VEGGIE-PACKED LASAGNA (AKA BEST F'ING LASAGNA)
Jason Glover
8
45 minutes
45 minutes
760
Are you constantly trying to sneak more veggies into your family's diet? This super cheesy, veggie-packed lasagna is the perfect way to do that. Be prepared to have the kids constantly requesting this. Holy crap, this stuff is good!
Ingredients
Meat & Veggie Mixture
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 lb white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 large zucchinis, thinly sliced
- 1 eggplant, cubed
- 29 oz (2 cans) Italian style stewed tomatoes
- 24 oz jarred marinara sauce
- ½ red onion, diced
- 1 each red, orange & yellow bell peppers (diced or cut into chunks, your preference)
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp oregano (or more to taste)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Cheese Mixture
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 oz shredded Monterey jack
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups sour cream
- 8 oz ricotta
- 1 package lasagna noodles
Tools
- Lasagna pan
- Large skillet
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Large bowl
- Cutting board
- Knife
Directions
- Cook the lasagna noodles, in advance, per the package's instructions. Set aside in a colander inside a bowl. Drizzle the noodles with a bit of olive oil so they don't stick together. (TIP: Cooking the noodles in advance makes the process so much easier. You can do it concurrently with making the meat and veggie mixture, but it is a lot to manage.)
- FAST EASY WAY: Use oven ready (no-cook) lasagna noodles. The sauce cooks them while in the oven!
- Preheat oven to 350°F and position the rack to the middle of the oven.
- Cut, chop, dice, slice and mince the veggies and garlic as specified in the ingredient list.
- Set the veggies aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the red onions and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until softened.
- Add the ground turkey and cook until browned, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add the zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers and mushrooms to the pan.
- Stir in 2 tbsp. of olive oil and continue sautéing.
- Stir in the marina sauce and stewed tomatoes.
- Reduce heat, if necessary.
- Season with the Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Stir carefully to combine and let simmer for a few minutes. (TIP: Don't worry about cooking the veggies all the way through
- the oven will do that.)
- In a large bowl, combine the cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella cheeses.
- Place one layer of noodles into the bottom of the lasagna pan.
- Spoon an even layer of the meat and veggie sauce on top of the noodles.
- Evenly dollop half of the cream cheese over the sauce.
- Repeat with half of the ricotta cheese.
- And half of the sour cream.
- Cover with a layer of the cheddar-jack-mozzarella mixture. (TIP: Save a handful for the final layer.)
- Repeat the noodle-sauce-cheeses step.
- Top the last layer with noodles, a little bit of sauce, and finish with the cheddar-Monterey-mozzarella cheese mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes, remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
- No extra veggies needed
- they are already inside!
- Mangia!
