No-boil lasagna noodles layered with a mix of cheeses, spinach and store-bought marinara make this vegetarian spinach lasagna recipe one of the easiest dinners you’ll prepare all week.
In This Post
This post is in partnership with Kroger
Creating This Spinach Lasagna Recipe
I’m having some serious memories of being a kid and our annual Christmas Eve lasagna dinner with my parents and sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins at my Aunt Jill’s house. It was always a rambunctious night, running back and forth between watching the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story with my cousins, and stealing cheese-filled celery sticks and black olives from the appetizer tray.
My Aunt Jill has never been a fan of meat, so the fact that she included sausage in her original version is a testament to her love of her family and a house of 4 sons who each grew to over 6’5″ plus a husband who very much loved meat. Luckily, the stakes have evened out for her now that she has a gaggle of gorgeous daughters-in-laws to continue keeping those boys in check.
I still have a copy of Jill’s original recipe that includes my surprise ingredient of cottage cheese, but I’ve switched it up a bit to add even MORE cheese to make up for my skipping the meat in my version. I think 8 types of cheese definitely does the trick.
Because 30 years later, I think my Aunt Jill deserves to have a slice of meatless lasagna her way, am I right?
What’s in This Cheesy Spinach Lasagna?
One trick to lessening the lasagna-making load is to use no-boil lasagna noodles and a really good quality jarred sauce, which I’ve found in both Kroger’s Private Selection marinara sauces and DeLallo’s brand of jarred marinara. Feel free to use the flat or the ribboned style of lasagna noodles, you’ll need one box for this recipe of either/or.
I’m really picky about my ricotta cheese, which can too often taste chalky and plastic like. So I am THRILLED to have discovered that the Kroger brand of ricotta is totally not that. It’s creamy, rich and doesn’t get watery when cooked. It’s not only great in Italian food, it’s also so good on toast with a little jam. Just sayin’.
While I was at it, I loaded up on Kroger’s mozzarella, sliced provolone from the deli counter, grated Parmesan cheese and the Private Selection 3 cheese blend of Asiago, Parmesan and Romano. The provolone cheese is what creates the coveted, stringy cheese pull so if you’re thinking of skipping one of the cheeses in this dish, don’t skip the provolone!
And since this is a spinach lasagna recipe, I added a bag of frozen spinach to my cart, plus eggs to bind everything together and fresh basil to add a pop of flavor.
How to Make Spinach Lasagna
Believe it or not, this vegetarian lasagna with cottage cheese is incredibly easy to make. Because it’s a no boil lasagna recipe, all you have to do is stir together the cheese and spinach filling and then you’re ready to begin assembling your lasagna!
To layer lasagna, you first want to spoon some marinara sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish to prevent the pasta from sticking to it. Next, layer a few sheets of no-boil lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles, then layer sliced Provolone cheese and shredded mozzarella over that. Top the first layer with more marinara sauce.
Repeat this process two more times, ending with a thin layer of marinara topped with shredded cheese.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until golden and bubbly.
How Long to Cook Lasagna?
This cheese and spinach lasagna needs to bake for an hour with the foil on, and an additional 10 minutes without the foil to allow the edges to crisp up a bit.
Can I Use Regular Lasagna Noodles Instead of No-Boil Ones?
Most likely, yes. However, I’ve only made the recipe below as written so I can’t guarantee whether using regular lasagna noodles will work here.
Can I Freeze Lasagna?
Assembling this dinner is so easy, and that translates to a perfect dinner for a crowd and for the holidays. If you want to make this and freeze ahead, definitely do so. Simply bake the lasagna straight from the freezer for about 1 ½ hours, with the foil on, and another 10-20 minutes once you’ve removed the foil.
Tips for Making Cheese and Spinach Lasagna
To keep the cheese from sticking to the foil covering the casserole and ruining the cheesy topper, I spray the foil with baking spray and also tent it loosely over the dish so it doesn’t sit on the cheese.
Be sure to wring all of the water out of the thawed spinach to avoid a watery sauce.
I’ve found this dish is even better the 2nd day. Leftovers are certainly encouraged here.
More Lasagna Recipes You’ll Love
- Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Sausage and Ricotta Lasagna
- Turkey Bolognese Lasagna Toss
- Vegetarian Crockpot Lasagna Soup
- Vegetable Lasagna with Butternut Squash and Shiitake Mushrooms
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
The Cheesiest Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 16- ounce container ricotta cheese
- 1 8- ounce container small curd cottage cheese
- 1 5- ounce container 3-cheese blend grated cheese
- 1 12- ounce bag frozen spinach , thawed and with all of the moisture squeezed dry
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 25 - ounce jars marinara sauce
- 1 9- ounce package no-boil lasagna noodles
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese , shredded
- Basil leaves
- Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, 3-cheese blend and spinach with the eggs, ground black pepper and kosher salt until well mixed.
- Spread half of a jar of the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Layer 5 sheets of the lasagna sheet so they're slightly overlapping. Dollop half of the ricotta mixture onto the lasagna sheets and evenly spread on top. Layer 4 slices of provolone over the ricotta and sprinkle with ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Pour another half of the jar of marinara evenly over the cheese.
