Butternut Lasagna with Wild Mushrooms and Sage- a cozy vegetarian (or vegan) main dish, perfect for your holiday feast! This can be made with no-boil noodles and can be made ahead! Or make it stages- see notes.
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.~ Thorton Wilder
Here’s a delicious vegetarian or vegan main dish, worthy of your holiday table – Butternut Lasagna with Mushrooms and Sage. So comforting and homey.
What I love about this recipe is the butternut lasagna can be made ahead (or in stages) and stored in the fridge until ready to bake. When it comes out of the oven, beautifully golden and bubbly, your house is sure to smell amazing!
A delicious cozy recipe, full of fall flavors. And it’s easily made vegan! Butternut squash is roasted in the oven and becomes the silky sauce that infuses the lasagna with such goodness. I know you will love it! Perfect for vegan thanksgivings.
This week I’m so excited to be partnering with Beaujolais Wine to help share how versatile and lovely the wines from the region are, while being very affordable and approachable. The perfect wine to bring to your Thanksgiving day gathering!
Beaujolais, in case you’re unfamiliar, is a region in France located just south of Burgundy with gentler, milder temperatures. Wine here most often is produced from Gamay grapes, which have thin skins, low tannins, and makes for a light, drinkable everyday red that is friendly on the palate, and pairs well with many dishes. Beaujolais also comes in white and rosé -which I actually didn’t know but am so excited to try!
It starts with a roasted butternut puree, which becomes the “sauce”. You could roast this off the night before and cool in the fridge until ready to assemble.
I use uncooked lasagna noodles to save time- such a godsend!
Layer with ricotta and mushrooms, shallots and sage…..or substitute this vegan tofu ricotta!
For extra luxuriousness, drizzle with a little truffle oil.
You’ll repeat the layers a couple of times and then bake!
Top the butternut lasagna with cheese for added richness if you like, keeping in mind all the amazing “meltable” vegan cheese out there these days.
Sometimes, instead of adding a final layer of grated cheese, I’ll make a light, quick béchamel sauce…. purely because I prefer the look of it ( from my catering days) compared to the grated cheese “look”. See recipe notes for more info. 🙂
When the Butternut lasagna comes out of the oven it will smell heavenly. Beautifully golden and fragrant!
For a special dinner, an added touch is to make crispy sage leaves as a garnish over the butternut lasagna. You could also drizzle with your favorite pesto, for a little color. Both optional.
So hearty and delicious! Serve it with a tasty fall salad and you have a yummy meal!
Hope your Thanksgiving is beautiful….. and you enjoy this Butternut lasagna! I know for sure, you will love the leftovers.
Cheers friends!
xoxo
Butternut Lasagna with Mushrooms and Sage
Butternut Lasagna with Wild Mushrooms and Sage, – a delicious vegetarian or vegan main dish, perfect for your holiday table! This can be made ahead, and baked right before serving!
- Prep Time: 60 mins
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: vegetarian, main,
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: northwest
Ingredients
- Small butternut squash ( 2.5lbs – 3lbs) (you’ll need about 4 cups, roasted)
- ½ a sweet onion, sliced into big wedges
- olive oil for drizzling
Mushroom Filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 ½ lb mushrooms, sliced
- ½ onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional – feel free to add a couple of handfuls baby spinach or greens and wilt them.
Ricotta Mixture:
- 1 lb ricotta cheese (or sub vegan tofu ricotta) If using the tofu ricotta, no need to add more salt or egg. Just nutmeg 🙂
- one egg (optional)
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Butternut Puree:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3–6 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1 /2 cups grated mozzarella cheese ( about 3–4 ounces) or sub vegan “meltable” cheese
- ½ cup romano or parmesan ( about 1 ounce) or sub vegan
- 9 lasagna noodles (uncooked)
- Garnish with 9 crispy sage leaves (optional, see notes)
Optional Quick Béchamel Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
- 1 ½ tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk ( or nut milk)
- generous pinch salt, pepper and nutmeg
- remaining ½ cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons parmesan (or meltable vegan cheese )
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 F. Cut butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place open side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place sliced onion next to it and drizzle it with a little olive oil. Roast until fork tender, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool. Lower oven to 375F
In a large skillet, heat the oil or butter. Add mushrooms and diced onions and salt, and saute over medium heat, until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to brown. Add the garlic, sage and pepper. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 more minutes, turn heat off. You could toss in some spinach at the end and wilt for extra nutrients. Taste and make sure the filling has enough salt and pepper. You could also add a little truffle oil.
Using a fork, mix the ricotta cheese with the egg, nutmeg and salt. ( you really don’t need to add the egg, but it adds a nice richness.)
When the butternut is cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out into a food processor. You should have about 4 cups. Add the roasted onion, olive oil, water, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Puree until smooth. You will need at least 3 1/2 cups pureed and you want it to be almost saucy, like a marinara sauce ( so add water if need be). This will act as the “sauce”.
