Loaded with fresh vegetables and creamy cheese, these lasagna roll-ups are what’s for dinner.
The great thing about these veggie lasagna roll-ups is that you can customize each roll-up to fit different tastes. The examples in this recipe contain spinach, mushrooms, zucchini squash, and carrots, but you can include veggies that you like and leave out the ones you don’t like.
Ingredients
The photo below shows the fresh veggies that I chose for my lasagna roll-ups. Fresh basil is optional, but if you have some, be sure to add it. When you choose lasagna noodles, avoid the “oven-ready” kind. Those are not a good choice for lasagna roll-ups.
Add ricotta and mozzarella cheese, along with your favorite marinara sauce to complete the veggie lasagna roll-up ingredients.
Making Veggie Lasagna Rollups
Prepare the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. While the noodles are cooking, get your vegetables ready to be rolled up. I like to chop up the mushrooms and saute them with fresh garlic. When the mushrooms are cooked, mix them in with the ricotta cheese.
If you like your squash and carrots well-cooked, steam them for a few minutes before adding them to the roll-ups. If you like them slightly crunchy, add them to the roll-ups raw. They cook as part of the baking process, but if you add them raw, they will have an al dente crunch to them.
The image below shows the basic steps for making the veggie lasagna roll-ups. Before you start adding ingredients, spread the noodles on a cutting board or cookie sheet, and pat down the top of each noodle with a paper towel. This extra step makes it easier to spread the ricotta cheese.
- Add a dollop of the ricotta cheese and mushroom mixture to each noodle.
- Using a small spatula or your fingers, spread the ricotta cheese and mushroom mixture evenly, leaving a little room at each end of the lasagna noodles. The extra room makes it easier to roll the noodles. If you have fresh basil, cut it into small pieces or use herb scissors to sprinkle it on top of the ricotta cheese.
- Add the vegetables. Picture number three shows a variety of veggie roll-ups – some with spinach only, some with zucchini and carrots, and some with spinach and zucchini.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the roll-ups.
When the roll-ups are ready, transfer them to a baking dish with a small amount of marinara on the bottom. This keeps the noodles moist and prevents them from sticking to the bottom of the baking dish.
Add more marinara and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Put the veggie lasagna roll-ups in the oven and bake. (See the timing and notes in the recipe below.)
Serving Veggie Lasagna Rollups
Put these beauties on a plate and serve them right out of the oven. Peek inside to see the fresh ingredients poking out.
Dig in! I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.
Make-Ahead and Freeze
Can there be any more good news about these veggie lasagna roll-ups? There is! You can make them ahead and freeze them. When you’re ready to eat them, thaw them at room temperature for a couple of hours and then either microwave them or heat them in the toaster oven.
Veggie Lasagna Rollups
Ingredients
- 6 lasagna noodles
- 1/2 cup 8 oz ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup carrots sliced to fit on the noodles
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup zucchini squash sliced to fit on the noodles
- 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 to 1.5 cups of prepared marinara sauce
- Spinach leaves to taste
- Optional Fresh basil, snipped with herb scissors or sliced
- Optional 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
- While the noodles are cooking, saute the mushrooms and one clove of garlic in the olive oil.
- When the mushrooms and garlic are browned, remove them from the skillet and mix the mushrooms and garlic in with the ricotta cheese.
- Drain and rinse the noodles when they are completely cooked.
- Spread the noodles on a cutting board or cookie sheet and pat down the top of each noodle with a paper towel.
- Add a dollop of the ricotta cheese and mushroom mixture to each noodle.
- Using a small spatula or your fingers, spread the ricotta cheese and mushroom mixture evenly, leaving a little room at each end of the lasagna noodles.
- (Optional step) Steam the squash and carrots for 2-3 minutes before adding them to the noodles.
- Add the vegetables to the noodles, arranging them horizontally.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top of the roll-ups.
- Roll up the noodles.
- Transfer them to a baking dish with a small amount of marinara on the bottom.
- Add more marinara on top of the roll-ups, and top with grated Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the baking dish with foil.
- Put the veggie lasagna roll-ups in the oven and bake them at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake them for an additional five minutes.
Notes
- Do not use oven-ready lasagna noodles. You need to cook the noodles in boiling water and drain them for lasagna roll-ups.
- The cheeses used in this recipe are available in a variety of styles, ranging from full fat to skim milk-based. This recipe uses whole milk ricotta and part-skim mozzarella.
- Use at least a cup of prepared marinara. Add more to taste.
Products used in this recipe
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