Earlier this week, I covered how eating a colorful diet is a simple way to ensure your body is getting a strong variety of nutrients. This recipe is a great way to put that lesson into practice!
When most people think of lasagna, they think of a heavy dish of carbs and fat. Aside from tan noodles, white cheese, and a little bit of red meat sauce, it’s not usually a colorful meal. This recipe changes that by filling up a traditional lasagna with tender, garlicky veggies. Red tomatoes are met with orange carrots, green zucchini, and yellow butternut squash.
This recipe has more ingredients and steps than most here at Nutriologic, but I hope you won’t be dissuaded from trying it! Many of these ingredients are items like olive oil and pepper, which you likely already have in your pantry. The way I make this dish is entirely vegan, but if you’d prefer to have your regular dairy-based cheese, this recipe will work with those traditional cheeses as well.
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1¾ tablespoons pink Himalayan salt
- ¾ tablespoon ground black pepper
- 4 tomatoes, peeled
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tablespoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 block silken tofu
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 cups plant-based parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour
- 1 pound zucchini
- 1 pound butternut squash
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 8 cups (10 ounces) baby spinach
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
- 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cups portobello mushrooms
- 2 cups plant-based mozzarella
Preparation
First, peel the tomatoes and mince the basil leaves.
Prepare the tomato sauce by combining peeled tomatoes, basil, carrots, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, and 1½ tablespoons salt in a blender. When ingredients are blended smoothly, set the sauce aside.
In a food processor, combine tofu, nutritional yeast, plant-based parmesan cheese, arrowroot flour, 2 garlic cloves, ½ tablespoon ground black pepper, and ½ tablespoon salt. Process until smooth and then set aside. (This is the cream sauce.)
Begin preparing the vegetable filling by peeling the butternut squash. Slice the butternut squash and zucchini into half-inch pieces.
Mince the two remaining garlic cloves and the kalamata olives.
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375℉.
In a small bowl, mix together one tablespoon of olive oil with the minced garlic and thyme.
Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to simmer, add the zucchini, yellow squash, ¼ tablespoon pink Himalayan salt, and ¼ tablespoon black pepper. Cook until the vegetables are slightly browned, stirring occasionally for around 7 minutes.
Stir the olive oil, garlic, and thyme mixture into the center of the vegetable skillet and transfer the contents of the skillet into a bowl.
Using the same skillet, add 1 tablespoon avocado oil and portobello mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add spinach and cook, stirring frequently, for around 3 minutes until the spinach has reduced in size.
Line a plate with paper towels and transfer the spinach and mushroom mixture onto the plate to drain for 2 minutes.
Add both the squash mixture and the spinach and mushroom mixture back into the skillet and combine.
Grease a 13×9 inch baking dish. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of the dish.
Arrange 4 noodles on top of the tomato sauce, covering as much of the sauce as possible.
Spread half of the vegetable filling mixture over the noodles, followed by half of the kalamata olives.
Spoon half of the cream sauce over the olive layer and sprinkle with 1 cup of plant-based mozzarella.
Repeat the layering process, beginning with the tomato sauce, a second time.
Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with avocado oil. Bake until the edges begin to bubble, around 35 minutes, rotating the dish in the oven after 17 minutes.
Cool the lasagna for 25 minutes before serving.
Benefits
- Butternut squash is a nutritional powerhouse. It gets its yellow-orange color from vitamin A, which is considered an “anti-infective” vitamin because of how well it supports the immune system. Vitamin A is also an antioxidant, which means it works within the body to counter the activity of cancer-causing molecules called free radicals.
- Carrots get their orange color from beta carotene, a compound that the body converts into vitamin A.
- Zucchini is a great source of vitamin A and vitamin B9, also called folate, which helps the body make healthy red blood cells. Zucchini is also rich in vitamin B6, which has been suggested to help regulate glucose levels and can play a role in the prevention of diabetes.
- Zucchini contains a compound called zeaxanthin, which can play a role in countering cancer-causing oxidative stress.
- Tofu gets its off-white color from soybeans, which add protein and fiber to your plate. By blending the tofu with a food processor, it becomes the basis for a creamy sauce without any, well, cream!
Source & Reference
Drake, Victoria J. and Higdon, Jane. An Evidence-Based Approach to Vitamins and Minerals: Health Benefits and Intake Recommendations, 2nd ed,.2011.
