This might be the quickest post I’ll ever write. In a little over an hour, I am heading off to the airport for our big adventure in Japan! I’ll be posting plenty of photos of our trip on Instagram and will do a big post when I’m back, but I didn’t want to leave without quickly sharing this amazing mushroom lasagna.
I’ve been fiddling with vegetarian lasagna dishes for a while now, but this simple version with mushrooms is my absolute favorite. Rather than so many other vegetarian lasagnas, this one doesn’t get watery from frozen spinach (which I am very much not a fan of) or ricotta. I basically took my mom’s recipe–one of my favorites growing up–and subbed mushrooms for ground turkey. The mushrooms lend a great meaty texture to the lasagna, and the smooth tomato sauce pairs so well with all of that beautiful bubbling cheese. Who doesn’t love a classic lasagna?
My recipe below is more of a blueprint rather than a set of hard rules. First of all, I have just discovered the beauty of pre-cooked lasagna noodles. I had my doubts about them for a long time, but found them to be delicious and so easy to use. Secondly, my lasagna is on the petite side, since I recently broke my large baking dish and haven’t gotten around to buying a replacement. So you might need to adjust your baking time if you’re using traditional lasagna noodles, and you’ll need more of each ingredient if you’re making a larger lasagna.
This recipe is great for so many occasions, from cozy days when you want a hearty meal to having friends over for dinner. It also freezes up quite nicely. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
And if you have any recommendations for Tokyo or Kyoto, I would love to hear!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and dried
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz. can plain tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Small bunch of fresh basil, chopped
- 9 lasagna noodles (I use the oven-ready kind)
- 8 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and sautee for about five minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for about one more minute before adding the tomato sauce, salt, herb seasoning, red pepper flakes and basil. Let simmer for about five minutes.
- In a 9' by 9' baking dish, spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce onto the bottom of the dish (try to avoid adding any mushrooms to this layer).
- Place three of the lasagna sheets onto the layer of sauce. Add ⅓ of the mushroom sauce on top of the noodles, followed by ⅓ of the cheese. Repeat two more times (using 9 sheets total).
- Place aluminum foil over the baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and cook for 5 more minutes to allow the cheese to bubble up. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
*Note: feel free to use a marinara sauce of your choice instead of seasoning your own sauce (I like seasoning my own sauce since there is a lot of sugar in store-bought sauces).
Japan? How exciting! Is this for business or pleasure? How long will you be there? I bet you’ll enjoy some great cuisine. I am going to save your lasagna recipe.
Love you,
Aunt Toni
Hi Aunt Toni – we went to Japan for Tomas’ brother’s wedding! It was a great vacation and I feel very lucky that we were able to go. We were there for nine days total. I hope you like the lasagna!
This was a delicious lasagna, Julia! I still have a square saved in the freezer. 🙂
I’m so glad we were able to enjoy it together! Freezing it is such a great idea, especially when you’re only cooking for two.
Have a fabulous time in Japan! I can’t wait to live vicariously through you on social media… This lasagna looks all kinds of tasty too! What a great staple recipe 🙂
Thanks, Emma! We just got back yesterday and had an amazing time. I’ll be posting some pictures soon 🙂 And yes, this lasagna is one of my favorite quick staples!
As it turns out, you owe me an indirect debt of gratitude. I lobbied for your mom’s lasagna hard and often. Your variation on it turned out great, I have to say. Mushrooms were the perfect, savory substitute!
Oh yes, I’m definitely grateful for your lobbying! I think we were all happy to eat this often. I’m glad you enjoyed the mushroom version too!
Sounds and looks delicious! I’m also not a fan of frozen spinach… so so SO watery!
Have a great time in Japan!!
Ha, glad you agree about the watery frozen spinach! I have no idea why it is so popular in vegetarian lasagna recipes. No thanks!
It was an immediate drool fest over here, Julia, upon spying this delicious lasagna! Mushrooms are my favorite and I love how you’ve made them the star of this lasagna. No cook noodles are fantastic, arent they? I use bionature whole wheat noodles, uncooked and they are fantastic; cook up perfectly every time! Thank you for this delectable recipe, Julia! Can’t wait to hear about your tip to Japan!!
Yay! I’m always glad when I make something that looks drool-worthy to others! I will definitely have to track down some bionature whole wheat noodles. Are they easy to find? And yes, I will be doing a big post all about Japan soon…once my jet lag is gone 🙂
I buy mine at our Co-Op and I saw them at Haggen. Amazon also carries them. Looking forward to hearing about Japan!! 😀
Japan! How fun!! And this lasagna looks super amazing! I’ve been craving a baked cheesy noodly dish and this would be perfect! I hope you have so much fun and can’t wait to hear about your trip 🙂
Thanks, Izzy! Japan was amazing 🙂 I will be sharing some photos and recommendations soon! And yes, you really can’t beat a cheesy baked pasta dish, can you?
This lasagna looks perfect for our cold rainy days here. I think sauteed crumbled tempeh could be another good substitute for the turkey. I might try that. But I love the simplicity of your and your mom’s lasagna, it makes it feel that much more in reach to make any given night! Can’t wait to hear more about your trip Julia! 😀
Great idea with the tempeh, Katie! How do you recommend cooking it? I have actually never cooked tempeh at home and would love to hear your suggestions. And yes, I think we all need some really simple classics in our repertoire…this is one of my favorites!
OMG, Japan??! I’m seriously jealous! Have SO much fun! I have a bunch of friends who live all over Japan, and I have been dying to visit! I hope you take lots of pictures and share! But, most of all I hope you have a BLAST! Anyways, this lasagna looks delish! I LOVE that you used the mushrooms as the meat! So clever and SO scrumptious! This looks perfect! And I’m totally with you on frozen spinach, although sometimes I use it when i’m in a pinch! This looks cozy, comforting and ultimately delicious! Cheers, travel safe and thanks for sharing the YUM!
Thanks for visiting, Cheyanne! I am so glad you like the look of this lasagna. Let me know if you try it out! And Japan was amazing – I’ll be sharing some photos quite soon!
Yum, yum, a thousand times yum!! I love this recipe. It’s short, sweet and stars mushroom, one of my favorite foods. I adore a classic lasagna and you nailed it!!! Have so much fun in Japan, safe travels!!! Does this mean that we will get some Japan inspired recipes when you return?
Coco
http://craftylittlecoco.com/
Thanks for visiting, Coco! I’m so glad you’re a mushroom fan too, because they are in a ton of my recipes! And yes, I am working on some Japanese recipes and hope to share some soon 🙂
Hi Julia,
I prepared your lasagna tonight. It was delicious, but I have a question.
Your recipe calls for three lasagna noodles. I bought the Barilla pre-cooked ones. The directions say to put three noodles in the pan. I could only get two to fit in mine. Was I supposed to put one on top of the other?
Thank you,
Teresa
Hi Teresa – I’m so glad you enjoyed the lasagna! I use three pasta sheets per layer and I overlap them a little bit. But if two fits well for you, then that’s fine! Thanks for visiting!
i hope you enjoyed Japan. I recently lived there for 21/2 year. i was in Osaka. WWhere did you go while there? This lasagna recipe looks very good!
Thank you, Cecilia! I went to Tokyo and Kyoto and loved both. I hope I can go back again soon. How amazing that you lived there!
Yummy! This recipe was absolutely delicious! I will definitely make this again very soon 🙂 . I hope you enjoyed your trip to Japan.
I’m so glad you liked the lasagna, Jasmine! And thank you — my trip to Japan was amazing 🙂