Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms

Categories : main dishes, pasta & rice, potatoes & vegetables, Recipes, vegetarian or vegan

A delicious veggie lasagne, perfect for autumn meatless meals. Butternut squash, spinach and mushrooms make it super healthy and flavourful, and using cottage cheese instead of béchamel sauce makes it easy to put together.

Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A baking dish with a cooked vegetable lasagna sitting on a dark surface. Next to it a piece of burlap acting as an oven mitt. In the background are two short glasses of wine.

I love lasagne. The classic version is a favourite here in our house. But I also really really enjoyed creating this version, which is loaded with vegetables and creamy cottage cheese. I’ve made veggie cannelloni with spinach in the past (here), and I’ve used butternut squash in other pasta bakes (here), so I was looking forward to combining these ingredients in a lasagne dish. (The last recipe is in Greek; use Google translate and let me know if you have any questions!)

Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A wooden chopping board on a dark surface. On it is a piece of burlap with some forks lying across it. In the top left corner of the photo are two short glasses of wine.

It’s quite delicious!

Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: Another side shot of the cut piece of lasagna, from a slightly bigger distance. There is a fork lying on the plate next to it.

And much easier than the classic.

Cottage Cheese Vegetable Lasagne with Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushrooms www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A closer view of the surface of the cooked lasagna, with the butternut squash puree oozing up from under the browned melted cheese.

The recipe was developed as part of my collaboration with a Greek nationwide supermarket chain, and we’ve also made a short video which you can check out over on the Greek version of this post (here). Hope you like both the video and the recipe!

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, about 1.4kg

1 Tbs olive oil + extra for roasting squash

120ml (1/2 cup) veggie stock, warm

1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4 tsp salt

1/8 + 1/8 tsp pepper, freshly ground

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, mashed in a garlic press

250gr mushrooms, roughly chopped

700gr fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped (not baby spinach)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

700gr cottage cheese

100 + 50gr kasseri cheese, grated; or use any other yellow melty cheese you like (cheddar would be nice)

12-14 lasagne sheets, the no-boil type

100gr pecorino cheese, grated; or use parmesan

Step 1

Cut the squash in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Brush with olive oil and put on a baking tray cut side down. Roast in a preheated oven at 160C fan assisted (180C conventional) till a knife glides easily into the thick part of the squash (the “neck”), about 45-50 minutes. Let cool slightly, then spoon out 900gr of the flesh (keep any leftovers to mix with mashed potatoes) and transfer to a bowl with the stock, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper. Mash with a fork and set aside.

Step 2

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium high. Add onion and sautee for one minute. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds before adding mushrooms. Sautee for about 2 minutes until they start to brown slightly.

Step 3

Add the spinach to the pan (in batches if necessary), stirring continuously just until it wilts, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat, add nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Step 4

Blend the cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth, transfer to a bowl and add 100gr kasseri and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well.

Step 5

Preheat oven to 160C fan assisted (180C conventional). Layer about a quarter of the butternut squash puree over the bottom of a medium baking dish (mine is 26x33cm). Lay about 4 sheets of lasagne (depending on their size) on the squash, breaking some up if necessary. Follow with a layer of the spinach mixture (about a third of the quantity), then the cottage cheese mixture (about a third).

Step 6

Repeat with another two layers of each ingredient in the same quantities. You will have a quarter of the squash left. Spread that over the top and sprinkle with the remaining 50gr of kasseri and the pecorino.

Step 7

Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until golden and bubbly around the sides. Remove from the oven and let the lasagne rest and soak up its juices before serving.