The autumn air cooling down our days often means we are starting to crave our comfort foods. The warmth of the oven on a cool fall evening is a welcomed treat to help take the chill out before we actually turn on the heat in the house! One way to capture that comfort food feeling while keeping things on the lighter side is with a vegetarian casserole like Release’s Nourish Café Classic Mushroom Lasagna. It captures all the flavors of a traditional meat based sauce, but uses mushrooms to keep it healthy. This recipe also freezes well, so you could prepare two casseroles in 9 x 9 dishes to freeze one for later. Just let it cool, then cover with plastic wrap and/or foil and freeze.

Classic Mushroom Lasagna

Makes 12 servings

1-½ lbs. sliced crimini, white or mixed mushrooms

¾ cup chopped onion

2 T. olive oil

2 lbs. peeled tomatoes (about 10 – 12); or try Release’s Oven Blistered Tomatoes recipe, found here!

1 12 oz. can tomato paste

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon oregano

 

½ package no boil lasagna noodles

1-pound good ricotta cheese

1 package frozen chopped spinach, squeezed of moisture

¾ lb. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (get it at the deli)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Romano works too!)

 

In a large heavy pan, lightly sauté mushrooms and onion in oil. Add the rest of the ingredients, tomatoes through oregano; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Combine ricotta and spinach.

In 13x9x2 baking pan spread about 1 cup sauce. Then alternate layers of lasagna, sauce, Ricotta-Spinach mixture, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, ending with sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned and bubbling. Allow to stand for 15 minutes; cut into squares and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 320
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 12 g	19 %
Saturated Fat 6 g	30 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 24 mg	8 %
Sodium 581 mg	24 %
Potassium 864 mg	25 %
Total Carbohydrate 37 g	12 %
Dietary Fiber 7 g	29 %
Sugars 4 g
Protein 20 g	41 %
Vitamin A	119 %
Vitamin C	21 %
Calcium	44 %
Iron	19 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.