Roasted Butternut Squash
Pesto Lasagna
The creamiest vegetarian lasagna I’ve made. With a simple yet delicious béchamel cheese sauce with hints of herbs and all those layers!
With over 6 layers with cheese and squash, it’s my new favorite comfort food meal.
Make this on the weekend – cherish the leftovers and then make it again and again because it’s that good.
Keep it seasonal.
Fall and Winter aren’t complete without roasting some squash! It’s fresh and you can find it everywhere. Road side stands, farms, pumpkin patches and grocery stores have boxes full of them.
More Butternut Squash recipes I love.
Roasted Butternut Squash + Pesto Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Diet: Halal
Ingredients
- 1 medium (or 2 small) butternut squash, cut in half and seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 stick salted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 heaping tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups and 3 tablespoons milk, divided
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons prepared pesto (I used my homemade version)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
- 1 package gluten free lasagna noodles, cooked to package instructions
- 10–14 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Arrange the squash cut side up on a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the inside. Flip over so the cut side is facing down on the pan. Place in the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and flip over so that is begins to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the béchamel sauce. Using a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter over low heat. When it is almost melted, add in the minced garlic and a large pinch of each salt and pepper. Stir around with a wooden spoon or spatula. When it’s completely melted, add in the flour – using a whisk mix around for 45 seconds – 1 minute.
- Whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk – stirring constantly for the first 20 seconds to avoid any clumps from forming. Stir occasionally until the sauce begins to coat the back of a wooden spoon – it should be as thick as heavy cream. Turn the heat to lower heat if possible. Add in all of the cheese except 1/4 cup. Stir to incorporate and cook until it is completely melted and combine. Turn the heat off and let sit until needed.
- Using a fork or spoon, remove the squash from it’s skin. Place it in a mixing bowl. Stir in the pesto, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, nutmeg (if using) and 3 tablespoons milk. Using a fork mix everything together while mashing up any larger pieces of the squash.
- To assemble the lasagna, use a 8×8 pan. Spray the bottom and sides lightly with cooking spray. Layer in 1-2 sheets of the lasagna noodles. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the butternut squash mixture – spreading out to mostly cover the noodles. Follow with a couple spoonful’s of the béchamel sauce. Layer in 2-4 fresh basil leaves. Continue these steps until all the ingredients have been used – ending with noodles with the last of the béchamel sauce on top. Sprinkle in the reserved 1/4 cup of cheese.
- Place in the oven uncovered and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the sides are bubbling and the top starts to brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for a quick 5 minutes before slicing into.
Notes
If you want your squash pureed more, use a hand blender or stand blender to blend it briefly. I prefer mine a bit more rustic with small chunks of squash here + there. It cooked up nicely + should be able to be worked firmly with a fork.
For the lasagna noodles – I undercook mine by about 2 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: vegetarian
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
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One Response
Kind of confused about the cheese. You must mozz and Parm then refer to “the cheese” in the bechamel, but save some? Mozz or parm? I don’t get it. Should be delicious anyway