This is the Best Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce, also known as béchamel sauce. An easy satisfying veggie lasagna that's flavourful and made without meat or tomatoes.
Table of Contents
- 🥘 Why You Will Love This Recipe
- ⭐ What is Lasagna?
- 🥗 Serving Suggestions
- ♨️ How To Avoid Watery Lasagna
- 📋 Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- 🥣 Step By Step Instructions (with photos)
- 💭 Tips For Recipe Success
- ⏲️ Storage Instructions
- 🍽 How To Make Lasagna Ahead Of Time
- 🍴 How To Freeze Uncooked Lasagna
- 🔪 How To Freeze Cooked Lasagna
- 💬 Recipe FAQ's
- 🥄 Related Recipes
- Recipe Card
- Reviews
🥘 Why You Will Love This Recipe
- No meat or tomatoes.
- Feeds the whole family.
- Made with staple ingredients.
- Uses dried or fresh lasagna sheets.
- Can be made gluten-free.
- Not watery.
- Make it ahead of time.
- Freezer-friendly.
⭐ What is Lasagna?
Lasagna is a dish made of flat noodles, either dried or fresh, layered with a vegetable and meat tomato filling and a creamy white sauce.
This vegetable lasagna recipe is made without meat and tomatoes. Instead, it’s created with basic vegetables, lasagna noodles, and a generous amount of homemade white sauce, which is also known as béchamel sauce.
The veggies in this white sauce lasagna include broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and more. It’s made without eggplant, no tomatoes, and without ricotta or cottage cheese.
What I love about this white sauce lasagna recipe is that’s it different from your traditional tomato and meat lasagna. My first time tasting a white sauce vegetable lasagna was when I was in Paris in 2019 and it tops the list of one of my favorite restaurant meals I’ve ever had.
🥗 Serving Suggestions
Looking for a side dish to serve with your veggie white sauce lasagna? Try pairing it with this Quick Garlic & Herb Flat Bread, Roasted Hasselback Potatoes, or these Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges.
Round out the night with a dessert to enjoy after your vegetable white sauce lasagna. Such as a Quick & Easy Apple Crumble, Sticky Date Pudding, Classic Lemon Tart, or these Easy Blender Crepes.
♨️ How To Avoid Watery Lasagna
What to know how to prevent a watery vegetable lasagna? Below are my top tips:
- Slice your vegetables thinly, in particular the zucchini.
- Use pre-sliced mushrooms or thinly slice whole mushrooms.
- Pan-fry the vegetables well before assembling your lasagna.
- Drain off any excess water/moisture in the pan after frying the vegetables.
- Ensure your white sauce is thick and creamy, not thin and watery.
- Let the lasagna rest, uncovered straight out of the oven, for at least 20 minutes before serving.
If you’re interested in more vegetarian main dish recipes, try these:
- Creamy Vegetable Casserole.
- Vegetarian Shepherds Pie.
- Chickpea & Black Bean Spinach Spiced Stew.
- Mixed Vegetable Savoury Egg Slice.
📋 Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Here is what you need to make the Best Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce:
- Lasagna Sheets - usedried, fresh, or no-boil lasagna sheets. Can also use gluten-free sheets for a gluten-free white sauce vegetable lasagna.
- Olive oil - to fry your vegetables. Swap it for cooking butter or another vegetable oil you have on hand.
- Onion - use either red or brown onion. I love to use red onion as it’s more flavourful.
- Garlic - fresh cloves of garlic is best or substitute it for garlic powder to taste.
- Carrot - slice your carrots into thin rounds. They don’t have to be paper thin but don’t make them too thick, as they’ll take longer to cook through.
- Zucchini - thinly slice your zucchini to prevent a watery vegetable mixture. They don’t have to be paper thin but certainly not too thick.
- White button mushrooms - purchase pre-sliced button mushrooms in a punnet or use whole button mushrooms that you can slice thinly. Omit for mushroom allergies and substitute with more carrots or zucchini.
- Broccoli - cut into small florets. Can also use frozen broccoli florets.
- Frozen peas - no need to thaw the pea before adding them to the pan.
- Fresh spinach - do not use frozen spinach as it will result in a watery lasagna. Use fresh baby spinach leaves only.
- Salted butter - substitute for unsalted butter and season the white sauce with extra salt to taste. This recipe has not been tested using dairy-free cooking butter or coconut oil.
- Plain flour - is also known as all-purpose flour in the US. Substitute it for gluten-free plain flour to make a gluten-free vegetable white sauce lasagna.
- Whole milk - whole milk offers the best creamy flavor for the white sauce. Substitute it for skim milk or dairy-free milk if desired.
- Ground nutmeg - season the white sauce.
- Fresh parsley - use fresh flat or curly leaf parsley. Substitute it for one teaspoon of dried parsley if fresh isn't available.
