Healthy Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Healthy Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Prep time: Up to 90 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes, cool time 10 minutes

This recipe is my creation derived from some recipes I found from The Pioneer Woman & Martha Stewart. I made them healthier but choosing leaner cheese, using less cheese, and cutting the oil in at least half. I also tripled the veggies from the recipes I found. This means it is more vitamin packed, however it also means it added about 30 minutes into the prep time. This makes 8 large portions that I have calculated to be 11 WWP+ per serving. If you are a WW please make sure to recalculate the recipe based on the brands you choose as the pointsplus values can change. So let’s get started.

Ingredient List
1 Eggplant, peeled and cut into ½” rounds
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
1 head of cauliflower
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow onion, cut into large dice
8oz package of Baby Bella mushrooms

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons of garlic powder, divided
3 teaspoon of garlic salt, divided
2 Tablespoons of Italian herbs, divided
1 cup parts skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, raw
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 2/3 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Olive oil cooking spray
36 oz of Classico’s Traditional Sweet Basil pasta sauce (which is 1 1/2 jars or whatever kind you enjoy), divided
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 425* and spray two large cookie sheets. We will begin by prepping all the veggies for roasting. Roasting these veggies will take more time but it adds a tremendous amount of flavor and it is totally worth it!

*Very important when prepping the veggie to try to cut them around the same depth so that they will roast evenly. *

Starting with the eggplant cut the ends off and peeled it with a potato peeler.

Then cut the eggplant into ½” circles (rather than long strips) See the picture below.

Next I tackled the zucchini and yellow squash. In order to maintain the same depth for even roasting I cut in half length and depth, then in ½” thick slices. See pictures below.

The red bell pepper I cored and cut into 2” cubes.

Deconstruct the cauliflower and cut into bite sized pieces. Spray olive oil cooking spray on two large cookie sheets. Add the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and cauliflower. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt to each cookie sheet. Mix well and spread out evenly. Place on center racks in the preheated 425* oven for approximately 60 minutes.

Flip or mix every 15 minutes and rotate pans for even roasting. This photo was after 30 minutes, notice the browning on the eggplant. This color shows the added flavor that you are looking for in roasting veggies.

Cut a large onion in a large dice. Clean & cut 8 oz. of baby bella mushrooms into 1/2" thick peices. You can use any mushroom, I like the depth of flavor of baby bellas. Spray a large nonstick pan with olive oil cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and heat to medium high. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and sautee onion and mushroom mixture until lightly carmelized and tender. *You could probably also roast the onion and mushroom in the oven I just didn't have any more room in my oven*

As all the veggies are cooking mix the cheesy combination: 1 cup of part skim ricotta, 1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup of grated parmesean, 2 eggs, 2 Tablespoons of Italian Herbs, 2 Tablespoons of garlic powder. Mix well and set aside.

Once the veggies are all complete begin building the lasagna by spraying olive oil cooking spray in a large & deep baking dish. Place 2 Tablespoons of pasta sauce and spread evenly.

Then place the first layer of pasta in the bottom of the baking dish. *Note* If you choose to use "oven ready" lasagna noodles as I did you will notice that they absorb ALOT of sauce and continue to do that each time you reheat the meal. So if you like alot of sauce and choose to use this noodle I recommend adding at least an extra 1/2 cup of sauce to each layer.*

Before I continued building the lasagna I mixed all the roasted veggies together with the onions and mushrooms EXCEPT the eggplant that I kept separate. Here is how I built the layers from the bottom up:

Olive oil cooking spray
2 Tablespoons of pasta sauce
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/2 of roasted eggplant pieces
1/2 of veggie mixture
1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/2 of roasted eggplant pieces
1/2 of veggie mixture
All of the cheesy ricotta mixture
1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
2/3 cup finely shredded mozzarella

Here's what is looks like all built up! Looking good so far :)

Next wrap really tightly with foil. Place in preheated 425* oven for 60 minutes or until noodles are cooked completey through. After taking it out of the oven allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into it. Cut into at least 8 pieces, serve & enjoy! Here is the final product when cut, super yummy!