A New Fall Favorite: Squash Lasagna

I've really enjoyed fall this year. The weather still hasn't been too cold, the foliage was just as beautiful as expected, I've had a bit of time to experiment with seasonal ingredients and as you can see from the top photo, it's the season of spectacular sunsets from my office window (see Jon, I told you that's where the sun sets!).

Over the last few weeks, I've been cooking a lot with pumpkins and squash and while it may look like that's all we're eating over here right now, I promise, it's not as bad as it seems. Since I still have been quite busy, I've made a few new recipes each week with a few old favorites, but I've only been documenting the new-to-the-blog recipes.

I got the idea for squash lasagna when browsing one of my new favorite food blogs, Proud Italian Cook, who also gave me the idea for the squash pastina. There are so many recipes online nowadays, that I often get an idea for something, then search various recipes for ideas and take things from various recipes, then add my own ideas too. That's basically what happened here.

I made a basic Bechamel sauce, but infused it with the roasted garlic like Proud Italian. I also used a mix of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. I incorporated sage in mine as well, and of course some meat.

Squash Lasagna
1 butternut squash, slice in half and seeded
olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4c butter
1/4c flour
3 1/2c whole milk
pinch of nutmeg
2 heads roasted garlic**
1 bunch fresh sage leaves
4 links mild sausage
2 1/2c shredded mozzarella
1/3c grated Parmesan
no-boil lasagna noodles

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle the squash with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook until tender (but not mushy), about 25 minutes. Let cool, then slice into thin pieces. Keep the oven on, but reduce to 375 degrees F.

**Make the roasted garlic in advance to save a lot of time. You can also use fresh garlic, but it's always nice to have roasted garlic around. Basically just cut the very top of the head of garlic off, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put it in a dish with some maybe 1/4 inch of water, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees F.


To make the Bechamel, add the butter to a skillet over medium heat. Once it has melted, whisk in the flour until mixed, then stir in the milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened, whisking often. Stir in the nutmeg and squeeze in the roasted garlic (holding onto the skin). Stir until well-mixed.

Slice up the sausage and cook in a skillet until cooked through. Set aside.

In a casserole or baking dish, pour in some of the sauce. Arrange the noodles on top, then the pieces of squash. Tear a sage leave into bits, then top with a layer of mozzarella cheese and one layer of sausage (should use up all sausage).


Repeat layers with the sauce, noodles, squash, sage and cheese, ending with the sauce. Then top with more mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Cover the dish with foil and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, top with a bit more torn sage and cook uncovered until the cheese is bubbling, another 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.



Results: Another great dish with squash and such a fun change from red sauce lasagna. All the versions I saw of this are vegetarian, but I decided to add the sausage in. Dave was still searching for pieces with more sausage so I'm glad I put it in and it surprisingly worked with the other flavors. Could also use prosciutto as well. Will definitely be on the fall rotation in years to come.