Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe
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A hearty oven-to-table dish is a necessary element of any cook’s repertoire. When it’s also freezable and suitable for vegetarians, well, you know it’s a keeper. This lasagna is full of satisfying cool-weather ingredients and tastes even better when it’s made in advance, giving the flavors a chance to mingle.
What to buy: Look for unsweetened chestnut purée in most grocery stores or gourmet markets. We like Clement Faugier brand. If you can’t find chestnut purée, just thinly slice some jarred, roasted chestnuts and scatter them across the filling as you layer the lasagna.
We used Gorgonzola picante in this recipe, though you can substitute another variety of Gorgonzola or just about any other type of blue-veined cheese.
Game plan: Make a double recipe and keep one lasagna in the freezer for when company’s coming. Then simply leave it to defrost overnight in the fridge and pop it in the oven an hour before guests arrive.
- 1 (2-pound) butternut squash
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 recipe Béchamel Sauce, warmed
- 1 (8- to 9-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1/4 cup unsweetened chestnut purée (about 3 ounces), such as Clement Faugier
- 4 1/2 cups shredded fontina cheese (about 6 ounces)
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3/4 ounce)
- 2 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, cut into small pieces
- Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the top third.
- Prepare the squash: Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler.
Trim the top and bottom. 
Cut the neck from the bulb of the squash. 
Halve each piece lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. 
Cut the squash into 1/4-inch cubes and set aside. (You will need about 5 cups. Save any remaining squash for another use.) - Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. When it begins to smoke, add mushrooms and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and crispy at the edges, about 4 minutes. Stir in squash and cook, stirring frequently, until squash is browned. Add garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add water and stir, scraping up any browned bits that have accumulated on the bottom of the pan. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove the pan from heat and set aside.
- Spread 1/4 cup of the béchamel sauce over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, breaking the noodles as necessary to fit them in an even layer. Evenly spread half of the vegetable mixture over the pasta.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the béchamel sauce evenly over the vegetables. Dot half of the chestnut purée over top. Cover the vegetables with a layer of grated fontina cheese and a sprinkling of Parmigiano-Reggiano (use about a third of each). Repeat with another layer of noodles, the remaining squash mixture, 1/2 cup béchamel, the remaining chestnut purée, another third of the fontina, all of the Gorgonzola, and about another third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Finish with a last layer of noodles and the remaining béchamel sauce, fontina cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Cover the baking dish well with aluminum foil. (You can prepare this recipe ahead and refrigerate for up to 1 day; allow to come to room temperature before baking.) Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the top is brown and the noodles are completely tender, about 10 minutes more. Allow the lasagna to stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Beverage pairing: Stoller Chardonnay, Oregon. Rich squash, mushrooms, decadent cheese—all things that are good with Chardonnay. In this case, a wine from Oregon is a good choice, as it has all the fruit of a California Chardonnay but maybe a little more backbone to stand up to all that cheese.
Added the spinach (organic frozen, about a cup) and actually used organic frozen cubed butternut squash. Used whole wheat lasagna. Even more alarming (!) I reconstituted a dried wild mushroom mix in some cheap chardonnay and added about a cup of slice portabellas to the saute. Later used the mushroom/wine juice to the veggie mix while cooking instead of plain H20. It's still in the oven and smelling delicious ...
sounds good but might add some ricotta (and spinach or chard) to the filling; also use very thin hand-cranked pasta rather than dry boxed. Sound like a version of Anna Thomas' Pasta and Cheese with squash & chestnuts added. Nice nutty flavors and a bit of sweetness from the veggies. MMM. Good potluck dish.
Great idea to roast the squash! I roasted some shallots too. Ditched the chestnuts (couldn't find them) and since my DH will not eat mushrooms I chopped them in the FP for a second and then spread them around. Mmm this was De-Lish! Oh and I made my own lemon scented pasta. Ta DA! Freezes well.
1) Needed more bechamel and amped up that flavor with more fresh nutmeg.
2) Definitely taste and season your vegetable filling before layering.
3) I oven roasted the butternut instead for deeper flavor.
4) I added frozen or blanched spinach, (squeezed dry,) for color, to make it a little less rich, and for a nutritional boost. Worth it!
5) I also feel the leftovers were better than fresh! I'd do it a day ahead in the future.
6) Also, I'd personally opt for bigger dollops (more) of the chestnut puree and I'd be more generous with the blue cheese next time.
Definitely need more béchamel, I had to double it...
Also I did not put any salt and it could have use just a little of it in the vegetable mixture.
But apart from that it was an amazing dish, even better the next day!
Correction: the cheese was a comte from the Juras.
This wasn't bland at all when I made it. Upgraded the mushrooms to cepes and substituted another cheese from the vosges for the fontina and it was absolutely fantastic. I would, however, make a little more bechamel sauce than the recipe demands. Thank you!
i see what danna is saying about bland
but as with real lasagna i find too that it is also better left over
time makes the flavors blend
anyone know how long this is good in the freezer? and how best to store it in there?
I made it without the chesnuts and I thought it was rather bland and disappointing. Not sure chesnuts would have made the difference.
Must admit, I finished the leftovers last night..that is 5 days after making it, and it was better. The make in advance comment in the intro is apparently correct.
what about this without the chestnuts?
I absolutely love this recipe. It is one of those one-dish solutions I often give when people ask me what they should make for a dinner party. It is filling, vegetarian (so you don't have to worry), easy but sophisticated, and rich so it is a bit of an extravagance. Love it.