- Frozen grated cheese - use a bag of frozen grated cheese such as a pizza mix grated cheese that includes cheeses such as mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan. Or a plain cheddar or tasty.
- Fresh basil - to garnish your lasagna, if desired.
- Salt & pepper - to taste.
🥣 Step By Step Instructions (with photos)
How to make this easy Vegetable White Sauce Lasagna in 4 easy steps!
There is a full and detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step one: Heat the oil in a large fry pan and cook the onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Add the carrots, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cook until they're tender.
Step two: Add the remaining vegetables and continue to cook until soft and the spinach has wilted. Turn off the heat.
Step three: Make the white sauce by melting the butter in a large fry pan and whisking through the flour. Gradually pour in the milk and warm through until it thickens.
Step four: Whisk through the seasonings, parsley and cheese.
Step five: Assemble your vegetable white sauce lasagna by layering the lasagna sheets with the cooked vegetable mixture and white sauce.
Step six: Finish building the lasagna and sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden and crisp.
Step seven: Serve the white sauce vegetable lasagna garnished with fresh basil leaves and your side dish. Enjoy!
💭 Tips For Recipe Success
- Make it gluten-free using either dried or fresh gluten-free lasagna sheets.
- Cook the vegetable mixture until tender and soft and drain off any excess moisture/water in the pan to prevent a watery lasagna.
- Substitute the veggies with what you have on hand if you don’t have some of the vegetables in this recipe.
- The white sauce needs to be thick, if it’s too thin and watery, cook it further over medium heat until thick and smooth.
- Season generously the vegetable mixture and the white sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
⏲️ Storage Instructions
How to store leftover white sauce veggie lasagna: Store any leftovers still in the roasting/baking pan, tightly wrapped in cling film, including the sides of the pan, then cover it in foil. Refrigerate for 2-3 days. Or store leftovers in individual serving sizes, wrapped in cling film and foil, or in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.
🍽 How To Make Lasagna Ahead Of Time
1) Assemble your lasagna in the roasting/baking pan and then allow it to cool completely.
2) Tightly wrap the whole lasagna, including the sides of the pan with cling film.
3) Cover the top with a layer of foil.
4) Store it in your refrigerator overnight.
5) To cook, sit the lasagna on the kitchen counter at room temperature, wrappings removed, for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
6) Cook as per the recipe instructions.
🍴 How To Freeze Uncooked Lasagna
1) Before making, be sure to use a freezer-friendly roasting/baking pan that won’t break in the freezer, or use a disposable foil roasting pan so you still have access to your regular roasting pan. Freeze it in the dish you’ll be cooking it in.
2) Assemble your lasagna in the roasting/baking pan and then allow it to cool completely.
3) Tightly wrap the whole lasagna, including the sides of the pan with cling film.
4) Cover the top with a layer of foil, it can cover some of the sides too.
5) Stick a label to the top of the foil with the date you made the lasagna, the date you are freezing it, and the use-by-date.
6) Place the lasagna in your freezer and freeze for 2-3 months.
7) To cook, transfer the lasagna from the freezer to the refrigerator, and kept covered overnight until defrosted. Cook as per recipe instructions, wrappings removed, and cooked uncovered.
🔪 How To Freeze Cooked Lasagna
1) Before making, be sure to use a freezer-friendly roasting/baking pan that won’t break in the freezer, or use a disposable foil roasting pan so you still have access to your regular roasting pan. Freeze it in the dish you’ll be cooking it in. Skip this step if you’re portioning out the lasagna after cooking it.
2) Allow the cooked lasagna to cool completely, don’t rush this step as the lasagna can go mushy or cause freezer burn.
3) Either freeze it whole or portion it out into individual serving sizes.
4) Freeze whole by tightly wrapping the whole cold lasagna, including the sides of the pan with cling film.
5) Cover the top with a layer of foil, it can cover some of the sides too.
6) Freeze individual pieces by placing them in freezer-friendly containers or wrapped in cling film and then in foil.
7) Stick a label to the top of the foil with the date you made the lasagna, the date you are freezing it, and the use-by-date.
8) Place the lasagna in your freezer and freeze for 2-3 months.
9) To cook, transfer the lasagna from the freezer to the refrigerator, covered, overnight until defrosted. Cook as per recipe instructions, wrappings removed and cooked covered with a layer of foil.
💬 Recipe FAQ's
1) Assemble your lasagna in the roasting/baking pan and then allow it to cool completely.
2) Tightly wrap the whole lasagna, including the sides of the pan with cling film3) Cover the top with a layer of foil.
4) Store it in your refrigerator overnight.
5) To cook, sit the lasagna on the kitchen counter at room temperature, wrappings removed, for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
6) Cook as per the recipe instructions.
Yes absolutely, use gluten-free lasagna sheets instead of regular ones. I’ve made this recipe using both dried and fresh gluten-free lasagna sheets.
