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Dairy Free Lasagna With Butternut Squash Noodles
Dairy free lasagna is a vegetable-forward dish with butternut squash noodles, and cashew ricotta. Although it’s gluten free and dairy free (with a plant based option), the whole family will love this incredibly delicious lasagna.
Looking for more dairy free recipes? Try my dairy free crunchwrap supreme, homemade dairy free hamburger helper, harvest bowl (sweetgreen-inspired), or southwest bbq chicken flatbread.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this dairy free butternut squash lasagna:
- Butternut squash – thinly sliced into sheets for naturally gluten-free noodles that replace regular lasagna noodles in a classic lasagna recipe. As the lasagna cooks in the oven, the roasted butternut squash noodles become a soft, al dente texture with a subtle sweetness
- Yellow onion and garlic – helps build the flavor for the filling.
- Fresh spinach – extra fiber and color.
- Ground beef – pairs really nicely with the butternut squash (see the substitutions section below for other options).
- Marinara sauce – the sweet acidity in the tomatoes helps to bring the whole dish together
- Kosher salt & black pepper – to taste
- Cashew ricotta – this ricotta substitute adds a creamy, cheesy flavor similar to traditional lasagnas. This homemade version is made with raw cashews, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, nutritional yeast, and kosher salt.
How to Make Dairy Free Lasagna: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Prep butternut squash. Cut a thin slice off the top to remove the stem then peel the whole butternut squash with a vegetable peeler. Use a knife to cut just above the bulbous end. Set the bulb end aside to use for something else.
- Make squash noodles. Slice the long neck lengthwise into four quarters. Run each of the four quarters of butternut squash with the flat side down through a mandoline slicer until you have several thin butternut squash sheets. Side note: Mandolines are very sharp, so either use a safety guard or safety gloves to ensure you keep all your fingertips.
- Cook aromatics and meat. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the meat and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add spinach and sauce. Add the fresh spinach. It’ll look like a lot at first, but it’ll drastically reduce in size once cooked. Stir it throughout the meat mixture then remove from the heat, and add the tomato sauce (minus the 1 reserved cup).
- Assemble. Layer the lasagna by adding ¼ cup of the reserved sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, followed by a layer of squash noodles that are slightly overlapped. Add half of the hearty meat sauce on top of the butternut squash, followed by ricotta dollops (only to this first meat layer, reserving the rest for the top). Repeat this process with the noodles and meat sauce until you’ve used them up.
- Add topping. Spread the remaining ¾ cup of reserved tomato sauce and the rest of the vegan ricotta over the top layer of “noodles” to form a crust over the top of the lasagna.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Allow to cool to room temperature for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Choose a butternut squash with a wide neck. This will allow you to get wider sheets of squash noodles.
- Make the dairy free ricotta cheese a day or two in advance. For a quicker option, you can also use a store-bought brand such as Kite Hill, but it’s much cheaper to make your own.
- Layering the noodles. Slightly overlap the butternut squash noodle edges. If I have some smaller pieces, I practice my Tetris skills and fit them in where I can so that it forms a ‘layer’.
- The cashew ricotta on top forms on a crust once baked that helps keep it together and adds both an incredible flavor and a great texture.
Quick Tip: Use a mandoline slicer with a safety glove. It’s very difficult to get evenly sliced pieces with a sharp knife. The more evenly sliced the squash is the more consistently it’ll be cooked throughout the lasagna. Too thick and they won’t be as tender once cooked.
Storage
Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Reheat in a microwave or toaster oven until heated through.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this dairy free lasagna recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No yellow onion? – use white onion instead.
- No ground beef? – Ground chicken or ground turkey also works well in this recipe. You could also use ground pork or ground Italian sausage.
- Make it nut-free – You can use garlic hummus instead of dairy-free ricotta, but only add it to the filling and not on top as well.
- Make a vegan version – use cooked brown or green lentils. You’ll need about 2 to 2 ½ cups of cooked lentils. Add them when you add the meat in the recipe.
How to Serve
This dairy free lasagna is packed full of vegetables and is a complete meal on its own. However, if you wanted to serve it with a side dish, I’d recommend choosing something with a similar flavor profile such as Italian green bean salad, Italian artichoke salad, or Mediterranean cucumber salad.
More Dairy Free Dinner Recipes
- Dairy Free Crunchwrap Supreme
- Homemade Dairy Free Hamburger Helper
- Harvest Bowl (Sweetgreen-Inspired)
- Southwest BBQ Chicken Flatbread
I hope you love this Dairy Free Lasagna! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Dairy Free Lasagna With Butternut Squash Noodles
Dairy free lasagna is a vegetable-forward dish with butternut squash noodles, and cashew ricotta. Although it's gluten free and dairy free (with a plant based option), the whole family will love this incredibly delicious lasagna.
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced about 1 cup
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef or substitute, see notes below
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 25.5 oz jar pasta sauce set aside 1 cup
- 1 ½ cups cashew ricotta divided
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Prep butternut squash. Cut a thin slice off the top to remove the stem then peel the whole butternut squash with a vegetable peeler. Use a knife to cut just above the bulbous end. Set the bulb end aside to use for something else.
- Make squash noodles. Slice the long neck lengthwise into four quarters. Run each of the four quarters of butternut squash with the flat side down through a mandoline slicer until you have several thin butternut squash sheets. Side note: Mandolines are very sharp, so either use a safety guard or safety gloves to ensure you keep all your fingertips.
- Cook aromatics and meat. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the meat and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add spinach and sauce. Add the fresh spinach. It'll look like a lot at first, but it'll drastically reduce in size once cooked. Stir it throughout the meat mixture then remove from the heat, and add the tomato sauce (minus the 1 reserved cup).
- Assemble. Layer the lasagna by adding ¼ cup of the reserved sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish, followed by a layer of squash noodles that are slightly overlapped. Add half of the hearty meat sauce on top of the butternut squash, followed by ricotta dollops (only to this first meat layer, reserving the rest for the top). Repeat this process with the noodles and meat sauce until you've used them up.
- Add topping. Spread the remaining ¾ cup of reserved tomato sauce and the rest of the vegan ricotta over the top layer of "noodles" to form a crust over the top of the lasagna.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Allow to cool to room temperature for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
See the blog post for step-by-step photos, helpful tips about layering the lasagna and getting thin, consistent butternut squash slices, and storage.
This lasagna is outstanding! The only thing I found challenging was getting the butternut squash cut just right and not to thick but i am so impressed at how delicious this recipe is .thanks for sharing!?
Thanks, Argus – glad to hear you enjoyed it! Yes, the easiest way to get consistently thin slices is with a mandoline slicer.