Butternut Squash Lasagna

No ratings yet

This flavorful vegetarian lasagna features a savory combination of butternut squash, walnuts, sage, and shallots. It takes a bit of time to make, but it is well worth the effort.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Total Time2

Course: Dinner, Entree

Cuisine: American/Mediterranean, Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Abigail Chipley

Ingredients

For the Filling

2 1/2 pound butternut squash, trimmed, peeled, halved, and seeded
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups sliced shallots (about 4 medium shallots)
2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup thinly sliced sage leaves, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

Garlic Béchamel Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups 2% milk
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

To Assemble

2 cups coarsely grated part-skim mozzarella (8 ounces)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (3 ounces)
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
12 no-boil lasagna noodles

Instructions

Prep the squash. Place one half of the squash flat-side down, and cut crosswise into ¼-inch thick slices with a large, sharp knife.
Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, and cook, stirring, until golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in walnuts and sage and cook until sage wilts, about 2 minutes more. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
Make the Garlic Béchamel Sauce. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add milk a few tablespoons at a time, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming before adding more. When all the milk has been added, continue cooking, whisking often, until the sauce comes to a simmer, about 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and continue whisking until the sauce becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Season the Béchamel Sauce: Whisk in salt, freshly ground black pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat. The béchamel should be thick, but still pourable. Taste and add a pinch more salt if necessary.
Mix the cheeses. In a small bowl, toss the mozzarella and parmesan cheese together.
Assemble the lasagna. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with olive oil. Ladle about 3/4 cup Béchamel Sauce into the dish and use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly over the bottom. Place three noodles on top. Ladle another 3/4 cup of béchamel sauce over the noodles and spread it evenly to coat the noodles. Layer on a quarter of the squash slices, slightly overlapping, and sprinkle with salt and ground pepper. Spread a quarter of the shallot-walnut mixture over the squash, and sprinkle with a quarter of the cheese mixture. Make three more layers the same way, beginning with the noodles and ending with the cheese. Add a few more fresh sage leaves on top, if you like.
Bake the lasagna. Cover the lasagna with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil. Use a sharp paring knife to test for doneness: it should slip easily through the squash and noodles. If squash seems too firm, cover with foil and return to the oven for up to 15 more minutes.
Broil the lasagna. Remove the foil and switch the oven to broil. Broil until the topping is golden-brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Watch it carefully to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Cool and serve. Let the lasagna cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve garnished with fried sage leaves, if you like.

Notes

Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil used in this recipe.
If your butternut squash is larger than 2 1/2 pounds, plan on using 2 pounds of sliced squash or 8 cups, sliced.
To Halve the Recipe: It’s easy to halve this recipe to serve a smaller group. Halve the ingredients and use an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish. Note that you will need to make three layers instead of four. That’s because the square dish fits just 2 no-boil noodles per layer. Remember to split your ingredients into thirds for layering!
Make Ahead Tips: I don’t recommend baking the entire dish ahead of time because the squash becomes soft when reheating. However, there are quite a few steps you can do in advance:
- Trim, peel, and slice the butternut squash and transfer to a zip-top bag. Refrigerate overnight.
- Sauté the shallot, walnut, and sage mixture in advance, and refrigerate overnight.
- Make the Béchamel up to 3 days in advance. Let cool completely, then cover the sauce directly with plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming. When ready to bake, heat the béchamel over low heat, whisking, until hot.
- You can also make and assemble the whole lasagna, refrigerate it, and then bake it later. I recommend letting it come up to room temperature before baking it.
Leftovers & Reheating: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days. Rewarm individual servings, covered lightly with foil, at 350°F for about 15 minutes.

Nutrition

QR code

Scan this QR code with your phone's camera to view this recipe on your mobile device.