Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna
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Quick and easy dinner recipe comin' atcha! This vegetarian skillet lasagna is everything you love about traditional lasagna: it's a cheesy, warm hug on a plate. All you do is layer everything into your skillet and let it work its magic. You'll have a hearty meal on the table in less than an hour!
Also, try this easy lasagna recipe (for the beef lovers) and these spaghetti squash lasagna boats.
This comfort food classic gets a veggie twist in this vegetarian skillet lasagna. It's not shy in the flavor department, boasting lots of gooey cheeses and an olive pesto. This way, everyone 'round the table will be happy, vegetarians and even those who aren't!
Ingredients needed
Add these ingredients to your shopping list this week to make this gooey, one-pot vegetarian skillet lasagna:
- Olive oil, onion & garlic: Add some olive oil to a pan to cook your garlic and onion. A good part of the flavor comes from the garlic and onion powerhouse combo. There's a reason these ingredients are the foundation of so many recipes ā this one included! Use them liberally.
- Crushed or diced tomatoes: You can use either crushed or diced depending on how chunky you want your tomato sauce to be.
- Water: This will thin the sauce a little, giving you enough liquid for the noodles to cook in.
- Honey: 2 teaspoons of honey will add just a touch of sweetness.
- Balsamic vinegar: With its tangy-sweet-complex flavor, balsamic vinegar deepens all the flavors of the sauce.
- Sea salt: Add salt to taste. If you don't have sea salt you can use table salt in equal proportions.
- Lasagna noodles: Use 9 sheets of lasagna noodles. We use dry lasagna noodles and they will have ample opportunity to cook in the tomato sauce. You won't have hard noodles since you'll break each piece into thirds to speed up cooking time.
- Cheeses: For this lasagna you'll need 3 kinds of cheeses. Add ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella. This combination gives a nice balance of soft, creamy cheeses with rich, complex flavor.
- Garnishes: Top with some kale pesto, fresh herbs like basil, or some (more) fresh parmesan.
How to make vegetarian skillet lasagna
Lasagna has a reputation for being time-consuming and labor-intensive, which can be off-putting especially if it's a weeknight or you have little mouths to feed. That's when this vegetarian skillet lasagna enters the room! It's very straightforward, you can cook the entire meal in one pot, and the flavors are boundless. Here's how to make a vegetarian skillet lasagna:
- Brown your onions: Get that wonderful aroma going by first cooking the onion in an ovenproof skillet.
- Make your sauce: To your onions and garlic add all other sauce ingredients ā tomatoes, water, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and salt.
- Add the lasagna noodles: break the noodles apart (so they cook faster) and press them into the sauce. Then add your ricotta and parm on top and bring everything to a simmer, cooking until the noodles are soft.
- Make the pesto: If you wish to include the pesto as a garnish, prep it now by adding all the pesto ingredients to a food processor to combine.
- Mozzarella: Slice your mozzarella ball into pieces and place on top to get all melty and delicious.
- Cool: Let the lasagna cool for 10 minutes before you top it with pesto and serve.
Variations and substitutions
You can absolutely make this vegetarian skillet lasagna to your or your family's liking. Here are some variations and substitutions to try:
- Gluten-friendly: To make this lasagna gluten-friendly you will need to substitute the regular lasagna noodles for a gluten-free pasta. Everything else included in this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
- Dairy-free: To make this recipe without the dairy-laden cheeses, you'll have to source a good dairy-free parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta. You can also make faux ricotta by blending softened cashews and cauliflower.
- More veg: You can add more sauteed vegetables to this recipe. Some zucchini, spinach, or broccoli are all simple to incorporate and will up the nutritional value of this dish, too.
- Meat: You can add meat to this recipe if your heart desires. Ground beef or pork, diced chicken, or Italian sausage are top choices. To add meat to this recipe, cook it in your skillet first and then add your onion and garlic and carry on from there.
- Spice: If you want to up the heat a little bit you can always play around with your tomato sauce by adding red pepper flakes or some sriracha.
What to serve with vegetarian skillet lasagna
Here's some inspiration for what to put beside your skillet lasagna that's sure to please any crowd:
- Sop up all that sauce with no yeast bread with herbs and cheese
- Pair it with a side of creamy kale tahini salad or
- Roasted asparagus or sauteed green beans would also go nicely
- If you want to have a meat option on the side, try this Italian dressing chicken or this 8-minute baked salmon
Recipe FAQs
I don't have a skillet, can I cook this in another dish?
