The flavors in these vegetarian lasagna rolls are the definition of comfort food! Roasted eggplant, zucchini and mushroom give a great meaty texture and smoky flavor to this healthy dinner recipe. 185 calories and 6 Weight Watcher Freestyle SP
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rolls Recipe
These roasted vegetable lasagna rolls were inspired by a memory of eating out with my parents. When I was kid, going out to our favorite Greek restaurant in Vancouver was always a treat. There was always a big Greek salad, complete with extra kalamata olives, at least one order of lamb souvlaki and plenty of pita bread. I devoured my share without hesitation, but always eyed my mum's choice warily. Her favorite was moussaka, a baked Greek casserole made with ground lamb, eggplant and a Béchamel sauce.
As a kid, it was the eggplant that gave me pause. These days, that would be a selling point! Eggplant can be the star of the show in dishes such as Grilled Zucchini & Eggplant Parmesan or Vegetarian Naan Pizza with Eggplant & Cilantro Jalapeño Pesto, or a supporting player in Grilled Vegetable Wraps or Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salads.
When I started to put these lasagna rolls together in my head, eggplant jump right into the mix, along with meaty portobello mushrooms and zucchini.
What you need for this lasagna rolls recipe:
- The vegetables: I used eggplant, zucchini and portobello mushrooms. Portobello mushrooms have a wonderful meaty texture, but feel free to swap in another type of mushrooms if you don't have portobellos on hand.
- Lasagna noodles: For an extra dose of fiber, use whole wheat lasagna noodles. Regular lasagna noodles can be substituted, if desired.
- The sauce: Use your favorite marinara sauce, whether that's store-bought or homemade. If you have the time, making your own tomato sauce can add a ton of flavor. Here's my favorite marinara sauce recipe (minus the meatballs, of course).
- Ricotta cheese: I opted for whole milk ricotta cheese in this recipe because I wanted the extra creaminess. Of course, part-skim ricotta will always work.
- Baking dish: Any basic 9 x 13-inch baking dish, like this one (affiliate), will do. If you want to step things up to a really pretty ceramic baking dish, you might like this one (affiliate).
Tips for making these vegetable lasagna rolls:
- I took the extra step of sprinkling the eggplant and zucchini slices with salt, and letting them rest on paper towels for about 20 minutes in order to draw out the extra moisture and any bitterness from the eggplant. Reducing the moisture allows the vegetables to roast more evenly and avoids the soggy vegetable syndrome.
- After salting the veggies, the lasagne rolls require a few steps, but they're all easy: cook the noodles, roast the vegetables and flavor the ricotta cheese. Everything gets rolled up in the noodles, doused in your favorite marinara sauce and baked for about half an hour.
- To save yourself some time, cook the lasagna noodles and prepare the ricotta mixture while the vegetables are roasting. You could even spread the ricotta mixture on the lasagna noodles, then top them with the roasted vegetables once they are cooked and chopped.
Serve these with a big kale salad or a side of broccoli salad for a meal that is packed with nutrients and flavor.
Other healthy vegetarian dinner recipes:
30-Minute Rice Noodle Soup with Mushrooms & Kale {Cookin' Canuck}
Sweet Potato Toast with Tahini Arugula {Cookin' Canuck}
30-Minute Quinoa Enchilada Skillet {Jessica in the Kitchen}
Garlic Mushrom & Parsley Pasta {A Cupcake for Love}
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Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounces zucchini, cut into ¼-inch circles
- 1 1 pounds eggplant, cut into ¼-inch circles
- 8 ounces portobello mushrooms gills scraped out & stems removed, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil divided
- 15 whole wheat lasagna noodles*
- ½ onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¾ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups marinara sauce your favorite kind
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan sauce rennet-free for vegetarian
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.
- Arrange the zucchini and eggplant slices on a large piece of paper towel. Sprinkle on both sides with ½ teaspoon of salt. Gently press another piece of paper towel on top of the vegetables and let sit for 20 minutes to draw out the extra liquid.
- Rinse the salt off of the zucchini and eggplant slices and pat dry. Combine in a bowl with the portobello mushroom slices and toss with 3 tablepoons of olive oil.
- Arrange the vegetables on the prepared baking sheets. Cook until the vegetables are tender and starting to brown on the underside, switching position of the baking sheets halfway through, about 20 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop the vegetables.
- While the vegetables are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender. Drain the noodles, gently rinse with cold water and lay on a kitchen towel, separated from each other.
- Heat ½ teaspoon olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Cook the onion until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the onion mixture, ricotta cheese, parsley, pepper and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Arrange a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta mixture along the length of each noodle. Top with a generous ¼ cup of the chopped roasted vegetables.
- Starting at one short end, tightly roll up the lasagna noodle and filling.
- Turn the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking dish by spreading 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom. Arrange the lasagna rolls, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and filling.
- Spread the remaining 1 ½ cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on February 17, 2016, and has been updated.
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Hannah
Super yummy! I doubled the amount of filling so that it was extra cheesy.
Dara
Extra cheesy is always a good thing! So glad you enjoyed the rolls, Hannah.
Britt
Absolutely wonderful. My entire family loved it and it will definitely be a saved recipe. So delicious.