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I love lasagna in all its forms, but this butternut squash lasagna ranks up there with my favorites. It’s rich, has great flavor, and is special enough to serve to dinner guests. 
This recipe is based on one that I used to make a lot years ago. I decided to healthify that recipe a bit without losing the essence of the dish. I swapped the regular noodles for whole wheat lasagna noodles. These no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles
are the ones I use and love. No boil is the way to go! I also reduced the butter and cheese and omitted the heavy cream all together. This is still a rich dish, just not to the over-the-top level it was before. Then, I added kale. The kale adds a nice color contrast to the dish that was missing before, plus the extra nutrition is a bonus. You really don’t even taste or notice that the kale is there. The butternut squash is definitely the star. 
I should also mention that this has a strong garlic flavor, which I love. Garlic lovers, you’re going to adore it! If you don’t love strong garlic, you can reduce it some and this will still be great.
If you host a vegetarian Thanksgiving or have a vegetarian coming to your Thanksgiving, I think this is a perfect dish to serve. I wouldn’t call this an easy weeknight dinner like most of the dinner recipes I try to create, but it’s worth the extra time for sure. (If you do want an easy weeknight lasagna recipe, try this 30-minute Skillet Lasagna–it’s superb!) One tip that does make this an easier dinner recipe is to cook your butternut squash ahead of time. I highly suggest cooking it in your crockpot so that it’s ready to go when you start making dinner.
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Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Are you ready to turn your everyday vegetarian lasagna into a decadent fall dish that is a total show stopper? This Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna is your ticket.
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash, cut in half length-wise and seeds removed
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
3–4 large kale leaves, stems removed and finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup flour (I use white whole wheat)
4 cups milk (I use whole milk, reduced fat is fine)
salt and pepper, to taste
11 no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles
3/4 + 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese or grated parmigiano-reggiano
Instructions
If you haven’t cooked your butternut squash ahead of time, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the cut squash on a baking tray, flesh side down, and roast until it is fork tender, about 40-45 minutes. Allow it to cool and then scoop the flesh into a bowl and set aside.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 375 degrees (or preheat if your squash was already cooked).
Heat one tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the kale leaves and cook until they are bright green and tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the butternut squash. If there are any lumps in the squash, use the back of your spoon to mash them until you have a smooth mixture. It will look like this:
In a medium sauce pan, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons butter with the garlic over medium low heat until the garlic is soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer, and cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes, whisking frequently. Stir in the butternut squash and kale mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9X13 inch baking dish. Top with 3 noodles and then break a noodle into pieces and use 1/2 to 1/3 of it to cover the remaining space (2 of the 9 noodles will be broken to cover the small end space in each layer). Top the noodles with 1/3 of the remaining sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Add another layer of noodles. Add 1/3 of the sauce and top with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Add a last layer of noodles. Top with the remaining sauce and 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake in the 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: Italian / American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 219
- Sugar: 6.5g
- Sodium: 87.25mg
- Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 31.9g
- Protein: 9g
The combination of butternut squash and kale in lasagna sounds both comforting and nutritious. Can not wait to whip this up for a cozy night in.
Best Realtor in Litchfield NH
Hi there. New to cooking here. How would you do this in a slow cooker? Same process except place in the cooker instead of the pan? How long would I time it for?
My brother and sister in law just had a baby. Do you think this recipe would freeze well? Perhaps, I could freeze it before the baking step and give it to them as an easy meal.
I *think* so, but I hate to say a definitive yes without trying it first. I do think it’d work though!
I made this tonight and overall it was good, but it seemed somewhat dry and pretty dense. Is it possible that my large squash was TOO large? About how many cups should the ideal quash yield for this recipe? If I can get it right, I’d love to make this for Christmas dinner when we’re hosting my vegetarian sister. 🙂
Thanks!
That is possible. You should have about 3 cups of squash. I hope this works out for you as it was not dry or dense for us at all.
Ahhh, that must have been it. I probably had about 5 cups! I’ll try again with a less gigantic squash. Thanks so much for your reply!
You’re welcome!
I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THIS, YUMMY YUM YUM! I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for all that you do. I have been visiting your blog for a couple of years now and it has been a source of inspiration and good ole yumminess! I have since found that my two boys have milk egg and dairy sensitivities but I still drool over your recipes and delight in trying them, as we substitute what we need to. I have watched your blog mature and blossom into a work of art. I consider you a virtual compadre in this chapter of my life, where this fierce love for my children’s best well being starts with food. As a new mother I never imagined that I would be put in positions where I basically had to defend my choices of food for my children. It was lonely and scary because there is no one in my circle that understands what food really means. As much as I long for the good old days of tree climbing and salsmander hunting for my children, instead of technology, I’m certainly happy to have found your blog. Keep up the great work.. We need you.
Warm Regards, Cynthia
Cynthia, I don’t know if you realize how much your words encourage and motivate me to keep going. Thank you!