Pesto Lasagna (Lasagna Al Pesto)
A quick and easy vegetarian pesto lasagna recipe.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 671kcal
Ingredients
Bechamel sauce:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 ⅔ cups milk
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp sea or kosher salt
Lasagna ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 7 oz broccolini (tenderstem broccoli) cut in half lengthways
- ½ cup veg stock
- 1.5 cups frozen peas petit pois or garden peas
- 12 oz spinach (note 1)
- ¾ cup green pesto
- 5-7 oz fresh lasagna sheets (note 2)
- ⅔ cup shredded (grated) mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded (grated) parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 400F (200C).
- Make the bechamel sauce. Place a saucepan on a medium heat and add the butter.
- Stir in the flour when the butter has melted.
- Add the milk gradually and stir continuously until a thick sauce is formed.
- Stir in the ground nutmeg, black pepper, and salt and leave the pan on its lowest heat while you prepare the green veg lasagna filling.
- Place a Dutch Oven or large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the broccoli and sauté for 3 minutes then add the vegetable stock and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the frozen peas to and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach to the pan, stir it in and leave on a medium heat until wilted. You might need to do this in batches.
- Stir in the green pesto and remove the pan from the heat. (note 3)
- Assemble the lasagna. Spoon 1 third of the green veg pesto mixture into the bottom of your baking dish, then add the bechamel sauce and top with a layer of fresh lasagna sheets. Repeat for 2 more layers.
- Spread any remaining bechamel sauce on the top layer of lasagna sheets and sprinkle grated mozzarella and Parmesan on top.
- Place the lasagne towards the top of your oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is brown and you can see the sauce bubbling around the edges.
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Buy pre-washed spinach to avoid adding additional liquid to the sauce. If you need to wash the spinach first make sure you dry it thoroughly before adding it to the lasagna filling mixture.
- Fresh lasagna sheets take less time to cook than dried. If you need to use dry lasagna sheets instead you will need to increase the time in the oven to 30 minutes.
- You might need to add a little salt at this point. I suggest you taste it to see. When I tested the recipe with fresh homemade and fresh shop-bought pesto adding extra salt was not necessary, but when I used jarred pesto I felt it needed a little more salt.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 671kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 1147mg | Potassium: 865mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 10980IU | Vitamin C: 91mg | Calcium: 494mg | Iron: 5mg