This vegetarian Cast Iron Skillet Lasagna recipe is made with mushrooms and spinach in one pot on the stove top. Ready in 30 minutes!
My recipe for Cast Iron Skillet Lasagna was first published on Sunday Supper Movement where I am a contributor.
This Vegetarian Skillet Lasagna is the perfect dish for a night when you just want something comforting. It’s much faster and easier to make than a traditional lasagna and, in my opinion, is actually tastier.
Sometimes I just love a good, hearty pasta dish. Especially during months of cold temperatures like the ones we had in Minnesota this winter.
A hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meat and potatoes dish is always delicious but I think vegetarian meals can be just as satisfying.
This skillet vegetarian lasagna will feed your family and the whole thing is almost entirely made on the stove top.
After making this recipe I wondered where it had been all my life!
Jump to:
- Which Vegetables Are Best In Lasagna?
- Sauté Vegetables For The Skillet Lasagna
- How To Make Cast Iron Vegetarian Lasagna
- How Long Does One Pan Lasagna Take To Cook?
- Finish The Lasagna In The Oven
- What To Serve With Skillet Vegetable Lasagna
- How Long Does Vegetarian Lasagna Last In The Fridge?
- Skillet Lasagna (Vegetarian)
Which Vegetables Are Best In Lasagna?
The great thing about vegetarian lasagna is that you can use any veggies you like.
This recipe uses mushrooms, bell peppers, and spinach.
Vegetables such as zucchini, eggplant, or broccoli are great choices.
This dish starts out as most great Italian inspired recipes do with plenty of garlic and onions.
- Simply mince 6 cloves of garlic and 1 onion (can be yellow, white, or red).
- Dice 1 bell pepper – I prefer red peppers but feel free to use any color pepper you like.
- Cut 1 8 oz. package of button mushrooms into small slices and roughly chop 1 cup of fresh spinach.
Sauté Vegetables For The Skillet Lasagna
This whole dish is made in a large cast iron skillet. It’s going to seem like there’s no way that all the ingredients will fit into this one skillet but I assure you they do!
- Heat the skillet to medium and add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.
- Once the oil is heated, add the sliced mushrooms along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The mushrooms will cook down quite a bit.
- Add the diced peppers and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
How To Make Cast Iron Vegetarian Lasagna
- Add 1 24 oz. jar of your favorite marinara sauce and 1 ½ cups of vegetable stock to the skillet.
- Take 8-10 dried gluten free lasagna noodles (or regular lasagna noodles if not gluten free), break them into pieces and then throw them into the pan (this is where the pan starts to feel like it will overflow).
- Stir the noodles into the marinara mixture and make sure all of them are submerged. Cooking the noodles directly in the sauce is what gives this skillet vegetable lasagna its distinct flavor (seriously, noodles cooked in the sauce is the best)!
- Bring the pan to a light boil and simmer on medium/low for 30 minutes. The sauce should lightly bubble as it cooks. Keep the heat low enough so that the sauce doesn’t splatter as it cooks but high enough to cook the noodles.
- Stir the mixture every 5 minutes (especially as it nears the 30 minute mark) to prevent the noodles from sticking to the bottom.
How Long Does One Pan Lasagna Take To Cook?
Feel free to add an additional ½ cup of vegetable stock to the pan as the noodles cook. The noodles will soak up the liquid and adding additional stock will prevent them from drying out.
Try to make sure that the noodles don’t stick together in clumps as they cook because this will prevent them from cooking evenly. All the noodles should be evenly cooked around the 30 minute mark.
The lasagna should be saucy but not too liquid-y. Just when you think nothing else will fit in the pan add the chopped spinach and stir into the lasagna mixture (the spinach will cook down, I promise).
This recipe is gluten free and uses gluten free lasagna noodles. I recommend a good quality brand of gluten free lasagna noodles, such as Tinkyada or Jovial.
It's important to keep an eye on the noodles, so that they don't overcook. Gluten free noodles can become mushy when overcooked.
Feel free to use regular lasagna noodles if gluten is not an issue for you.
Finish The Lasagna In The Oven
I mentioned before that this lasagna is made almost entirely on the stove top. It’s actually finished off under the broiler in the oven.
The broiler will brown the cheese and allow it to melt perfectly into the dish.
- Turn the broiler on and dot the top of the lasagna with ½-3/4 cup of ricotta cheese (don’t stir the ricotta into the lasagna).