Assemble the lasagna. In a greased 9 x13 inch baking dish, add 1 cup of the butternut puree and spread out into a thin layer. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Add ½ of the ricotta mixture and spread out evenly. Top with half of the cook mushrooms. Sprinkle with ½ cup grated mozzarella and a couple tablespoons romano cheese. Add 3 more lasagna noodles. Spread out the rest of the ricotta mixture as evenly as possible. Spoon half of the remaining butternut puree, erring on the side of less than half, so you have enough to cover the top (save at least 1 ¼ cups for the top.) Add the remaining mushrooms and all the good bits ( onions and sage) and sprinkle with another ½ cup shredded mozzarella and couple tablespoons parmesan. Place the final three noodles over the top. Lather with the remaining butternut puree and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese ( or make the creamy béchamel sauce.- See notes. )
Cover tightly with foil and bake in 375 F oven for 40 minutes. (If the foil touches the lasagana, place a layer of parchment beween the foil and lasagna). Uncover and continue baking 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbly. Cut into 9 servings. Garnish with optional crispy sage leaves.
Notes
Optional Béchamel: So instead of sprinkling the remaining cheese on top (which is totally fine, especially if pressed for time) I’ll make a quick light béchamel sauce to pour over the final layer of butternut puree using the remaining cheese. This just gives it a creamier look and feel (compared to the look of melted, grated cheese). This is just a personal preference, that makes it look more appealing (from my catering days). Totally up to you. 😉
To make the bechemel: heat the oil or butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the flour, and toast it for 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, whisking out any clumps and browned bits. Stir in salt, pepper and cheese, stirring until melted and incoporated.
A great way to conquer this is to make the compenents in stages. Make the butternut puree one day, the filling the next (storing in the fridge) assembling the next day, etc. OR Feel free to make this all ahead (refrigerate) and bake before serving, remembering to pull it out of the fridge for at least one hour before baking. This can also be baked and frozen.
To make the crispy sage leaves, generously coat the bottom of a small skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Place each leave ( leaving a little stem is cute) into the hot oil and fry each side, around 30 seconds, or until crisp. Place on a paper towel to blot. Do one tester first, to get the timing right. You want them crisp, but still green, not too brown.)
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I recently began a vegetarian diet and found your website – so many amazing recipes I made this dish, and while it is time consuming, it was so worth the effort. May I suggest you add directions for making the bechamel sauce? I needed to go online for instructions. Also, once I followed your baking instructions, I broiled it for a few minutes to brown up the sauce topping. Can’t wait to have leftovers today!
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Thanks Michele! Gald you liked it. I added the directions- thank for suggesting!!! Enjoy your leftovers!
It took tremendous willpower not to moan audibly while eating this! It is well worth the effort.
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Hahaha, love it!
Delicious and seasonal
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Oh my goodness this was good. My 5-year-old picky eater loved it! So glad I found a new way to use up garden squash.
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Delish….
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The butternut in this recipe just transforms the lasagne, the best one I have ever made!!! Thanks Sylvia, another fantastic recipe!!!
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yum
Another delicious recipe, Sylvia! Made this with baby bella mushrooms and baby spinach. The roasted sweet onion really adds a depth of flavor to the butternut purée. I like the hint of nutmeg in both the ricotta mixture and the creamy béchamel sauce. And, this reheats nicely for another dinner or two. Thank you!
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Served this to my vegetarian niece for Thanksgiving- big hit! After eating, she commented that she loves eating at my house as she always gets something wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.
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This makes me so happy! Glad your niece enjoyed it!!!
Yum
Hi Sylvia,
I usually like to follow a recipe as written the first time I make it but this time I changed it up. We have some local wild mushroom companies here in Maine so I went with them. The problem is that a pound and a half of organic wild mushrooms can be a little pricey so I compromised. I used a 50/50 mixture of wild mushrooms and ground lamb sautéed in ghee and I did add one egg to the ricotta mixture. It was delicious. The butternut squash goes quite well with the mushrooms and lamb. I had some leftover and froze it for another day. I’m looking forward to trying some of your recipes you discovered on your recent trip to India. Best wishes for a happy holiday season. Terry
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Aww thanks Terry! As always, I love how you adapt recipes to meet your needs. Sounds really delicious!
This was delicious. I made it for a post Thanksgiving dinner for a group of 16, with 2 vegetarians, and it is nearly gone. The bechamel sauce and the crispy sage leaves give it that extra special taste, texture and appearance. Now that I’ve experienced all of the steps, I will have greater future success in a shorter amount of time.
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This was delicious! I love not having to cook the noodles. And the extra water in the puree was enough to cook the noodles. Next time I will add a some sage sausage to half of it for the carnivores in the family. Great recipe for butternut squash!
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Oh good! Im glad it turned out! Thanks for letting me know…I was starting to worry. 😉
This looks amazing! I am looking forward to making it for Thanksgiving. I don’t eat tofu. Could I use a cashew ricotta in place of the tofu?
I think so ?? I haven’t tried that yet, so just make sure it’s seasoned well!
Loved the recipe! Using uncooked lasagna did not work. Needs more liquid, or cooked lasagna. Yum!
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Hi Laura, I’m sorry and really not sure why it didn’t cook? I used dry noodles ( see photos) and mine cooked through perfectly. Maybe my sauce was thinner? I will add some notes to the recipe.
Do you think this could work with canned (pureed) pumpkin as a time-saver? Obviously it wouldn’t be quite as good but maybe close?
I think this is fine as long as you season it and thin it out with a little water and olive oil… so it’s more saucy. You could also used a “Harvest Sauce” like the one at Trader Joe’s.
This sounds delicious, and perfect for the squash on my counter!
Did you use regular lasagne noodles, or the “no boil” variety?
I used regular noodles and did not boil them. ?