- Layer 5 more sheets of lasagna and repeat by dolloping the rest of the ricotta mixture over the lasagna sheets and spread evenly, top with 4 more slices of provolone cheese, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and then pour half of the sauce from the remaining jar of sauce over the cheese. Top with 5 more layers of the lasagna sheets and pour the remaining half of the marinara sauce over the noodles and top with the remaining slices of provolone cheese and mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes or until bubbly. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minute or until the cheese is lightly browned.
- Let the lasagna rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil leaves and fresh grated parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
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Needed a meatless, spinach recipe, and found this one. It was a hit with my family with hubby & daughter #2 preferring this to our regular meat lasagna. Because I couldn’t find the 3 cheese blend that was recommended at my local grocery store, I used a mozzarella, Parmesan, Asiago blend. Had 16 Oz of fresh baby spinach in the fridge, so I cooked it (1/2 tsp olive oil in pot at medium heat, add spinach, stir until softened and shrunken down). Had oven ready noodles on my shelf so I used those. Added 1/4 cup water around the edges just in case because that’s how I cook my meat lasagna. Except for accidentally putting an entire jar of sauce at the bottom of the pan (oops…misunderstood or misread the instructions), I had to add sauce. I used 2.5 jars of the marinara sauce. It still turned out delicious. My only complaint is the length of time it took me to prepare and bake it. Probably because I’m not a seasoned cook and I had to cook the spinach; next time, and there will be a next time, I’ll know better and can plan accordingly.
So glad you were able to make it work for you Nichelle!
This recipe sounds HEAVENLY! and we will definitely make this again and again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Everyone loved this! Comfort food at its best. So easy and delish! Thank you.
Thanks Mary!
I can hardly wait to be together with our family and to dig into Jill’s awesome lasagna. Her recipe is the best, it’s my husband’s favorite, with sausage of course. Yummy
I always love Friday Faves. ❤️
Thank you Patti!
I just made this for a girls night in. I had been looking for a go-to vegetarian-friendly lasagna recipe and this one delivered. I love that uses jarred sauce since my homemade version never tastes as good. I softened the noodles in hot water before placing in the pan to avoid any problems with them not getting fully cooked. I made a day before. Of course it came out of the fridge cold so it took longer to bake but it behaved nicely. I highly recommend, especially because it’s not difficult to make.
Sounds amazing!!!
Wow, great photos! I love the way these look, i’m sure the recipe is delicious too :)
It look so good I have to try
It was an honor meeting you! Your dishes always look so delicious. I hope we can cook together someday <3 Happy Holidays!
I’m not a huge fan of meat either, so I love that you loaded this up with so many different kinds of cheese instead!!! Perfect comfort food for sure!!!
YUMM! Delicious, cheesy goodness! Looks great!
I agree, Jill’s lasagna is awesome, a definite family favorite.. wonderful memories. The new spinich version looks delicious.. love all the melted cheese.
Well this looks just fantastic. Spinach Lasagna is my favorite kind. Pinned!
Lasagna has never looked better, this is my kind of comfort food!
Sounds so cheese & yummy this lasagna. I am gonna confused between photograph & “The cheesiest spinach and cheese lasagna dish! which I like most? Also you used here 8 different cheese which are very unique recipe for me. Thanks Heidi!
I love this time of year for all of the holidays! This lasagna looks wonderful – love the Private Selection brand products, and that marinara sauce is seriously a favorite of ours!
Sounds wonderful! Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen? Thanks
I just did! I found two different ways to prepare fresh spinach for frozen. I used 1/2 tsp olive oil, medium heat, in a big pot. Added 16 Oz of baby spinach and let it cook while stirring often until the spinach was shrunk and was soft. Using a colander, I drained the excess water. Added it to the cheese mixture. Next time I might cut off the stems or follow these instructions from another source:
“With fresh spinach: I remove tough stems, blanch it in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, rinse with cold water to cool, allow to cool some more to get to room temperature, squeeze into a ball – it’s much easier to work with than pre-chopped spinach – and then slice the ball and slice the slices to end up with chopped. That’s the procedure used in James Peterson’s Vegetables cookbook to prepare the spinach for an Indian Vegetable Stew”
Thanks for the tip!
It Looks so great. My next project can’t wait to make it.
I love nothing more than a baking dish full of pasta and melty cheese. I am totally digging Aunt Jill’s meatless spinach lasagna. I often say simplicity is the best recipe. Great recipe, Heidi!
:) My Aunt Jill will be happy you said so :)
We like the Private Selection marinara sauce and I’m sure we’d love this lasagna. Merry Christmas ;)
Can you believe it’s almost here? Their pasta sauce is really, really great.
I LOVE Christmas and everything about it too, Heidi! But I also REALLY enjoy Thanksgiving, so I rush to get Christmas decorations out while we are eating the turkey leftovers!
This looks amazing – I love the look of the spinach in it and know it’s delicious!
Thanks Robyn, and I’m with you on BOTH holidays! I savor them all.