Fall is here with Butternut Squash Lasagna!

So now that we are full swing into October, i wanted to channel my inner fall spirit into my cooking. Something I keep seeing everywhere is butternut squash, but I’ve personally never had much experience with it. Therefore, I decided to tackle it head on and make a yummy pasta dish. To bring fall into your comfort food, here’s what you’ll need:

Butternut Squash Filling
2 cups butternut squash puree (will tell you more about this later)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup milk (or more if needed – i think i ended up using about 3/4 cup)
1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Spinach Filling
1 cup cooked spinach (8 oz)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Other Ingredients
10 oz. Lasagna Noodles
1 and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning
Paprika
Basil

First, you need to cut up your squash and take out the seeds. Then, cook in the oven at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes.

 

Once cooked, combine with ricotta cheese, milk, nutmeg and salt, then puree until smooth.

Next, start on your filling. Start to cook down your spinach and then slowly add the cheese and garlic. Once added, mix together until combined well. Then, start to cook your noodles and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Once your noodles are cooked and you have your mise en place, you’re ready to start assembling your lasagna. First, in a 11×13 pan, lay down 3 noodles, then spread the puree over it. Top with mozzarella cheese. Top with 3 more noodles. Top with spinach filling. Top with cheese. More noodles. Rinse and repeat until all your fillings and noodles are used.

 

Once you get to your last layer, top with the Italian Seasoning, Basil, and (I used chili powder) or you can top with Paprika. Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes.

This lasagna was A LOT of work. But it was pretty worth it. It was really sweet from the butternut but the Italian seasoning and paprika added a nice little salty bite to cut into the sweetness. It was really good! It was a little labor intensive but I really enjoyed it. I had a pumpkin ravioli not too long ago and that was SO sweet – but the butternut squash was thankfully not as sweet. I would probably add the Italian seasoning mixture in between the layers to have that flavor all throughout each bite. It was definitely comforting and very fall 🙂 Worth a second try!