Oh, how I love lasagna! To me, it’s the ultimate comfort food! We eat meat around here in Nashville but, I’m of the mindset of having a balanced life. I think that our bodies and the environment can be helped by cutting down on meat and when we do eat meat it’s important to use high quality, smaller farm-raised products if possible.

Here we have a whole lot of powerhouse veggies like kale, carrots, and garlic all smooshed between ribbons of zucchini and cheese. For this particular recipe, I used a layer of gluten free brown rice pasta to make it a little more substantial (for my husband’s sake). I’ve left the pasta out before and it’s totally as delicious and filling for me. Possibly my favorite thing about this recipe is it can be put together ahead of time and kept covered in the fridge!

This saves time after work and also allows all the flavors to meld together and become married in gooey lasagna bliss. Can you tell I love this stuff? Make it Sunday night during meal prep, keep it in the fridge until you get off work Monday and pop it in the over. 25 mins later you’ll have yourself a hot delicious Meatless Monday winner!

Melty cheese heaven!

Ingredients

Zucchini
Mushrooms
Cherry tomatoes
1/2 large green pepper
1/2 large white onion
1 shaved carrot
2 huge cloves of garlic (This garlic I have right now is massive.)
1 can organic tomatoes with fire roasted chilies
1 cup cook al dente brown rice penne pasta
Organic ricotta cheese
Organic parmesan cheese
Organic mozzarella cheese (I use full-fat cheese)
Fresh basil
Fresh Oregano
Garlic powder
Pink sea salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper

All the veggies getting sautéed.

Directions

Remember to chop and prepare all your ingredients before you start cooking (Mise en place).

Heat a large pan with a drizzle of olive oil.

Mise en place

Reduce heat to medium-high and add garlic, onion, and green peppers.

Add roughly chopped mushrooms and chopped kale (stems removed).

Add a little more oil if needed, stir, and cover for about 5 minutes.

Add shaved carrots, tomatoes, oregano, basil and spices to taste.

Cook everything covered for about 10 minutes. Taste to make sure you don’t want more spices.

In small pot cook pasta to al dente, drain water when cooked, and add 1/4 cup parmesan and 1/4 can of tomatoes.

Add the rest of the canned tomatoes to the veggie mix.

Start to assemble by slightly oiling pan then adding pasta mix evenly to bottom.

Add a layer of thinly sliced (long way) zucchini.

Spread an even layer of the veggie mix on top of the zucchini.

Add ricotta, parmesan, and sliced or shredded mozzarella.

Tip- use your judgment with the amount of cheese you add. I don’t like a lot of ricotta so I only use a little bit.

Repeat until you’ve used all the veggie mix (Mine was two layers of each).

End with your top layer being veggie mix and add an even layer of parmesan cheese and pieces of mozzarella.

When ready to bake, preheat to 375F.

Bake covered for about 15-20 mins.

Broil for 1 minute, until cheese is slightly browned.

Ready to pop in the oven!