Noodle-less Loaf Pan Butternut Squash Lasagna

October 2, 2017 by 11 Comments

noodle-less butternut squash lasagna

Butternut Squash is hands down my favorite winter squash, come fall I can’t get enough of it and you’ll always see one or two sitting on my kitchen counter. Butternut squash is so versatile, you can put it in just about everything and believe me I have!

If you look through my blog you’ll see different ways that I’ve used it over the years, and one of the ways is in a lasagna. Butternut squash has a slightly sweet, buttery nutty flavor and it goes wonderful with creamy ricotta and a béchamel sauce, it’s so decadent and delicious. 
butternut squash

This is the time of year when my garden is full of sage and butternut squash and sage make a perfect pairing together, I especially love to infuse my béchamel sauce with garlic and sage, it’s dreamy.loaf pan lasagna

If you search my archives you’ll see that I once made individual butternut squash lasagna’s minus the noodles in a free form manner.  For this time I wanted to try making it in a loaf pan which allowed me to get many layers and some nice height, and this version is minus the noodles as well. The loaf pan holds everything nicely together and gives the lasagna a little more structure since the pasta is not there to give it more body.

I lined my loaf pan with parchment, (which is optional) because honestly I wanted to un-mold it and take a nice photo to show you, but you have to really cool it down to be able to remove the parchment without destroying your lasagna, so I would suggest make it the day before or early in the morning if you want to do the same, chilling it for an easy removal, then just warm it and serve it with warm béchamel, otherwise make it without the parchment.

noodle-less butternut squash lasagna

Either way it’s magical and tastes like a dream and trust me you won’t miss the pasta at all, in fact I prefer it without because all the flavors are true and not soaked up by the pasta.noodle-less butternut squash lasagna

The loaf pan makes you able to create multiple layers of goodness,  just remember to let it set before cutting into it so all the creaminess can tighten up a bit, just like a traditional lasagna it’s a mess if you cut into it hot, the layers get lost.noodle-less butternut squash lasagna

I hope you try my noodle-less, loaf pan butternut squash lasagna, I promise you won’t miss the pasta one bit!

Follow along with me on Instagram to see what else I’m making during the week.

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Noodle-less Loaf Pan Butternut Squash Lasagna
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 loaf pan, buttered, lined with parchment which is an optional step for removal of whole loaf
  • NOTE; If you don't want to remove whole lasagna out of the pan, omit parchment.
  • 2 butternut squash, peeled and sliced lengthwise (as much as possible, then into lengthwise pieces) roasted at 375 on a rimmed baking sheet at 375 until softened up a bit but still al'dente
  • 3 cups, ricotta cheese
  • ½ cup grated pecorino cheese, plus extra for garnish
  • 1½ cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • BECHAMEL SAUCE
  • 2 cups, whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons, flour
  • 4 tablespoons, butter
  • sprig of sage, plus extra for garnish
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Roast sliced squash a head of time so it can cool down. Set aside.
  2. Mix up the ricotta mixture with the chopped spinach, egg, grated cheese's, both pecorino and mozzarella, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. TO MAKE THE BECHAMEL SAUCE;
  4. In a saucepan, melt butter, add garlic then whisk in flour until it incorporates and turns golden, not dark brown.
  5. Pour in a few tablespoons of the milk, whisking until moistened.
  6. Add the remaining milk whisking vigorously until it starts to thicken and right before it starts to bubble on the sides, take it off the heat.
  7. Now the layering process begins, add a couple of tablespoons of bechamel to the bottom of pan, then a layer of squash, enough to fit all the edges and middle of the pan. Spread ricotta layer on top, smooth with the back of a spoon or an off set spatula, add two more tablespoons of sauce and repeat layers until you reach the top of the loaf pan, reserving the prettiest looking pieces of squash for the very top.
  8. Spread the top with bechamel and sprinkle with pecorino and top with some sage leaves before baking.
  9. Bake 350- 375 uncovered until cheese is melted and heated through, and golden on top, ovens vary with time, check after 30 minutes.
  10. Let it set up before cutting, mine set for 2 hours.
  11. You should have extra sauce to serve with it, if you want more bechamel just double the recipe.
  12. Enjoy!

