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This butternut squash lasagna recipe is made with fresh squash puree, béchamel sauce, ricotta, and lots of melty mozzarella cheese.
Why You’ll Love This Butternut Squash Lasagna
- Easy. Thanks to no-boil noodles, this butternut squash recipe is super simple to make. Buy pre-cut squash at the store to make it even easier!
- Elegant. This dinner feels like something you’d get at a fancy restaurant. It’s perfect for Sunday supper or as a vegetarian option at the holidays.
- Flavorful. Between the creamy bechamel sauce, melty cheese, and flavor-packed squash layer, every bite of this lasagna is ultra tasty.
What is Béchamel Sauce?
Most lasagna recipes use a red tomato-based sauce, but this one uses béchamel. I know that sounds incredibly complicated – and you should definitely let your dinner companions roll with that assumption so that they’re even more grateful for your lasagna-making efforts.
The truth is though, that béchamel sauce is easy. It’s simply a combination of butter, flour, and milk that is cooked on the stovetop until a thick sauce forms. Salt and pepper are added to taste, and then in my recipe, I also add a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.
If you’re looking for more ways to use béchamel, check out my white chicken lasagna recipe and my croissant croque monsieur recipe.
What Are the Correct Layers for Lasagna?
This will depend on your preference and the size of your baking dish. However, there are a few constants: a thick layer of sauce should always be the first thing that goes into the dish, and a generous layer of cheese should always be the last layer.
In this recipe, I always layer the butternut squash puree and noodles right after each other because we’re using “no-boil” noodles and they need liquid from the puree to cook properly. So this is the order we’ll use:
- Béchamel sauce <- Coats the bottom of the pan but is not repeated until the end
- Ricotta mixture <- Start the repeat
- Noodles
- Squash Mixture
- Onions
- Cheese – Alternates between ricotta mixture and mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat until the last layer – Ending with a layer of mozzarella and Parmesan
When I make this lasagna recipe I can get 3 layers of noodles in a 9×13 baking dish. I have shared my step-by-step layers in the recipe card below in case that is helpful.
Tips & FAQs
- How do I know when the béchamel sauce is done cooking? It’s done when it coats the back of a spoon. Dip your spoon into the sauce, then run your finger through the sauce that has coated the spoon. If a clear line remains where your finger just passed through, the sauce is done. If the sauce quickly covers up the space your finger just made, then it needs to cook a bit longer.
- Make the béchamel just before assembling the lasagna. If it sits too long it will develop a skin. Make the sauce after you have cooked and prepared the ricotta mixture and squash puree.
- Can I puree the onion? If you don’t like pieces of soft onion in your lasagna you can also puree the cooked onions with the butternut squash.
- Let it cool. When the lasagna comes out of the oven give it at least 10-15 minutes to cool before cutting into it.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve lasagna with a simple salad and something bready. This spring mix salad goes wonderfully with butternut squash lasagna. We also love buttermilk biscuits or even popovers with lasagna.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store in the fridge: Let the lasagna cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can either cover the baking dish tightly with saran wrap or cut the lasagna into pieces and transfer them to an airtight container.
- To reheat: Reheat in the microwave until warmed through. I usually cut a slice into smaller pieces when reheating so that the microwave also heats the inner parts of the slice.
More Pasta Dinner Ideas
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 ½ cups diced yellow onion
- 2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
- 1 ¾ cups vegetable broth
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided use
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, divided use
- 30 oz ricotta, I use two 15-oz containers
- 4 ½ cups shredded mozzarella, divided use
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan, divided use
- 3 large eggs
- 3 biscotti cookies, not sweet ones, we used almond & walnut biscotti
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 10 oz no-boil lasagna noodles
For the béchamel sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prep your tools. Heat oven to 350 degrees F and get a 9×13 baking dish out.
- Cook the onions in butter. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot or dutch oven. Add onion and cook over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Raise heat to high and continue to cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Cook the squash. In the same pot, add the sliced squash, vegetable broth, 3 tablespoons of thyme and 3 tablespoons sage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Make the ricotta filling. While squash is cooking, in a medium bowl combine ricotta, 2 cups of mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon thyme and 1 tablespoon sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the eggs and mix well. Set aside.
- Drain the squash. When squash is done, cool slightly and remove 3/4 cup of the excess liquid (1 cup if there is an excessive amount of liquid). Transfer to a food processor. Break the biscotti in half and add to the processor. Blend until smooth, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Make the béchamel. In a medium saucepan melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking frequently. Whisk in the nutmeg. This sauce is called “béchamel” and it’s done when it coats the back of a spoon. (Make the bechamel just before assembling the lasagna, if it sits too long it will develop a skin).
Now it is time to assemble the lasagna. Add the layers in this order:
- Coat the bottom of your baking dish with 1/2 of the béchamel.
- 1/3 of the ricotta mixture
- Noodles (make sure they are not overlapping)
- 1/3 of the squash mixture
- 1/2 of the onions
- 1/3 of the mozzarella
- 1/3 of the ricotta mixture
- Noodles
- 1/3 of the squash mixture
- 1/2 of the onions
- 1/3 of the ricotta mixture
- 1/3 of the mozzarella
- Rest of the béchamel
- Noodles
- Remaining squash mixture
- Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella
- Add Parmesan over the top
- Bake. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and starting to color a bit.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 10-15 minutes. This is important so that the noodles have a chance to absorb more liquid.
This is a delicious recipe! I’ve made other recipes for butternut squash lasagna and this one is superb. Be sure to follow the tips and facts page when layering…this is key. I also used freshly grated nutmeg and added a bit more, because I love it in butternut squash. The fresh herbs are a pain, especially the thyme, but necessary.
I served this dish to eleven friends, all said it was outstanding.
Huge thank you to Rustic Family for passing this recipe along.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful comment. What a great way to start my day! So glad to hear you and your friends enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
What can I use in place of the biscotti? I can’t easily buy these where I live, but also, don’t want to have a package lying around the house for a recipe that only calls for 3 cookies.
I have never made this recipe without the biscotti, but their main purpose is to absorb moisture and add some flavor. You could try subbing them without about 1/2 a cup of panko crumbs. Let me know how it turns out if you try it in case other folks have this question!