Pioneer Woman Vegetable Lasagna With White Sauce

Pioneer Woman vegetable lasagna with white sauce will be our recipe for today, which is a great way to use up all your garden vegetables! This cheesy vegetarian lasagna is layered with lasagna noodles, bechamel sauce, and garden veggies.

What you’ll learn from This Recipe:

With this Pioneer Woman recipe, except learning how to prepare a lasagna dish, you see/learn:

• What a béchamel sauce is and why it makes this veggie lasagna so extravagant and decadent.
• Few ways to prepare the lasagna (or parts of the lasagna) ahead of time.
• Substituting gluten-free ingredients for this dish

What Is The White Sauce In Lasagna Made Of?

The white sauce in pioneer woman Vegetable lasagna with white sauce is a bechamel sauce, which is a combination of butter, flour, and milk.

Ingredients That You’ll Need:

• Oil: For sauteing the vegetables, we’re using this. Since butter is in the sauce, I prefer to use oil for the vegetables to keep the lasagna from tasting too heavy.
• Vegetables: This recipe calls for spinach, broccoli, zucchini, and corn. This is the perfect combination to get through your summer harvest. If you prefer, you can substitute zucchini with yellow squash.
• If you don’t have one of the vegetables (or just don’t like it), omit it. You can also add another vegetable that you want to use up. Make sure you only add cooked vegetables, otherwise they will release too much water.
• Aromatics, Herbs, Spices: Onions, garlic, dried parsley, onion powder, Italian seasoning, fine sea salt, and ground black pepper give this dish a lot of flavors.
• Butter: We use this fat in the white sauce. You shouldn’t replace the butter with oil because the butter adds so much flavor to the sauce.
• Flour: This is the thickener we use in the white sauce. Melted butter and the flour combine to form a blonde roux, which allows the flour to mix with the milk to create a thick sauce without the flour clumping.
• Milk: This is the base for our white sauce since it will be cooked, I recommend using whole milk it’s likely that the sauce will break if you use skim milk.
• Cheese: Cottage cheese, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese are combined throughout this dish. The combination of soft cheese, hard cheese, and stretchy cheese makes for a delicious lasagna. You can use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.
• Pasta: For this dish, you’ll need oven-ready lasagna noodles. Prepare them according to package directions before making the lasagna.

How To Make Pioneer Woman Vegetable Lasagna With White Sauce?

1. Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F then grease a 9×13 casserole dish lightly.
2. Next, you want to lay a thick layer of paper towels in a medium mixing bowl (to absorb the liquid from the cooked vegetables).
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add one Tablespoon of olive oil and swirl to coat.
4. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels.
5. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, then add the onions and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
6. Add another teaspoon of olive oil and broccoli chopped. Sauté for four minutes, then add zucchini, drained canned corn, and sea salt. Stir and cook for three minutes.
7. Using paper towels, squeeze the spinach to remove excess water, then add the spinach to the skillet with the other vegetables. Add the sauteed vegetables to the paper towel-lined bowl and replace the paper towel lining.
8. Melt the butter over medium heat in the same skillet. Whisk in the flour until roux forms. Pour in the milk slowly while continuously whisking until a smooth consistency is achieved.
9. Add the dried parsley, onion powder, Italian seasoning, ground black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Stir well. Whisk constantly during simmering (about 4 minutes) until the mixture thickens, then, remove from heat.
10. You should gently pat the vegetables dry and remove all excess water with paper towels. Remove carefully the paper towel from the vegetables (leaving the vegetables in the same bowl). Combine the cottage cheese with the vegetables.
11. Place 1 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Add 3-4 lasagna noodles (the number will depend on the size of your noodles; you may need to cut one in half to fill in any gaps).
12. Pour half of the vegetable and cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Put 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the vegetables, then spoon out 1 cup of sauce.
13. Repeat the layering step one more time, finishing with the noodles. Spread the remaining sauce on top, followed by the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
14. Wrap the baking dish in aluminum foil and place it in the hot oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 25 more minutes.
15. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Storing Tips & Ticks

Here are a few tips to help you with your Pioneer Woman Vegetable Lasagna With White Sauce either when thinking about making it ahead or when you end up with some leftovers:

• The vegetable sauce: can be made in advance and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for about three months. Sauces should be stored in freezer-safe glass containers or double layers of freezer bags. The sauce should be refrigerated overnight to thaw out.
• Unbaked lasagna can be refrigerated: Lasagna pieces and unbaked lasagna can both be refrigerated for up to two days. Use parchment or wax paper between the lasagna and aluminum foil when covering. Aluminum foil may react with white sauce.
• Lasagna With White Sauce can also be frozen: Before freezing, let it cool completely on a rack, then wrap it very well with foil (we use two layers). Frozen lasagna should be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator and baked at 400°F for about 1 hour. Baking and then freezing lasagna is a better option than freezing uncooked lasagna.