 

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11 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Vegetables Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Individual Butternut Squash Lasagna with Infused Bechamel

October 17, 2012 by 26 Comments
Here is yet another version of a butternut squash lasagna in mini form, individually portioned. Round slices of butternut squash are layered in with a creamy ricotta and shredded mozzarella mixture and topped off with a sage, garlic and parmesan infused bechamel.
You can serve this as a main course along with a pretty fall salad, or as a side to something like a pork roast, so good!  I’ve done it both ways. This recipe uses no pasta at all and you won’t even miss it, I promise!
I can’t explain how good this is, you’re going to have to try it for yourself!
To make this, look for a butternut squash that is pretty much the same width from top to bottom as in my photo, my slices were about 4 inches round. If you can’t find one like that, get one with a long neck and then cut the slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Then just peel the squash, slice, and roast the slices on a baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 F until tender when pierced with a knife.
Mix up a pound of ricotta ( depending on how many squash slices you get, you’ll probably have some left over ) with 1/3 cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese, a good handful of chopped fresh spinach, kale or parsley and about a cup of shredded mozzarella along with 1 egg, salt and pepper. This will be spread in between your layers.
I like using 3 slices of squash per mini lasagna using maybe a tablespoon or so of the cheese mixture in between the layers.
For the bechamel sauce, melt 5 tablespoons of butter, whisk in 5 tablespoons of flour, cook until it bubbles a little then add 3-1/2 cups of milk, 1 1/2 cloves of minced garlic, 4 sage leaves and a handful of grated parmesan, whisk until smooth and thickened.
Spoon a layer of the bechamel on the bottom of your casserole dish first, then place your first slice down, a dollop of the cheese mixture, another slice, more cheese on top then top it off with the last slice and spoon some bechamel over the top.
Bake at 400 until ricotta mixture is hot and cooked through. Garnish with a sage leaf.

 

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26 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Vegetables Tagged: , , , ,

Butternut Squash Lasagna, Revisited

October 5, 2009 by 47 Comments

I love this time of year it puts me in the mood for butternut squash lasagna. Have you tried it yet? If you haven’t, you must. I love serving this along side a roasted turkey on Thanksgiving, to me it’s the perfect complement and a great pasta side dish.

butternut squash lasagna

Over the years I’ve made it so many different ways with a little tweaking here and there. I updated some of the pictures in this post to reflect that. Time has sure past since I first posted this back in 2009, and now it’s almost 2020 and I’m still making butternut squash lasagna!

butternut squash loasagna

I love adding a bechamel sauce that’s infused with herbs and garlic. In the past I infused the sauce with roasted garlic and rosemary then moved on to roasted garlic and sage. When you infuse those flavors into warm bechamel sauce it takes the whole lasagna to another level of flavor and taste!

Sometimes I’ll add on the layers ricotta cheese mix and some shredded mozzarella, sometimes no ricotta just bechamel, parmesan, the squash and maybe even another cheese like shredded fontina which melts really nice, it’s all good!

I think an important thing to remember is to make enough sauce. When I first started making this four cups of sauce was not enough because the pasta seems to soak it up and also you want a nice layer ending on the top, as well as some for serving.

And if you’re going to use the no-boil pasta, well that tends to need a lot of sauce anyway. So you be the judge, but I would start out with six cups of sauce, it’s better to have more than not enough.

I used one large butternut squash which was perfectly enough for a 13×9 pan.
Peel the squash, slice it, scoop out the seeds and cut it into chunks. Place them onto a baking sheet seasoned with salt and pepper and an olive oil drizzle, roast in the oven at 400F until fork tender but not mushy. In the same oven I roasted 1 small head of garlic wrapped in tin foil.
In the meantime, make your basic bechamel sauce, when finished add in a few of the roasted and smashed garlic gloves, you be the judge on how much you want in there, toss in some fresh sage leaves and a good handful of grated parmesan, salt and pepper.
Let the magic happen and let it infuse for a good 20-30 minutes, give it a taste to see if it meets your flavor standards, if not add more of something.

