Autumn Triple Squash Lasagna

Lasagna is the perfect dish for the Fall weather (hopefully) ahead. It’s warm, comforting, and not overly complicated to make. I love making a “lighter” lasagna by substituting thin pieces of summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash) for pasta noodles. If you’re a squash lover like me and ready for all things Fall, this recipe is totally for you! It uses three different types of squash: summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash), pumpkin and butternut squash. The flavors really complement one another nicely and it was a huge hit among everyone who I had taste test it. This recipe makes a large tray, so it’s perfect if you want to feed a bigger group or even meal prep for the week (I have been eating it for lunch the past few days and it has been great reheated!). Thank you Taproot Farm for the organic summer squash, fennel, onion and arugula used to make this dish! I hope you all enjoy this Autumn inspired recipe as much as I have – happy cooking! 🙂

Makes Around 12 Servings
Recipe by © Alysha Melnyk 2018

Kitchen Tools:

Oven, Preheated to 400°F
9 by 13 Oven Safe Baking Dish
Mandoline (*I highly recommend this for slicing the squash thinly)
Large Sauté Pan

Ingredients:

4 Summer Squash, Thinly Sliced Preferably with a Mandoline ( I used 2 medium zucchini and 2 smaller yellow squash)
1 Jar Pasta Sauce of Choice (I used a Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce)
2 Tablespoons Salted Butter
1 Cup Mushroom, Diced (I used an oyster mushroom)
3/4 Cup Onion, Diced
2 Small Bulbs Fennel, Diced
2 Heaping Cups Arugula (Or other green of choice)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Sage (Plus more for topping)
1 15 Ounce Can of Pumpkin Puree (*Not pumpkin pie filling, so be careful not to mix them up)
1 15 Ounce Container of Full Fat Ricotta
1/2 Cup Asiago Cheese, Shredded
Parmesan
Black Pepper

Instructions:

1. First, slice your squash.
2. Next, spread a base layer of pasta sauce of choice in your oven safe baking dish.
3. After that, add a layer of thinly sliced zucchini on top of the sauce. As you can see in the picture above, it’s an imperfect process. As long as the layers are covered, you’re good! I overlapped every piece a little bit so everything was sealed.
4. Set this aside for now and preheat your oven to 400°F.
5. While oven is heating, place your sauté pan on medium heat and melt salted butter.
6. When the butter is melting, dice your mushroom and add in.
7. Next, dice your onion and add in.
8. After that, dice your fennel and add in.
9. Then, add in your arugula and fresh sage.
10. Wait until mushroom/fennel/onion browns and fennel and sage wilt, tossing as needed.
11. After this, remove pan from heat and add in the full containers of ricotta and pumpkin to the same pan, mixing to combine everything.
12. Divide the filling in half, spreading one half on your first layer of squash, then add another layer of squash (as seen above), then smooth the other half on the second layer and then add a third squash layer (as seen above). So you’ll have three layers of squash/ two layers of the cheese, pumpkin and vegetable mixture.
13. After this, spread a thin layer of sauce on the top layer and bake in the oven (uncovered) for 30 minutes. (*I like my zucchini soft but firm in texture, so if you want very soft zucchini I recommend baking longer).
14. After baking, remove dish from oven and top with shredded cheese(s) of choice, black pepper and fresh sage.
15. Let rest for 15 minutes (the cheese will melt during this time), then slice and enjoy! 🙂

*A few notes:

Your dish will have a lot of moisture from all the zucchini – it’s nothing you did wrong and it will still taste fabulous. I have tried drying out strips before and I just feel like it takes away too much of the squash flavors, so I just opt for this instead.

The zucchini is tricky to cut and even if you can’t get perfect lasagna squares it will still taste great.

This reheats SUPER nicely, so it’s a perfect leftover dish! I feel like it sets even better after a day in the fridge.*