This meal might be a little labor intensive, but it is filling, hearty, comforting, and satisfying. Also, the recipe is adapted from Cooking Light, making it a healthier version of your typical lasagna. If you give it a try, I’m sure you won’t regret it!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

• Cooking Spray
• 3 Cups Chopped Onion
• 10 Cups Chopped Collard Greens (or fresh Spinach or Kale)
• 1/2-1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 3/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Provolone
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Flat-leaf Parsley
• 1 Tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Freshly Ground Pepper
• Dash of Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 15oz cartons of part-skim ricotta
• 3 Cups Diced Peeled Butternut Squash
• Up to 6 Cups Marinara
• 12 oven-ready Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
• Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a Dutch oven heat up ~1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add collard greens (or kale or spinach). If using collards or kale add in up to 1 tbsp. maple syrup— this will cut the bitterness of the greens.

2. In a large bowl mix together ricotta, eggs, provolone, parsley, salt and pepper.

3. Place squash in a large microwave safe bowl with a splash of water. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, until squash is fork tender.

4. Coat the bottom of 1 large (or 2 small) baking dishes with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of marinara on the bottom of the pan, topped by a layer of lasagna noodles, 1 cup of cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups squash, and 3/4 cup sauce.

Layer more noodles, 1 cup of marinara, 1 cup of cheese, and 1 1/2 cups onion collards mixture. Finish with the rest of the noodles, sauce, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese on top.**

5. Cover pan with foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes (60 minutes total). 

Melty cheese. That’s comfort food.

This recipe freezes exceptionally well. I cut it into portion sizes and froze our leftovers, creating easy weeknight meals when we were tired. This is one of my new favorite uses of butternut squash!

**Note: I did not need 6 cups of marinara sauce, so use as needed. Additionally, feel free to layer as you wish, but begin with marinara and end with cheese (duh!)