Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce (Stouffer’s Copycat)

The first time my college boyfriend brought me home for the weekend, I could tell that his family was challenged. They lived in a small town, very meat-and-potatoes. They weren’t quite sure what to do with a Jewish girl from Philly who didn’t eat meat. But his mom definitely rose to the occasion, and had a special meal prepared just for me. While the rest of the family dined on roast pork, I delighted in a creamy, garlicky vegetable lasagna that was the most delicious lasagna I had ever had.

When I asked for the recipe, his mom giggled when she admitted that it was a Stouffer’s frozen lasagna! How easy is that? But of course I had to make it difficult by trying to copycat the recipe. And let me tell you, it was so worth it. This Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce is a better-than-copycat version of Stouffer’s. Even the kids, who immediately decided they wouldn’t like it because it contains the word “vegetable” in the title, both went in for seconds.

Making sure your lasagna doesn’t come out watery

Getting lasagna right isn’t easy. If you use the kind of noodles that you have to boil, a lot of them break during the cooking process. The ones that are left intact are slippery to work with, often resulting in a watery casserole. The no-boil noodles are a better bet.

It’s important, though, that the recipe contains enough moisture to cook the no-boil noodles in the oven. The ricotta cheese, with its high water content, really helps in this recipe. Also be sure to totally cover the noodles with bechamel sauce before you bake it, or the noodles will be dry and not fully cooked.

With enough moisture in the recipe, coming from ricotta cheese and bechamel sauce, you’ll be able to cut this Vegetable Lasagna with the side of your fork.

What are the best vegetables to use in lasagna?

This Vegetable Lasagna’s flavor makes you forget about any of the veggies, if that’s what you’re trying to do. But really, it’s the veggies that give it its depth and complexity of flavor. Here’s what we’re using:

• sweet bell peppers (I like orange, but you could also use red or yellow)
• baby spinach
• broccoli
• onions

Chop the veggies very small and then pre-cook them on the stove before assembling the lasagna. They come out super tender, and the sweetness of the bell pepper along with the caramelized onions is just perfect.

What is the white sauce, i.e. bechamel?

Bechamel sauce is a simple mixture (or roux) of butter, flour and milk. We’re punching up the flavor of a basic bechamel with garlic and mozzarella cheese to make the creamy white sauce for this Vegetable Lasagna.

When we assemble the lasagna, we’ll make layers of noodles, vegetables, ricotta cheese and white sauce. We’ll make three layers like this and then top it all off with noodles.

The ingredients list below sounds like a lot. Don’t be intimidated. It’s what you need to make a 9×13 family style meal. This Stouffer’s Copycat Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce will give you twelve good-sized servings. Perfect if you have kids like mine, who each had two squares. It’s really that good! Enjoy!

For more family-style recipes, try these:

• Baked Ziti with Tomato Gravy & Turkey Sausage
• Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas
• Pesto Ricotta Stuffed Shells

For more vegetarian dinners, try these:

• Zucchini Rollatini with Summer Marinara
• Garden Tomato & Whipped Goat Cheese Tart
• Meatless Linguine Bolognese

Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce (Stouffer’s Copycat)

Layers of tender pasta with a creamy, garlicky bechamel, two cheeses and sweet spring vegetables

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 12 oz. no-boil lasagna sheets
• 15 oz. ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 2 1/4 cups each onion, bell pepper and broccoli chopped
• 3 3/4 cups spinach chopped
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese divided
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

 

• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Sautee the onions, bell peppers, spinach and broccoli in the oil until softened. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Stir in the garlic and let it start to sizzle. Add the flour and whisk constantly until it starts to bubble. Pour in the milk, salt, broth, parmesan and 3 cups of mozzarella. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and whisk, allowing mixture to thicken. Remove from heat.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread a thin layer of the cheese sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Layer the lasagna noodles:

  Layer 1: On top of the cheese sauce, layer the noodles, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the vegetable mixture. Dot the vegetable layer with ricotta cheese. Pour 1/4 of the white sauce over the ricotta, making sure all noodles are covered.

  Layer 2: Noodles, 1/3 vegetables, ricotta, 1/4 of the sauce.

  Layer 3: Noodles, remaining vegetables, ricotta, 1/4 of sauce, noodles, remaining sauce, then remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.
• Cover with foil and bake 45-50 minutes, until bubbly. For extra browning, remove foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

Keyword dinner, vegetarian, meatless, Italian

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