Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce

With a little time off over the holidays I made a few freezer friendly experimental meals, including this veggie heavy lasagna. I used my favorite veggies but you could really use whatever ones you like or have on hand. I also included bacon for the hubs but it would be equally delicious without any meat.

Now for the sauce. I’d long seen cauliflower as a “healthy substitute” in cheese sauces but was doubtful that it would stand up to the real deal. While it had a slightly different flavor, the sauce was surprisingly rich and luxurious with a serious cut to the cals by using only one cup of cheese to the typical four or five cups. By using sharp swiss and parmesan there was still plenty of cheese flavor…to the point where the hubs immediately said “Mmmm, this is good, what kind of cheese is this? Swiss?” and I replied with glee, “Yes…and cauliflower!” Even my 1 1/2 year old scarfed it down. Mwahahaha! Secret veggie win!

Vegetable Lasagna
makes 2 9×9 or 7×11 pans
1 pkg lasagna noodles
2 pkg portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 large bunch kale, chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg thick cut bacon, chopped (optional)
1/2 C parmesan cheese, shredded
2 C mozzarella, shredded
olive oil
Cauliflower White Sauce (below)

Preheat oven to 375. Cook lasagna noodles according to box instructions and rinse with cool water once cooked so that they don’t stick together as badly. Meanwhile, add bacon to a large saute pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, squash and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, adding a drizzle of olive oil if necessary to prevent vegetables from sticking to the pan. Once bacon, mushrooms and squash are mostly cooked add kale and continue sauteeing until kale wilts. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place 3 lasagna noodles in the base of each pan. Top with 1/4 of vegetable mixture and 1/4 of bacon, if using. Spoon several scoops of white sauce over the vegetables and sprinkle lightly with parmesan and mozzarella. You will need to visually divide the sauce and cheeses into sixths for the ensuing layers.

Repeat layers. Top with a final layer of noodles. Add a thin layer of sauce and a light sprinkle of each cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes or until cheese is a light golden brown.

Cauliflower White Sauce
1 head cauliflower, chopped
4 Tbsp butter
1/3 C flour
1 C half and half
2 C skim or 1% milk
1/2 C parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 C swiss cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350. Chop cauliflower into small florets and place in small roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil and 1/3 cup water. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes until cauliflower is soft. Remove from oven and let cool. Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.

Meanwhile in a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat and whisk in flour. Gradually whisk in half and half and milk. Stir in parmesan and swiss cheeses. Whisk in mustard and nutmeg. Fold in cauliflower puree and stir well to combine. Season with additional salt to taste.