If you’re going to add ricotta to your layers whisk an egg into it along with a generous helping of grated parmesan, salt and pepper. Start layering with the sauce, then pasta, more sauce, pasta, the squash, ricotta mixture, shredded cheese and more grated cheese.
Then repeat, ending with sauce on top of the last layer of pasta.
Bake covered with tin foil at 375F. for about 30 minutes, take the foil off and stick it under the broiler until golden brown for a few seconds.
Feel free to use any kind of lasagna noodles, boil, no boil, whole wheat or white lasagna noodles, again just make plenty of sauce (which I feel is key).
noodle-less lasagna
I’ve even made a noodle-less version of a butternut squash lasagna which is equally delicious and perfect for those who are gluten free.
Butternut Squash Lasagna, Revisited
 
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Ingredients
  • FOR THE BECHAMEL
  • 6 cups whole milk
  • 12 TBL. butter
  • 12 TBL. flour
  • ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • handful of rosemary or sage
  • roasted garlic cloves, smashed
  • Melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour. Cook and stir for around 1 minute to cook off the raw and starchy taste of the flour. Whisk in the milk stirring frequently until it starts to bubble ad thicken.
  • Toss in the smashed roasted garlic, herbs and parmesan to infuse sauce. Let it sit for 20- 30 minutes
  • Taste for salt and pepper and remove herbs.
  • ROASTING THE BUTTERNUT SQUASH
  • 1 large squash, peeled and cut into cubes, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and placed on a sheet pan until tender but not mushy at 400 degrees.
Instructions
  1. Feel free to use any type of pasta noodle, no boil, boil, whole wheat or plain white or even fresh.
  2. You can add a ricotta mixture as stated in the post along with shredded fontina or mozzarella, the squash and bechamel.
  3. You can make it without ricotta by just using the butternut squash, shredded cheese and bechamel.
  4. You can make it noodle-less as shown in the post with a link by slicing planks of squash into . "pasta noodles".
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47 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Pasta, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: , , , , ,

Butternut Squash Lasagna w/ Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bechemal!!

September 29, 2008 by 55 Comments

I’m a late bloomer in my love for butternut squash. I never wanted to cut up a big squash like that and bake it, I’d rather have a sweet potato! . But then a couple years ago I had the most amazing soup made of butternut squash, and I was hooked!

I started to see it everywhere in magazines, and on cooking shows. I saw it in souffle’s, gratin’s, ravioli’s, in grain’s, pasta dishes. I saw it roasted, maple glazed, pureed, in tart’s, and even in muffin’s and cakes! Suddenly it seemed it was so in vogue!! How come I never noticed this awesome vegetable before? Whats wrong with me?

And guess what! It’s one of those power foods, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and beta carotene. I’m sure by now all of you have tried this versatile vegetable, but in case you haven’t, go out and get some, please! You won’t be disappointed.

Which brings me to this lasagna I made over the weekend. I have to admit Hubby wasn’t all that excited when I told him I was making a butternut squash lasagna. He gave me a look like, “Huh.” He’s typically a lasagna purist with the red sauce, but I knew he would love this, and he did!

After searching on the Internet and picking bits and pieces of different recipes I came up with this. I liked the idea of garlic in the sauce, but I thought roasted garlic would make the flavor even more intense, and as it turned out I think it really made the whole dish!

I roasted the garlic a day ahead, as I knew I was going to make this. It also calls for no -boil lasagna, which I’m still of the old school boil kind, and I’m not convinced I like them yet. They are very convenient and fast though. Here I used the Barilla brand. What are your thoughts on no- boil ??

INGREDIENTS:
About 3lbs. of peeled, seeded, squash in 1/2 in. slices
2 Heads of Roasted Garlic
1 Box of No-Boil Lasagna
Parmesan Cheese around 1 1/2 cups
Bechemal Sauce
First, you need to roast your squash in a hot oven at 425 degrees. till tender. Make sure you drizzle it with olive oil, salt and pepper. It will probably take about 25 mins.
In the meantime make a pot of bechemel by melting 1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter and then mixing in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour, keep whisking, then squeeze in your roasted garlic, add salt and black pepper.
Pour about 5 cups of milk in and whisk till thick. When squash is cooked, stir it into the sauce along with the rosemary ( about 1 tbl.) and half of the Parmesan cheese.
IMPORTANT TIP HERE:I would have liked to had a little more sauce, the noodles soaked it up as it cooked, so you might want to make more. Next time I will.
Reduce oven temp to 375F. Layer it like you would any lasagna. Spray your baking dish, layer the noodles, and spread the sauce mixture all over, and sprinkle with cheese. Continue layering till done. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake around 35 to 40 mins. Uncover and cook till golden brown.
The roasted garlic sauce infused with rosemary, complimented the squash so well, it was heavenly!
Buon Appetito!!
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55 Comments Filed Under: Pasta, Vegetables Tagged: , ,