Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna (Vegetarian)
Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna is one of those recipes that reminds me why I fell in love with cooking in the first place. It takes a little time, yes, but you’re eating summer in every bite as this uses the cornucopia of summer veg. Smoky eggplant, tender zucchini and yellow squash, sweet peppers, and just enough cheese layered over fresh pasta to make it all feel a little indulgent. While I love a good traditional lasagna with a meat ragu, it’s awesome to let summer veg shine in a vegetarian one like this.
Letting Summer Veggies Shine
This is exactly the kind of dish that starts for me in the garden or at the local farmer’s market. In the summer, stalls overflow with purple eggplants, green zucchini, and those red peppers just begging to be roasted. When picking out the best veggies, chose the heaviest eggplants with shiny skin. Same with the zucchini, yellow squash, and peppers. You’re looking for shiny skins and bright colors with plenty of weight.
You can absolutely swap in your favorite veggies – mushrooms, extra peppers, even a little roasted fennel – but I don’t recommend skipping the roasted red peppers. Their sweetness pulls everything together and gives the sauce this gorgeous depth that canned tomatoes alone can’t quite match.
I admit there’s always a moment when all the prepped vegetables are spread across the counter, I think… “There’s no way this is all fitting into one pan.” But once we get them onto the grill they reduce by more than half. And you’re left with soft, smoky, deeply flavored bites that tuck beautifully between the pasta layers.
This isn’t a “throw together in 20 minutes” lasagna, and honestly, that’s part of its charm. I like to break it up the tasks. Grilling the vegetables in the morning and chopping them later. Then making the pasta and assembling in the afternoon. Spacing it out, turns what could feel like an all-day project into a series of easy, satisfying little kitchen rituals.
Oh, and if it happens to be fall, instead of summer? Swap out the recipe for this Vegetarian Lasagna with Barley Red Sauce Layer and Butternut Béchamel Sauce.
Fresh Pasta vs. Store-Bought
Now, let’s talk pasta. On slower days, I’ll make fresh sheets using a simple egg pasta dough and lots of freshly ground black pepper. My favorite pasta recipe is this one by Fabio Viviani. Rolling it out into silky, tender sheets and layering them still feels a little magical every time. But if life is busy (and when isn’t it?), good-quality dried or fresh lasagna noodles work beautifully.
If you’re going to use dried pasta, the trick is to cook to al dente. I also like to add just a bit of extra liquid to the veggie mix because dried pasta absorbs more liquid. And I don’t know about you but I don’t like dry lasagna. Fresh pasta gives you that extra “restaurant at home” feeling, but this lasagna has enough personality that it still shines with boxed pasta.
Cheese Choices Really Matter When Making Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna
This isn’t a light-on-the-cheese kind of situation, and it shouldn’t be. I use whole-milk ricotta, pecorino romano, plenty of mozzarella, and a finishing sprinkle of goat cheese for this Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna. The goat cheese is what makes people pause mid-bite and say, “What is that?” it adds a gentle tang that cuts through the richness of the roasted vegetables and creamy ricotta.
If you need to tweak it, you can use part-skim ricotta or even cottage cheese in the filling, and swap pecorino for Parmesan or another hard cheese. Just promise to keep the mozzarella and goat cheese if you can… they’re doing important work here.
Baking, Resting, and Serving
Because this is a vegetable-heavy lasagna, it’s important to give it time to bake and then rest. Resting for 20-30 minutes allows all the juices and cheeses to transform to sliceable. Plus, the flavors start to mingle. Like most lasagna, this one is even better the next day, when the flavors have had time to settle in. If you’re planning ahead, it’s a great candidate for making the day before. It’s easy to reheat, simply by popping back into the oven until it’s hot and bubbly.
A Few Tools and Ingredients That Help You Make Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna
These are the kinds of pieces that make the whole process smoother and more fun:
- A large cast-iron grill pan or outdoor grill for getting those deep char marks and smoky flavor on the veggies.