If you have a deep frying pan that is essentially the same thing as a skillet and will work perfectly. Remember to safely cover your hands while pulling the skillet/pan out of the oven.
How do you keep the noodles from sticking together?
Since you're creating a couple of layers of noodles, make sure there's some liquid between them so they don't all stick together.
Do I have to boil the lasagna noodles first?
Since you'll be breaking the noodles up and adding water to the tomato sauce, they'll cook completely through without having to boil them first.
Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (finely minced)
- 28 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
- Ā½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- Ā½ teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)
- 9 sheets lasagna noodles
- 1 cup ricotta
- Ā½ cup parmesan
- 1 mozzarella ball (or sub Ā½ cup grated mozzarella)
Olive Pesto
- 1 cup basil (see notes)
- Ā¼ cup pitted black olives
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Juice from Ā½ lemon
- Ā¼ cup walnuts (chopped)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. (Use an ovenproof skillet if you plan on broiling the lasagna in step 5.) Add the onion and cook until it is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion
- Add the can of tomatoes, water, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and salt to the skillet and stir.28 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes, 2 teaspoons honey, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 3 cloves garlic, Ā½ teaspoon sea salt, Ā½ cup water
- Break the lasagna sheets into thirds. Push the sheets into the sauce (this part gets a little messy!) to create roughly three layers. Don't worry about it being perfect. Top with the ricotta and then the parmesan cheese. Cover the skillet with a lid or loosely with foil and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let the lasagna cook until the noodles are soft, about 25-30 minutes.9 sheets lasagna noodles, 1 cup ricotta, Ā½ cup parmesan
- Meanwhile, prepare the kale olive pesto. Place all the pesto ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined.1 cup basil, Ā¼ cup pitted black olives, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Juice from Ā½ lemon, Ā¼ cup walnuts
- When the lasagna noodles are soft, slice the mozzarella ball and scatter it over the top of the lasagna. Let the mozzarella melt for a few minutes. OPTIONAL: Broil the lasagna for a few minutes so the mozzarella browns a little. Let the lasagna rest for 10 minutes before you serve it. Serve the vegetarian skillet lasagna with the pesto on top.1 mozzarella ball
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our vegetarian recipes and our pasta recipes!
This does look delicious. It would be helpful to see a video on how to keep the layers of noodles separate from each other. Is there something to add to each layer keep it separated, cheese, veggies?
That’s a great suggestion! When I make this (or versions of it, which I do often) I just tuck the lasagna noodles in where ever they will fit. It’s a very forgiving way to make lasagna.As long as there is a little sauce between the noodles, they won’t stick together.
Very delicious, yummy
This is really delicious! Lasagna is not easy to make but this recipe looks like can be made easily
I’m so happy you like the recipe! Skillet lasagna is the best, isn’t it?!
This may be our favorite lasagna yet: Outstanding contribution of flavors from the sauce and pesto.
Your lasagna looks so hearty. It’s making me hungry! Interesting combo of flavors, too … honey, olives, stuff like that . Cool!
It really is delicious! You should totally make it. š
Hi Kristen,
This looks great! I have yet to make one of your recipes that I did not like!
Would this work with gluten free lasagna noodles, and are there any good GF noodles?
š
Thanks, Jim!
I can’t see it wouldn’t work with GF lasagna noodles, although I haven’t tried it myself. I’m honestly not super familiar with the different GF pasta brands. The best combo I’ve tried were some rice and quinoa noodles. I can’t remember which brand it was but maybe see if you can find some lasagna noodles with rice and quinoa.
I need this in my tummy EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! What a fantastic dish, Kristen!
Thanks, Robyn! It really is delicious. š
That pesto sounds incredible! I think I would be good with just that!
Yes! I could eat it by the spoonful š
I love your recipes!! My only wish is tags you would include nutritional information. š
Thank you!
And most of the recipes on TEM (with the exception of a few treats where we don’t want to know the calorie count š ) have the nutritional info just below the recipe. Most of the time that info will be added to the recipe within a week, or two at most, of it being published.
Ok great!! Thanks!!! This one was really yummy!
I’m so happy you liked it. It’s one of my favs. š