This post is written in partnership with Cans Get You Cooking. 

It’s officially the holiday season, which has me thinking about all of the memories I have from years past and special comfort foods that I always look forward to eating during this time of year. One of my favorite holiday comfort foods is my mom’s lasagna. 

We have enjoyed mom’s lasagna on Christmas day for as long as I can remember, so this year I partnered with Cans Get You Cooking to share a flavorful, nutritious and cozy version of my mom’s lasagna that uses canned ingredients like diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and pumpkin. 

The Benefits of Cans

Incorporating canned foods into special holiday meals and any comfort food is a great way to take stress out of the prep, since they eliminate the need for chopping, peeling or preparing ahead of time. In addition to their convenience, canned ingredients are also an affordable choice, and their long shelf life helps avoid any food – or food dollars – going to waste. You also don’t throw away the packaging, because metal cans are endlessly recyclable.

Canned foods also offer an easy way to enjoy more produce all year long and add more nutrition to your plate. In fact, fresh fruits and vegetables are harvested at the peak of ripeness and canned within only four hours, locking out pathogens and sealing in their nutrition and flavor. Kids and adults who used six or more canned foods per week are more likely to have diets higher in 17 essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium and fiber.

Pumpkin and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Nutrition

• Canned tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, an antioxidant that is linked with heart health and many other benefits.
• Canned pumpkin is filled with vitamin A, fiber, potassium, as well as other nutrients.
• Eggplant and zucchini give this lasagna an extra veggie boost without sacrificing flavor.
• You can easily substitute gluten-free lasagna noodles for the traditional lasagna noodles if you are in need of a gluten-free option. 

Pumpkin and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Tips

• I use the kind of noodles that you boil prior to layering in the lasagna. I cook the noodles for about 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time so that the noodles can soak up the sauce of the lasagna making it less soupy. I have used multiple brands of noodles and this trick works with all of them, including gluten-free!
• With the help of canned ingredients, this is a great prep-ahead recipe — which is especially important when looking for stress-free and simple meals. You can easily assemble the entire lasagna and save the baking step for the day you want to serve it.
• It’s important to let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes after removing from the oven so that the lasagna can firm up a bit.
• For a vegetarian option, you can easily omit the ground turkey.
• The recipe calls for 10 lasagna noodles, but you will actually only use about 6-8. This allows for a couple of extra noodles just in case one breaks. 

Pumpkin and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

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• Author: Tara Deal Rochford
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

Sharing how canned foods help make comforting and nutritious recipes like this Pumpkin and Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (inspired by my mom’s recipe!) easy and flavorful.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

½ small eggplant, sliced lengthwise about ¼ inch thick

2 medium zucchinis, sliced lengthwise about ¼ inch thick

3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided

10 lasagna noodles (whole wheat and brown rice noodles both work well here)

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb ground turkey (easy to omit for a vegetarian option)

3–4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons dried oregano, divided

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

2 teaspoon salt, divided

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup canned can tomato sauce

16 oz can diced tomato 

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

16 oz mozzarella cheese

16 oz cottage cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

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Instructions

For the roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the sliced vegetables on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the dried oregano and 1 teaspoon of salt. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

For the pasta: Heat a large pot of water to boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook one minute less than package directions. Rinse with water and set aside until ready to use.

For the sauce: Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion for a few minutes until fragrant, then add the ground turkey, if using. Add the minced garlic, oregano, Italian seasoning, remaining teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Stir frequently until the turkey is cooked through. 

Next, add the canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and the pumpkin puree, and stir until combined. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. 

To assemble the lasagna: Scoop a small amount of sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Next, add half the lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with the roasted vegetables. Top the vegetables with 8 oz of mozzarella, 8 oz of cottage cheese, and a sprinkle of parmesan. Make sure to spread the cheese to the edge of the pan. Top this layer with about half of the remaining sauce in an even layer. Then add the remaining ingredients in the following order:

• Noodles
• Roasted Vegetables
• Mozzarella (8 oz)
• Cottage Cheese (8 oz)
• Parmesan
• Sauce
• More parmesan to top it off.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If prepping ahead, you could stop at this point and cover the pan before putting in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. When ready to bake, allow the lasagna to come to room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Allow to lasagna to set for about 20 minutes before serving.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: dinner
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: italian