I… I can’t speak.
This creamy comfort food veggie Alfredo lasagna is heaven to me. And I will elaborate on that, I promise, but I can’t move on without talking about what makes this whole thing work: the garlic-butter-Parmesan-flavored, 50-calories-per-serving sauce. Made with love from cauliflower.
You’re like, yeahhhh, you told me about that already. Yes I did. And I’m back for more.
This sauce controls me. I make it, like, a lot, and I’m contstantly dreaming up new combinations that mostly involve carbs and cheese. And of course vegetables, because this sauce is made from veggies! That’s what I love about you, sneaky cauliflower. A few readers commented on the creamy cauliflower sauce post that they had used it to make lasagna, and I just about fell off my chair with happiness. Soooo I stole your genius idea and made lasagna. I owe this one to you.
Just for a little walk down memory lane, here’s where we’ve seen this veggie sauce make reappearances:
Creamy Cauliflower Garlic Rice
Healthy Chicken Alfredo Pizza (with a really yummy whole wheat crust)
and now this lasagna.
Like I said, carbs and cheese.
The truth about this lasagna is that even with the carbs and cheese in there, it’s completely jam packed with fresh vegetables (like, more than 5 cups worth of fresh tomatoes, carrots, and spinach) and it’s only got 240 calories per slice. I mean, hello?! This is basically homemade, better tasting Lean Cuisine. Alright. To be fair, I actually do like Lean Cuisine sometimes, which reminds me that my favorite frozen meals await me in the freezer section somewhere in a suburban Minnesota grocery store: Amy’s Indian Palak Paneer (LOVE) and Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake (double love). These are the random thoughts that pop into my head nine days before the impending move across the ocean.
That, and figuring out how I’m going to brave Super Target for the first time. It’s kind of a joke and kind of serious. Whew – big changes ahead.
To a comfort food junkie like me, this lasagna is divine.
If you are a person who likes thick, super layered lasagna, please. Make this. And please make this in the world’s largest baking pan, because I crammed five delicious layers of veggies, cheese, Alfredo (cauliflower) sauce, and noodles into this pan and it was a little crowded in there and yet I still wanted more layers. You can never have too many. Never.
But really, this lasagna is great because first and foremost, it tastes incredibly creamy, rich, and lightly garlicky without all the guilt. Also noteworthy is the fact that it sticks together perfectly. There’s just enough sauce to keep you happy without making it soupy, which is important because I know you guys like your sauce. You and I both, my friends. You and I both.
This is what my face is seeing all week long. It’s like it gives me goosebumps or something, that’s how much I love it.
One final tip for my sauce-lovers out there –> SAVE THE EXTRA SAUCE. You will want to smother your hot piece of super-layered lasagna in a little extra of that delicate garlic creamy goodness.
And then you’ll be seeing this all week long, too.
That feels inappropriately messy, but also necessary because now you know what it’s like to eat that mountain of vegetables, pasta, and cheese. Also totally unrelated, in my lasagna bliss I have not gone wild with my photo editing and started putting white vignettes on the bottom of my photos. It just turned out that way. Promise.
One more thing! It’s important. You don’t have to be a veg-head to love this one – Bjork gave it two thumbs up. Yip-skiddly-doo!
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Veggie Alfredo Lasagna
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Total Time: 1 hour -
Yield: 9
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This light veggie Alfredo lasagna has 230 calories for each jumbo cheesy slice! Total vegetarian and healthy comfort food.
Ingredients
For the cauliflower Alfredo sauce
- 5 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 5 cups cauliflower florets
- 6–7 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
- ½ cup milk (more to taste)
- Parmesan cheese to taste
For the lasagna
- 10 lasagna noodles
- 4 cups cauliflower Alfredo sauce
- 5 cups veggies (I used chopped fresh greens, grated carrots, fresh and canned tomatoes)
- 3 cups mixed shredded cheese like Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, etc.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- For the cauliflower sauce: Saute the garlic with the butter in a large nonstick skillet over low heat until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Bring the cauliflower in the water or broth for 7-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Do not drain. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower pieces to a blender or food processor. Add 1 cup vegetable broth or cooking liquid, sauteed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Blend or puree for several minutes or until very smooth.
- For the lasagna: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the lasagna noodles for a few minutes until they are just starting to soften but still stiff and cool enough to handle.
- Spread a spoonful of cauliflower sauce on the bottom of a 9 inch square glass baking dish with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Layer lasagna noodles, 1/2 cup sauce, one fourth of the veggies, a good sprinkle of salt, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/4 cup sauce (I put sauce in each layer twice – once under the veggies and once on top). Repeat layers 4 times, ending with noodles. Cover the top noodle layer with 1/2 cup sauce and the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Cover with greased foil and bake for 25 minutes. The liquid should be bubbling along the sides of the dish. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 10-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown to your liking. Cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
I used a combination of fresh diced tomatoes and canned diced tomatoes. If you do use tomatoes, be sure to drain the excess liquid out before adding them to the lasagna, otherwise it will be too watery. I also found that sprinkling salt over each of the veggie layers helped it to be more flavorful, especially as leftovers.
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Prep Time: 15 mins
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Cook Time: 45 mins
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Category: Dinner
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Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: vegetarian lasagna, alfredo lasagna, veggie alfredo lasagna
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