Pesto Mushroom Bolognese Lasagna

A twist on this slow-cooked Italian-style favorite. This mushroom bolognese style sauce is laced between sheets of lasagna, creamy pesto ricotta, and topped with gooey cheese.

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You'll love this recipe because it's

• creamy
• vegetarian
• filled with meaty mushrooms
• cheesy
• made with a rich sauce

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Mushroom bolognese

I know, bolognese is technically a meat sauce, but it all started with these beautiful fresh mushrooms that I scored at my local farmers market! I'm calling it bolognese because I am making it similar to the classic version, just with mushrooms.

Did you know?

You should refrigerate mushrooms, unwashed, in a brown paper bag? They cook best when dry, so when you are ready to use them, gently wipe away the dirt with a damp paper towel instead of submerging them in water.

How to cook mushrooms

Even though these mushrooms will be slow cooked in sauce, we want to make sure we bring out the flavors and avoid gummy textured shrooms.

To ensure the mushrooms are crisp, we'll begin by heating a 5 qt. dutch oven over medium-high heat and oil with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I like this dutch oven.

Sear the first side of the mushroom for about two minutes. Try not to move them around. Just leave them to brown. Once the initial side is golden brown and some of the liquid has released, toss and sear the other sides--about 1 - 2 more minutes more.

Making the sauce

Next, add an additional tablespoon of oil if needed. Lower the heat to medium-low, add the grated carrots, diced fennel bulb, and stalks (if using).

If you can find whole fennel with the stalks and fronds, use some of the fronds in the pesto, and finely chop the stalks to cook with the carrots and fennel bulb. The stalks cook down similarly to celery, and it's a great way to use all up the whole vegetable.

Season with dried herbs, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Saute until translucent and tender-- approx. 10-15 mins. Then add garlic. Cook the vegetables tossing frequently for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Once the mushrooms have finished browning and have reduced in size by half, the vegetables have softened, and the garlic is fragrant, deglaze the pan with white wine. Scraping the bottom. I prefer to use a sauvignon blanc for cooking, but any dry white wine will do.

Then, add the tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, and milk. Stirring to combine. Simmer the sauce over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes. The sauce should just barely bubble. Stirring occasionally while scraping the bottom of the pot.

The consistency of Bolognese is on the thicker side, so when the sauce is done, a little more than half of the liquid should be evaporated.

The longer you cook the sauce, the more flavorful it becomes. You can simmer this sauce for up to three hours, covered, over low heat. Stir the sauce occasionally adding ½ cup of water whenever necessary to keep it from drying out.

This sauce is thicker and creamier than regular tomato sauce. While most of the liquid should be evaporated, we still need some liquid to help cook the lasagna noodles, so If the sauce seems dry or overly thick, mix with a bit of water.

Creamy pesto ricotta

A basic pesto recipe goes as follows:

• 2 cups base of choice
• 2 tablespoons nuts or seeds
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ cup hard cheese
• ½ cup good quality olive oil

Want more pesto ideas? try these.

For this recipe, I used a mix of baby kale, spinach, swiss chard, arugula, parsley, and fennel fronds since I wanted to use the salad blend in my lasagna.

It's really easy, just add all ingredients, except for the olive oil, into a food processor. Pulse the mixture while slowly adding olive oil (you may not use all of it).

The greens should be finely chopped, and the consistency of the pesto should be thick but not paste-like. Once the pesto is finished, mix it with the ricotta cheese and set it aside.

Lasagna noodles

Instead of boiling them, I prefer soaking my lasagna noodles in hot water, until they are pliable because it helps prevent the pasta noodles from over-cooking and becoming mushy.

If I'm not ready to use the lasagna, immediately, I separate them on a baking sheet and cover with a wet kitchen towel. However, you can use no-boil noodles if you'd like.

Preparing the lasagna

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter or olive oil, then spread ¼ of the sauce onto the bottom of the pan.

To make the lasagna, alternate layers of lasagna sheets, pesto ricotta cheese, bolognese sauce, shredded cheeses, and any leftover salad greens.

After, top the finished lasagna with remaining bolognese sauce and remaining shredded cheese. Top the pesto mushroom bolognese lasagna with torn pieces of mozzarella and grated parmesan or asiago.

Cooking this pesto mushroom bolognese lasagna

Bake loosely covered with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes or until the pesto mushroom bolognese lasagna has cooked through and the top is bubbly.

Finally, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes until the lasagna is golden brown. Additionally, you can hit it with the broiler to help brown the top.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving and garnish with any leftover chopped herbs.

Find the full recipe card below

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