It’s been a while since I’ve shared a recipe, but this one is a favorite in our house. It’s meatless, but that doesn’t stop any of us from devouring it. Even the kids aren’t deterred by the high veggie content as it gets mixed into a blend of sauce and cheesiness that’s incredible. It’s easy to make but can be a little time consuming, so I usually double the recipe and freeze a couple. It’s perfect for meal trains or just to have in your freezer ready to go for a ready to cook dinner night. This recipe makes 1 rectangular baking dish worth, but if you double the recipe, you can make 3 – 8″ or 9″ dishes and it freezes beautifully. We just keep a bunch of aluminum foil pans on hand so that when the mood strikes me to make this, I can do it in bulk. It takes just as much time as doing one serving.
Vegetable Lasagna Roll-Ups
Modified from Southern Living Magazine
Ingredients:
10 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
Handful of spinach, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 24oz jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 oz neufchâtel or reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 14oz can baby artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 large egg white
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package for al dente. Add a little olive oil to the water so the noodles don’t stick together. Drain pasta and separate.
2. Saute onion in hot oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until caramelized (approx. 7-10 mins). Add mushrooms, spinach, and garlic, stirring constantly, until mushrooms have softened slightly (approx 2 mins). Stir in the tomato sauce, sugar, and red pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 5 mins. Remove from heat.
3. Stir ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add the artichoke hearts, egg white, basil, and parmesan. Spread a spoonful of the mixture on each noodle.
Spread over the length of the noodle, and roll up firmly. Place seam side down on a greased casserole dish. Repeat until all noodles and cheese are assembled.
Spoon sauce over rolls.
4. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until heated. Let cool slightly before serving.
If freezing, don’t bake. Cover with foil and freeze. I thaw the night before and bake as above, but if you can’t thaw, you’ll just have to increase your cooking time.
Doubling note: If doubling your batch to make 2-3 trays, make more than just 20 rolls. I can fit 9 rolls per 8″ pan, so you might want to make 27 noodles (or less if you only want 8 per pan) to your desired final amount. You would just fill with a little less of the cheese mixture to spread it out, but it will still be delicious.
