Winter Best Food

Butternut Squash Lasagna

A creamy, cheesy lasagna perfect for the cooler months.

Ingredients

• 8 cups chopped butternut squash (about 3 lbs.)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup butter, plus more for greasing
• 2 (15-oz.) containers whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 4 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 (15-oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
• 1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh sage, plus more leaves for garnish 
• 1 (9-oz.) pkg. no-boil lasagna noodles (such as Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagne)
• 1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)

Directions

Prepare oven:

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle position.

Season and bake squash:

Toss together squash, olive oil, and cayenne pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet; spread into an even layer. Bake until tender, about 35 minutes.

Brown butter:

Meanwhile, cook butter in a small saucepan over medium until butter browns and has a nutty aroma, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Make ricotta mixture:

Process ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, and salt in a food processor until well combined, about 45 seconds. Transfer cheese mixture to a medium bowl, and stir in spinach and chopped sage; set aside. Clean food processor bowl.

Make squash-brown butter mixture:

Add cooked squash to the clean food processor bowl. Process until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape sides halfway through. Add brown butter to squash, and pulse until combined, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.

Layer lasagna:

Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with butter. Spread 3/4 cup of the squash puree in bottom of prepared dish. Arrange 3 noodles on top. Spread 1 3/4 cups of the ricotta mixture over noodles, top with 3/4 cup of the squash puree, and sprinkle with 1 1/3 cups of the mozzarella. Repeat the layering process twice, beginning with noodles and ending with mozzarella. Cover lasagna with lightly greased aluminum foil.