Mushroom Lasagna

Light and saucy! This vegetarian lasagna is delicious. Not vegetarian? Add sausage to the top like I did here and you please everyone. The sausage I chose got great reviews. It is a sweet Italian sausage that I cooked ahead in a cast iron skillet until almost cooked through and then cut into chunks to add to the top of the lasagna over the cheese. I made this marinara. The recipe is included. You can easily use your favorite jar of sauce, my favorite is Cucina Antica Tomato Basil because it is garlic free and made almost local, but you just can’t beat homemade sauce! It is actually pretty easy. I think the hardest thing about making a homemade lasagna is portioning out the ingredients to have enough of everything left for the last layer.

Mushroom Lasagna

A beautiful light version of an Italian favorite. Super easy if you use no boil noodles and your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce!

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

Marinara Sauce

• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 14 ounce cans diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• 1 tbsp Italian spice blend, oregano, thyme, basil, marjoram
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper, more if you like a little zing
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Lasagna

• 4 cups sauce if using a prepared sauce my favorite is Cucina Antica tomato basil from Whole Foods or Harris Teeter
• 12 sheets no boil lasagna noodles
• 6 ounces portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 4 ounces baby bellas, sliced
• 1 lb Sweet Italian sausage, optional cooked ahead and chunked
• 1 egg
• 1 32 ounce container of whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3-4 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

 

Make the Sauce

• In a large stock pot, add olive oil and onion. Stir onion over medium heat until translucent. Stir in the spices, salt and pepper and red pepper.
• Add the wine and stir for 2 minutes. Then add all other ingredients. Stir well.
• Simmer on medium low heat for at least an hour or until it the sauce has thickened to coat the back of a spoon. Whatever that means, but it's in a lot of recipes. HaHa! Just get the sauce thick and let cool. It thickens more as it cools.

Lasagna Prep

• Cook the sliced mushrooms in a splash of olive oil on each side for 1-2 minutes or until liquid is gone. Take care to keep them whole turning carefully. Remove to paper towels to drain. Then cook the babies stirring until liquid is cooked out. Set aside to drain on paper towels.
• In a medium bowl, beat egg and add ricotta, spices and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Build Your Lasagna

• Using a 9 x 12 casserole coat the bottom with about 1/4 cup of sauce to prevent sticking.
• Layer noodles in pan. Smear a third of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Place large mushrooms in a layer with a third of the babies.
• Spoon over some sauce until all is covered.
• Repeat the layering 2 more times ending with sauce on top. Don't forget to keep a few mushrooms out to decorate the top.
• Sprinkle the cheese over the entire casserole.
• If using sausage place a piece every few inches and alternate with the extra mushrooms.
• At this point, you can refrigerate or freeze to cook later. Just make sure it is completely covered. Can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours.
• Cook covered with foil in a 400 °F oven for 30 minutes. Then turn oven down to 350 °F and cook another 15 minutes. Turn oven off, remove foil and leave in for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let sit out of oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Keyword lasagna, marinara sauce, mushrooms, sausage