Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna {Small Family Size}

A hearty meatless lasagna with butternut squash and spinach filling in between layers of uncooked noodles. This meal is a great way to enjoy farm share produce year round.

I did not get good photos of this lasagna for you. My spouse thinks that means I merely need to make it again. While I do have some community supported agriculture (CSA) farm share butternut squash left in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, I have other ideas for them. Moving forward, always often, to new recipe ideas, and it seems silly to avoid this tasty recipe just because I don't have the food stylist's knack for making a piece of lasagna look good.

I like lasagna filling more than I like noodles, and I hate trying to keep track of all the boiled noodles without losing the little ruffled edges. Therefore I make lasagna that has a higher filling to noodle ratio--and use oven ready noodles so I don't have to stress about separating cooked noodles or having them tear off their petticoats or go diving out of the colander into the sink.

Plan to assemble the lasagna earlier in the day and chill it until you're ready to bake. It could probably be assembled the night before, but I didn't try it that way. This make ahead dish makes a 'small family' size pan (9 inch square) of lasagna, great for a couple of leftovers but not weeks of leftovers. 

For other recipes using butternut squash, please see my Butternut Squash Recipe Collection. For other recipes using spinach, please see my Spinach Recipe Collection. They are part of the recently-updated Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient.

Note: This recipe calls for roasted butternut squash. I usually roast a few squash at a time and keep the unused portions in zip top bags in the freezer. If you don't have any roasted squash on hand you'll need to factor in another 45 minutes to an hour to get that part done.

Another Note: You'll notice that I'm not starting off with "preheat the oven . . .". That's not an omission. I think the finished lasagna is better if the noodles have a chance to soak up the sauce before baking. My homemade sauce is not concentrated, so it is the perfect liquid for the noodles to absorb and I wanted to make sure that the noodles had the time to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives and then get a move on before I cranked up the heat.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

3 pints tomato sauce or tomato puree (not paste)
½ cup chopped basil leaves (mine were frozen)
3 to 4 cloves roasted garlic (here's how I roast and put up my crop) or minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, divided
5 to 6 cups baby spinach
8 ounces roasted butternut squash (halved & scooped, a squash takes about 20-45 min at 400 degrees)
12 ounces ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese, or a blend of each)
1 egg
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella
½ cup shredded asiago
8 pieces (½ box) oven ready lasagna noodles (I used Barilla)

In a saucepan, simmer the tomatoes, basil, smashed garlic, sugar and salt while you prepare the filling (about 15-20 minutes).  In a large skillet over medium heat, stir the spinach with ¼ cup water for 5-10 minutes until wilted and nearly dry.

In a large bowl, combine squash, ricotta, egg, and spices until thoroughly mixed. Stir in spinach [I use my immersion blender so the kids can't complain about bits of spinach].  In a 9 inch square pan ladle ½ cup sauce across the bottom.  Top with 2 noodles.  Spread ⅓ of ricotta mixture over noodles, top with ½ cup mozzarella cheese and 1 cup sauce.  Repeat layers of noodle/ricotta/cheese/sauce 2 more times, then top with final pair of noodles. Cover top layer of noodles with the rest of the sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese, and the asiago cheese.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set the pan on the counter to take the chill off while the oven is preheating. [This is probably not necessary with a metal pan, but mine is ceramic and I don't want to subject it to wild temperature swings.] Remove plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes uncovered until edges are browned and crispy.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing. 

This post is shared with What's Cookin' Wednesday