Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagne

Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagne

This is one of those recipes we come back to every single autumn without fail. There's something about roasted butternut squash and crispy sage together that just feels like a proper hug on a plate. Layered up into a lasagne with a creamy sauce, it's rich, sweet, savoury, and genuinely impressive without being fussy. We love making this one for a dinner party because it looks like you've really gone for it, and honestly, people absolutely lose their minds over it. Trust us, once you've made this you'll be looking for any excuse to make it again.

Cook: 85 min
Serves 6

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 180°C fan
  • Large baking tray
  • Lasagne dish
  • Blender
  • Large frying pan
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Slotted spoon
  • Tin foil

Ingredients

  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 300ml unsweetened plant-based milk
  • Salt & pepper
  • olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 2 x 400g can tinned lentils
  • 250g sundried tomatoes
  • 20g sage leaves
  • 300g lasagne sheets
  • vegetable oil
  • 50g plant-based butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 500ml soy milk
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Salt & pepper
  • 6 sage leaves
  • vegetable oil
  • flaky sea salt

Method

1

For the squash marinara

  • For the squash, peel and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop the seeds out of each half, and cut into even sized chunks and transfer to a baking tray, along with the garlic cloves. Rub 2 tbsp olive oil into the squash and season with a generous pinch of salt. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until it is soft and tender
  • Remove from the oven and once cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic from the cloves
  • Place the cooked squash and garlic in a blender with the soy milk and blend until smooth. You may need to add more soy milk so you have a creamy texture and pourable consistency.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference
2

For the filling and butternut squash layer

  • While the squash is baking, make the filling
  • Peel and finely dice the onion
  • Drain and rinse the lentils
  • Roughly chop the sundried tomatoes and sage
  • Heat 2 tbsp veg oil in a large frying over medium heat. Add the onion and a big pinch of salt, saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes
  • In a large bowl, add the lentils, sun dried tomatoes, sage, cooked onions, and squash marinara and stir to combine all the ingredients
  • Whilst the onions are cooking, prep the butternut squash. First, peel and deseed it, then thinly slice the squash so that it mimics lasagne sheets
3

For the bechamel

  • In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the flour and cook for a minute or two. In a continuous stream, pour in the milk, constantly whisking. Cook until thickened slightly. Stir through the bay leaves, then grate in the nutmeg.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper
4

Assemble and bake 

  • Reduce the oven temperature to 180*C fan
  • In a lasagne dish, add ⅓  lentil mix, top with the lasagna sheets, then a layer of the squash slices and spread with a layer of the bechamel  Repeat with two more layers of sauce, lasagne sheets and filling. Finish with a layer of lasagne sheets and the bechamel sauce. Cover the lasagne dish with tin foil
  • Transfer to the oven and bake for 35 minutes, until the lasagne sheets are soft and the butternut squash is cooked
5

Whilst the lasagne is cooking

  • For the crispy sage, coat a small pan with a 1cm layer of vegetable oil. Heat until the oil is shimmering then carefully lower in the sage leaves. Fry for about 30 seconds until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle immediately with flakey sea salt
  • Top the lasagne with crispy sage leaves and serve!

Tips & Variations

  • Get ahead: You can roast the squash the day before and keep it in the fridge. It actually makes the whole build feel much more manageable on the day.
  • Sage swap: If you can't get fresh sage, a small pinch of dried works in a pinch, but fresh really does make a difference here so it's worth hunting it out.
  • Make it saucier: We find this works really well with an extra ladleful of sauce between layers if you like your lasagne on the wetter side. No shame in that at all.

Why This Works

The trick here is roasting the squash with whole garlic cloves so both get soft and caramelised together, then blending them into the sauce. That roasted garlic is the secret weapon, it adds this deep, mellow sweetness that you can't get any other way. The sage crisped up in a little olive oil takes it somewhere really special, don't skip that step.