Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna | A Simple Gluten-Free Option

Are you intimidated by making lasagna? Me too! At least I was, but this spinach and butternut squash lasagna recipe is super easy. YOU can do it! You can get it ready anytime during the day and bake it for dinner. With all the cheese, you can’t say it’s a low-calorie food, but it definitely has some good nutrition in it! All ages will love this lasagna! Even my not quite one year old loves it!

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Easy Peasy

Months ago I bought gluten-free lasagna noodles at our discount grocery store (which is amazing!). They just sat in my freezer until I got the right inspiration to comb through various lasagna recipes to come up with my own. I’ve made this one several times now tweaking it as I go, and it is so delicious! For our small family, it lasts at least 3-4 meals. It would nicely feed a larger family or gathering.

Just to give you a picture of how easy this is…The other day I didn’t have a plan for dinner. After lunch, I was inspired to make lasagna realizing I had everything I needed on hand. So while my son was taking his afternoon nap, I got it all assembled and ready to go in the oven later for dinner. It took me maybe 20 minutes and the longest part was waiting for the lasagna noodles to thaw from being frozen! Had I planned ahead and thawed them earlier it would have been even faster.

To make it faster I used canned sauce, pre-cut frozen butternut squash, frozen spinach, and no-boil lasagna noodles. My noodles were frozen but that was because they are fresh noodles that needed to either be used or frozen. It’s easier to find dry boxed options in most stores.

Lasagna That’s Good for You?

Not only does the butternut squash add a lovely creaminess to the filling, but it adds great nutritional value too! According to WebMD (must be right then), 1 cup of the butternut variety of squash holds over 100% of daily vitamin A, 40% of vitamin C, 15% of magnesium, and 18% of potassium. It is good for your immune system, your eyes (hello orange veggie), and it’s high in fiber.

We all know spinach is good for us, but why exactly? Well, it is high in lots of vitamins and minerals like A, C, K1, folic acid, iron, and calcium. It too is high in fiber and good for the eyes (among other things, Healthline).

I can’t forget to mention that both mozzarella and ricotta cheeses are high in both protein and calcium and can be found on the 9 Healthiest Types of Cheese list.

So, in summary. This Spinach and Butternut Squash tastes delicious, is little work for lots of food, is loaded with nutrition, freezes well, and it’s good for your eyes!

Ingredients | Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna

• {Gluten-Free} No Boil or Oven-Ready Lasagna noodles (I used Taste Rebublic brand but there are many others out there) – GLUTEN-FILLED noodles work great too!
• 15 oz Ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 10 oz frozen spinach
• 1 cup butternut squash puree or well-cooked cubes
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (~24 oz)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella (split)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Note on the butternut squash: the quickest option is to get frozen cubes that you can microwave in the bag (I get mine at Aldi); other options are to cook a whole squash in the Instant Pot and scoop it out of the shell or roast either a whole or cubed squash in the oven ahead of time. If you don’t have butternut squash or the time to make it, you can either use plain canned pumpkin or omit it altogether (but then you’ll just have spinach lasagna)

Materials | Spinach and Butternut Squash Lasagna

• 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking dish
• medium mixing bowl
• mixing spoon
• aluminum foil
• strainer

Let’s Get To It!

Read the instructions ahead of time as well as the instructions on your ingredients as things can vary. For example, you may have frozen bagged butternut squash, but not the kind you can microwave in the bag so you’ll need to plan through the best way to cook it. Also, your lasagna noodles may need more sauce to cook properly, so you may need a second jar or to enhance it with canned diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes.

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Place frozen spinach in a strainer and thaw by running warm water over it. Once thawed squeeze out excess water and let sit in the strainer while gathering other ingredients
3. In a medium bowl mix together ricotta cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, egg, nutmeg, thyme, salt, and pepper
   Add drained spinach and cooked squash (see Note; cooked squash cubes should mash up nicely as you mix)
4. Put a very thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking dish
   Place the first layer of lasagna noodles then spoon in half of the filling mixture and roughly 1/3 of the jar of sauce (see notes)
5. Layer in the second layer of lasagna noodles then spoon in the remaining of the filling mixture and roughly 1/3 of the jar of sauce
6. Layer in the third and final layer of lasagna noodles then spread the remaining sauce on top followed by the remaining cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes covered then 10 minutes uncovered or until cheese is fully melted and starting to brown (if you like it that way)

What kind of noodles should I use?

This recipe does not need to be gluten-free but it is very easy to make it that way! You can use any type of no-boil lasagna noodle. The no-boil (or oven-ready) is the important element to make sure you have.

If you are in a pinch and can’t find no-boil or prefer to boil the noodles, you can still use this recipe, you will just need to follow the directions for your specific lasagna noodles and have them boiled before you layer them into the pan. It is another few steps and will take a little longer but is definitely possible!

What kind of cheese should I use?

You need two types of cheese – ricotta and shredded cheese of sorts. I used mozzarella but you could use an Italian blend or mix in some shredded parmesan with it. Get creative! If you have fresh mozzarella you could lay slices of it on top to get a really cheesy top.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

• PESTO PASTA RECIPE WITH SARDINES | A LIGHT AND EASY SUMMER DISH
• BLACK BEAN SWEET POTATO ENCHILADAS | A SIMPLE GLUTEN-FREE OPTION
• NO-KNEAD GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA DOUGH | HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE PIZZA

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