It’s Meat Free Monday and we are doing pasta today! We are going to have something cheesy today, super cheesy and super delicious. You wouldn’t miss the meat with this Vegetarian Lasagna because it’s loaded with plenty of good stuff that replaces the meat, and it has lots of cheese which in my experience always makes food better, that and chocolate of course. It’s just difficult for me to resist a dish that is oozing with melting cheese on top, I think that is basically the selling point of lasagna. So regardless meaty or meatless as long as it loaded with cheese, it will taste good. I myself was surprised on how good this turned out to the point that I actually look forward to eating it again. It’s so filling, and I’m really serious that I did not actually miss the meaty version when I was eating this one.

I made a Small Batch Meaty Lasagna last year and I was really pleased on how it turned out. I told myself I had to make a vegetarian version of that lasagna and it has to be sooner than later. There are different ways and ingredients that you can use to make a Vegetarian Lasagna. My version used eggplant, zucchini, spinach, ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Make-ahead 

Make-ahead dish are perfect for busy days, for short notice meal or just for emergency food that I can easily pull out of the freezer anytime I like. This is one thing I like about lasagna, it is a great make-ahead and it freezes well. Since making the pasta sauce is what normally takes most of the time, this is one that you can make ahead too. So basically this is how you do it ahead of time.

• Make the Pasta Sauce – I have a 1 Step Instant Pasta Sauce recipe, check it out. You can store it in the refrigerator or in the freezer. If coming from the freezer, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or microwave before using it then drain to remove excess liquid but don’t throw the liquid sauce. You can still use it for your pasta. You want to use the sauce with less liquid as possible so that the lasagna will not turn out soggy and watery.
• Assemble: The day before you want to make it, assemble the lasagna and then cover it with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator and bake the following day as per recipe instruction. You can also freeze baked lasagna and reheat in the oven or microwave when ready to serve.