Yes, you can easily swap the veggies in this recipe with the veggies you already have on hand. Ensure to keep the same quantities and cook them until soft and tender. Drain off any unwanted or excess water from the pan to prevent a watery lasagna.
Yes, the two terms are used interchangeably. They’re both a roux and both contain the same base of butter, flour, and milk to create a thick white sauce.
- Slice your vegetables thinly, in particular the zucchini.
- Pan fry the vegetables well before assembling your lasagna and drain off any excess water/moisture in the pan.
- Ensure your white sauce is thick and creamy, not thin and watery.
- Use no-boil lasagna sheets.
- Let the lasagna rest uncovered, straight out of the oven, for at least 20 minutes before serving.
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🥄 Related Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it's much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
Recipe Card
Best Vegetable White Sauce Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 packet (12 sheets) of lasagna sheets, dried, fresh, or no-boil. Can also use gluten-free sheets.
Vegetable Mixture
- 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra if needed
- 1 large red or brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 large carrots, sliced into rounds
- 2 large zucchinis, trimmed and thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 x 200g punnet (2 cups) sliced white button mushrooms, or whole mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 cup frozen peas, don't need to thaw
- 2 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped, not frozen spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste
White Sauce
- 135 g salted butter
- 3 medium/large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 9 tablespoon plain all purpose flour, or gluten-free plain flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 cups frozen grated cheese, cheddar, tasty or pizza mix
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, as garnish, if desired
Instructions
Vegetable Mixture
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF). Grease a large rectangular roasting pan, and set it aside. I use one that measures
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for a further 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add sliced carrot and cook for 4 minutes or until carrot has just started to soften.
- Add sliced zucchini and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Adding more oil if needed to prevent sticking to the base of the pan.
- Stir through mushrooms and allow to cook until softened and they begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.
- Add broccoli and peas, and cook until broccoli is vibrant and just tender.
- Stir through chopped spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Once vegetables are tender/soft, turn off the heat and leave them in the pan while you make the white sauce.
White Sauce
- Melt butter in a large fry pan over low heat.
- Once completely melted, increase the heat to medium and stir through minced garlic using a hand whisk. Sizzle garlic in the butter for 1 minute, while whisking or until garlic just begins to brown, ensure not to burn.
- Add flour and whisk it through the butter, cooking gently for 1 minute on medium heat.
- Gradually pour in the milk, increase the heat to medium-high and mix continually with the whisk until the sauce thickens, ensuring not to boil.
- Add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste, mix well.
- Stir through the chopped parsley.
- Sprinkle over half the amount of cheese (1 cup/100g) and stir until melted through. Turn off the heat and set it aside.
Assemble
- Lay one layer of lasagna sheets (4 sheets) in the bottom of the greased roasting pan.
- Pour half of the vegetable mixture over the sheets, spreading out evenly.
- Pour over one-third of the white sauce and spread it over the vegetables.
- Lay another layer of lasagne sheets (4 sheets).
- Spread over the remaining half of the vegetables.
- Pour and spread over the second-third of the white sauce.
- Lay another layer of lasagne sheets (final 4 sheets).
- Pour and spread over the remaining one-third of the white sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining (1 cup/100g) grated cheese over the white sauce.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to rest uncovered, for 15-20 minutes before serving, if desired. Resting the lasagna will make it thicker and prevent it from being sloppy when served.
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Store any leftovers still in the roasting/baking pan, tightly wrapped in cling film, including the sides of the pan, then cover it in foil. Refrigerate for 2-3 days. Or store leftovers in individual serving sizes, wrapped in cling film and foil, or in an airtight container, refrigerated, for 2-3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in June of 2021. It was republished in September of 2022 with new helpful information. The ingredients and method have not been changed.
If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️ star rating and a comment review below. I love to hear what you think and it's much appreciated. Thank you! Your email address will not be published. Sam x
Kelley says
I’ve made this a few times and it’s always delicious. Honestly I use whatever vegetables I have on hand and always omit mushrooms because I don’t like them.
Made it tonight and added a layer or ricotta after the middle layer of noodles goes on! Delicious thank you!
Samantha says
Hi Kelley! So happy you have been enjoying this lasagne recipe, it's also one of my favourites that I make often and works well with any veggies you have on hand. Oh that's a delicious idea, the addition of the ricotta, I'll have to try that next time I make it. Thanks for sharing 🙂 Sam x
Isabel says
The fact the writer “prefers “ to buy her lasagna noodle at Woolworth leads me to believe this recipe is before 1997.
Samantha says
Hi Isabel, I would love for you to enlighten me on why you have a problem with people using fresh or dried lasagna sheets from the supermarket? This is a popular and convenient method of making homemade lasagna. I encourage you to make your own sheets from scratch if you feel uncomfortable using pre-made sheets from the supermarket, considering you might look like you're cooking pre 1997. Best of luck and happy cooking!