How To Reheat Pioneer Woman Vegetable Lasagna With White Sauce?

In The Oven:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Cover your Pioneer Woman vegetable lasagna with white sauce with aluminum foil.
3. Reheat it for 13 to 20 minutes until it’s 165° in the center.

Note: If you use the oven method, you won’t need to add any additional water because the gentle heat will prevent the lasagna from drying out.)

In The Microwave:

• Place your Pioneer Woman vegetable lasagna with white sauce on a microwave-safe dish.
• Stick a toothpick into the center of the lasagna piece, ensuring it sticks out a few inches(this will keep the cover of your lasagna from stealing all your melty cheese.)
• heat the lasagna on full power in 90-second increments for about 6 minutes or until it’s warmed all the way through.

NOTE: The temperature needs to reach 165°F in the center, which can take up to six minutes.

In The Air fryer:

1. Preheat the air fryer to 375º.
2. Place your Pioneer Woman vegetable lasagna with white sauce on an air fryer-safe dish.
3. Heat your lasagna for 5 to 8 minutes until warm.

NOTE: A temperature of 165° is the goal, so cook in 5-minute increments until you reach it.

Recipe Tips

• Using freshly shredded cheese is important because pre-shredded cheeses are coated with an anti-caking agent that prevents them from melting smoothly.
• To prevent the lasagna from becoming watery, line the bowl with several paper towels before adding the vegetables.
• I poured the sauce into a large measuring cup so that it would be easier to pour, and so that I could measure out the cups while assembling.

FAQ Section

Pioneer Woman Vegetable Lasagna With White Sauce

Erin Table for Seven

Pioneer Woman vegetable lasagna with white sauce will be our recipe for today, which is a great way to use up all your garden vegetables! This cheesy vegetarian lasagna is layered with lasagna noodles, bechamel sauce, and garden veggies.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 631 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Vegetables:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 8 ounces fresh spinach chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion diced, about 1 cup
• 3 medium cloves garlic minced
• 2 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets
• 1 medium zucchini diced, about 1 cup
• 1 (8.75 ounces) can whole kernel corn drained
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 ½ cups cottage cheese

White Sauce:

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 ½ cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Lasagna:

• 12 lasagna noodles cooked according to package instructions and ready to bake
• 2 ½ cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

• Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F then grease a 9×13 casserole dish lightly.
• Next, you want to lay a thick layer of paper towels in a medium mixing bowl (to absorb the liquid from the cooked vegetables).
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add one tablespoon of olive oil and swirl to coat. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels.
• Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet, then add the onions and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add another teaspoon of olive oil and chopped broccoli. Sauté for four minutes, then add zucchini, drained canned corn, and sea salt. Stir and cook for three minutes.
• Using paper towels, squeeze the spinach to remove excess water, then add the spinach to the skillet with the other vegetables. Add the sauteed vegetables to the paper towel-lined bowl and replace the paper towel lining.
• Melt the butter over medium heat in the same skillet. Whisk in the flour until roux forms.
• Pour in the milk slowly while continuously whisking until a smooth consistency is achieved.
• Add the dried parsley, onion powder, Italian seasoning, ground black pepper, and parmesan cheese. Stir well. Whisk constantly during simmering (about 4 minutes) until the mixture thickens, then, remove from heat.
• You should gently pat the vegetables dry and remove all excess water with paper towels.
• Remove carefully the paper towel from the vegetables (leaving the vegetables in the same bowl). Combine the cottage cheese with the vegetables.
• Place 1 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Add 3-4 lasagna noodles (the number will depend on the size of your noodles; you may need to cut one in half to fill in any gaps).
• Pour half of the vegetable and cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Put 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the vegetables, then spoon out 1 cup of sauce.
• Repeat the layering step one more time, finishing with the noodles. Spread the remaining sauce on top, followed by the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
• Wrap the baking dish in aluminum foil and place it in the hot oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 25 more minutes.
• Allow it to stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

• Using freshly shredded cheese is important because pre-shredded cheeses are coated with an anti-caking agent that prevents them from melting smoothly.
• To prevent the lasagna from becoming watery, line the bowl with several paper towels before adding the vegetables.
• I poured the sauce into a large measuring cup so that it would be easier to pour, and so that I could measure out the cups while assembling.

Nutrition

Calories: 631kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 30gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 812mgPotassium: 783mgFiber: 5gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 3730IUVitamin C: 37mgCalcium: 556mgIron: 3mg

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