from the oven, add the cheeses, and bake (uncovered) for another 15 minutes. Cool and serve.

 

Vegetable Lasagna in Pumpkin Sauce was last modified: April 24th, 2017 by Chelsey

Notes

*Butternut squash will not become tender enough from just baking in the lasagna. It has to be boiled first. If you don't want the hassle, yellow crookneck is also delicious and only needs to be sliced. **You can find roasted red peppers in a jar. However, if you wish to make your own, cut two red peppers in halves or quarters. Lay them on a prepared baking sheet and put them under your oven's broiler for 20 minutes or until the skins begin to blacken. Then allow them to cool on the stove for a few minutes. Remove the skins and voila! Roasted red peppers. Dice and add to the bowl with the other vegetables.