- A mandoline or my favorite 8″ Shun chef’s knife to keep all your veggie slices an even ½ inch so they cook at the same rate.
- A big, heavy 9×13 baking dish that can handle bubbling cheese and a generous number of layers without overflowing (I loved colored ones cause they make the lasagna look so good).
If you want to nudge the flavor even further, look for:
- A good-quality whole-milk ricotta and fresh mozzarella for better melt and flavor.
- A sharp, salty pecorino romano or Parmigiano Reggiano for grating over the top.
- Jarred roasted red peppers in olive oil as a backup when fresh peppers aren’t in season—they still bring beautiful sweetness and body to the sauce.
Now it’s your turn: fire up the grill, pour a glass of something you love, and let your kitchen smell like roasted vegetables and bubbling cheese. When you make this Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna, come back and tell me – did you stick with the classic mix, or did you play around with the vegetables and cheeses? Share your twists and what you served it with in the comments so we can all steal a few delicious ideas.
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Grilled Summer Vegetable Lasagna
Ingredients
- Fresh Pasta Sheets
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes adjust for your tastes
- 3 large eggplant sliced 1/2″ thick
- 3 medium zucchini about 8″ long, sliced 1/2″ thick
- 3 medium yellow squash sliced 1/2″ thick
- 5 red bell peppers or 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut up
- 28 oz. canned diced tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- 1 large bunch fresh spinach washed and shredded
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- 16 oz. whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pecorino romano
- 20 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese shredded
- 3 oz. goat cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Olive oil for sautéing onions and enough to brush on veggies for grilling
Instructions
Grilling the Vegetables
- Preheat your grill to medium-high.
- Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash into ½-inch thick slices. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill the vegetables in batches, 4–5 minutes per side, until tender and marked with char lines. Transfer to a tray to cool.
- Grill the red bell peppers whole, without oil, turning occasionally until the skins are blackened and blistered on all sides.
- Place the hot peppers in a bowl and cover, or pop them into a plastic bag, and let them steam for about 30 minutes to loosen the skins.
- Peel off the charred skins, remove stems and seeds, then roughly chop the peppers.
- Once all the vegetables are cool enough to handle, chop the grilled eggplant, zucchini, and squash into ¼–½ inch pieces and set aside.
Preparing the Pasta
- If using dried or fresh ready-made lasagna sheets, cook according to package directions until just al dente. Drain and lay flat on a lightly oiled sheet pan to prevent sticking.
- If using homemade pasta, prepare the dough and let it rest in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a damp cloth. Roll out each sheet just before layering so it doesn’t dry out.
Making the Veggie Filling
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion and cook 4–5 minutes, until softened and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Purée half of the canned diced tomatoes (with their juices), then add both the puréed and remaining diced tomatoes to the pan along with ½ cup water.
- Simmer for about 3 minutes to let the flavors come together.
- Stir in all the chopped grilled vegetables and the fresh spinach. Cook just until the spinach wilts and everything is well combined.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Making the Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, pecorino romano, eggs, chopped fresh basil, ½ teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Stir until smooth and evenly combined. Set aside.
Assembling the Lasagna
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly oil a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish.
- Spoon about 1 cup of the veggie filling into the bottom of the dish and spread into an even layer.
- Add a layer of pasta sheets to cover the sauce.
- Spread half of the cheese mixture over the pasta. Sprinkle with one-third of the shredded mozzarella. Top with one-third of the veggie filling.
- Add another layer of pasta. Spread the remaining cheese mixture over the pasta, then add another third of the mozzarella and another third of the veggie filling.
- Finish with a final layer of pasta and the remaining veggie filling. Top with the last of the mozzarella and crumble the goat cheese evenly over the surface.
- Cover the dish loosely with lightly oiled foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is nicely browned on top.
- If you like an extra-golden top, switch the oven to broil for 1–2 minutes, watching closely so it doesn’t burn.
- Let the lasagna rest for at least 20–30 minutes before cutting and serving so the layers can set and the juices reabsorb.