- Sprinkle a heaping ½ cup of mozzarella on top of the ricotta and place the whole pan in the oven for about 2 minutes directly under the broiler.
- The ricotta will melt slightly and the mozzarella will brown a little bit.
What To Serve With Skillet Vegetable Lasagna
Once the cheese has melted it’s ready to serve! I love to top this lasagna off with a bit of shredded Parmesan cheese (it is cheesy skillet vegetable lasagna, after all) and a sprinkle of red chili flakes.
Freshly chopped basil adds a nice pop of freshness. Simply mince ½ cup or so of basil and sprinkle over the dish.
I love a hearty Italian dish paired with a bright salad like this Balsamic Green Bean Salad, Marinated Tomato Salad or Fresh Pea Mint Salad.
It's great with a Mediterranean appetizer like this Kalamata Olive Tapenade, Roasted Mushroom Tapenade, or Spinach Artichoke Dip.
Love vegetarian dishes? Check out these recipes!
- Garden Vegetable Lasagna
- Lemon Pea Risotto
- Chunky Italian Vegetable Soup
- Tuscan Vegetable Soup
- Mushroom Arugula Pizza
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake
- Spinach Walnut Pesto
- Skillet Zucchini Parmesan
- Healthy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Basil Spinach Green Pasta Sauce
How Long Does Vegetarian Lasagna Last In The Fridge?
Any leftover lasagna should last 3-4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
This dish is great for winter because it's hearty and comforting and summer because you can use all those great garden vegetables in it.
Best of all, it's cooked in ONE PAN which means less dishes! Less dishes is always a good thing!
Love pasta? Check out these recipes!
- Chicken Marsala Pasta
- One Pot Vegetarian Pasta
- Lemon Leek Pasta
- Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta
- Cauliflower Tomato Pasta
- Mushroom Olive Pasta
- Kale Pancetta Pasta
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Looking For More One Pan Recipes? Don't Miss These!
One Pot Garlic Butter Parmesan Mushroom Pasta
Vegan Pea Pasta Minestrone Soup
One Pot Wonder Pasta Con Broccoli
Healthy One-Pot Enchilada Pasta
Skillet Lasagna (Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 8 oz. package mushrooms
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- pinch kosher salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 package gluten free lasagna noodles or regular lasagna noodles if not gluten free
- ½-3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- ½-3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese optional
- 2 tsp. red chili flakes optional
- ½ cup chopped basil optional
Instructions
- Mince 6 cloves of garlic and 1 onion.
- Dice 1 bell pepper and cut 1 8 oz. package button mushrooms into small slices.
- Roughly chop 1 cup fresh spinach.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet to medium. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the garlic and onions and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the sliced mushrooms along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The mushrooms will cook down quite a bit.
- Add the diced pepper to the mushrooms and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add 1 24 oz. jar of marinara sauce and 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth to the mushrooms and peppers. Stir to combine.
- Break 8-10 dry gluten free lasagna noodles (or regular lasagna noodles if not gluten free) into small pieces and add to the pan. Stir the noodles into the sauce. The noodles cook in the sauce so it is important that all the noodles are submerged in the liquid.
- Bring the sauce to a low boil and then reduce to a simmer. The sauce should bubble lightly as it cooks. The heat should be hot enough to cook the noodles but not hot enough to cause the sauce to splatter - Medium/low should work fine.
- Cook the noodles on a low boil for 30 minutes. Stir the noodles every 5 minutes or so (more important toward the 30 minute mark) to prevent them from sticking to the pan. Add an additional ½ cup of vegetable stock as the noodles cook.
- Once the noodles are cooked and have absorbed most of the sauce, add the cup of chopped spinach and stir into the lasagna.
- Turn the oven broiler on.
- Spoon ½-3/4 cup of ricotta cheese on top of the lasagna in chunks (do not stir ricotta into lasagna) and sprinkle ½-3/4 cup shredded mozzarella on top of ricotta.
- Place the pan in the oven directly under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove pan from oven.
- To serve: Sprinkle ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 2 tsp. red chili flakes, and ½ cup chopped fresh basil on top of lasagna (optional).
Leslie Haasch says
I love a good veggie lasagna, but I've never made it in a skillet before. There's a first time for everything!
Christine says
It's so much easier than traditional lasagna and cooking the noodles in the sauce makes it even tastier!
April says
I love this - so much easier than a traditional lasagna and I like that I can customize the filling.
Joanie says
My entire family loved the flavors in this delicious dish. I loved the fact that it was so easy to make. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!