Recipe: $15.59 | Per Serving: $1.30 | Yield: 12(ish)

IT IS FALL. Officially. As of, um, 4 weeks ago actually. Last year I made the wise choice to celebrate fall by experimenting with pumpkin as a sauce for pasta and pizza, and it was super awesome. So this time around I’m upgrading to Pumpkin Sauce Lasagna. It’s cheesy, veggie-packed lasagna with just enough meat and vegetables to be a whole meal. 

You’re welcome to pair it with a delicious Arugula Salad, or maybe some No-Knead Bread, or maybe even roasted broccoli. But it’s got vegetables✔, meat✔, dairy✔, and whole grains✔, so it’s perfectly capable of being its own full meal.

I have made this a few times, and it was going to be my little nod to fall this year, but then I didn’t post it…and didn’t post it…and didn’t post it. Mostly because it’s expensive, and also because I just didn’t get around to it. Now we’re on our way to winter, and I’m finally starting to post my fall recipes. There’s always next year, right?

So let’s talk a little more about this dish. I cut that pan of lasagna into 12 pieces, we ate most of them throughout the week, and froze 4-5 servings for later. That might not make 12 servings for everyone, and this recipe is definitely on the more expensive side for this blog (cheese and noodles and meat and pumpkin puree), but I do have some tips for cutting back on the price.

Frugal Tips for Making Pumpkin Sauce Lasagna:

• Make your own pumpkin/squash puree. A 3-pound butternut squash will yield close to 4 cups of puree, and if bought in season, it will probably cost you about $2 – $2.50. The resulting puree will be very close to the canned stuff, since most canned pumpkin puree is a combination of sweet winter squashes. If using butternut, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast on 400ºF for about 45 minutes, or until totally tender. (Or see Homemade Pumpkin Puree by The Pioneer Woman.)
• Skip the meat. I buy grass-fed beef at about $5 a pound most of the time, so 8 ounces is a hefty $2.50 for this recipe. Skip it or go for the conventional meat option instead. Buy the best quality you can realistically afford and be fine with that. :)
• Use farmer’s market spinach! Most farmer’s market produce is actually a little pricey, but I’ve noticed that leafy greens, including kale, chard, and spinach (and seasonal herbs!!) tend to be half of the cost of what you’d find in the store simply due to volume. I keep frozen spinach on hand as an emergency vegetable, but I don’t usually wait for it to be on sale, and this recipe reflects the regular store price I paid.
• Use store-brand shredded mozzarella. This recipe is priced at $2 for the sliceable stuff. I usually wait for it to go on sale for $2 per 8 ounces, but that is not super frequent. I’ve noticed that 12 ounces of shredded mozzarella is usually cheaper than the fresh stuff. And if that’s what you can afford, then go for it!

This dish is definitely a winner, no matter what your feelings are about pumpkin and/or lasagna. I’m not a super huge fan of OMG EVERYTHING PUMPKIN, because I am not really obsessed, but this dish is obsession-worthy. It’s make it for a dinner party worthy. In fact, I would like to invite all my friends over for the sole purpose of making and sharing and eating this delicious Pumpkin Sauce Lasagna. Let’s do it! You’re all invited.

Real Food Pumpkin Recipes

Looking for other pumpkin recipes? Never fear – I feel deeply in love with pumpkin (and pumpkin spice) and have plenty of healthy, real food pumpkin recipes to hook you up!

• Creamy Pumpkin Pizza Sauce Recipe
• Apple-Bacon Pizza with Pumpkin Sauce
• Blender Pumpkin Spice Muffins
• Easy Pumpkin Chili (with Turkey or Beef)

Paleo: This has three dairy ingredients, as well as whole wheat pasta. I’d say make the pumpkin sauce with a dairy-free Paleo milk, and then use it in another way. Sorry!
Vegetarian: You can easily skip the meat in this dish. I’d sauté the spinach with the sage, oregano, and basil and then just follow the recipe as written.

Pumpkin Sauce Lasagna

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• Author: Caitlin
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Yield: 12 1x

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Ingredients

• For the Pumpkin Sauce:
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
• 2 cans pumpkin puree (about 4 cups)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice (optional)
• For the Lasagna:
• 1 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
• 1/2 pound ground meat
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups thawed or cooked spinach
• 12–16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced or shredded

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Instructions

1. Make the Pumpkin Sauce: Warm the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, milk, salt, oregano, and basil and cook over low heat for a few minutes to marry the flavors, but do not let the milk simmer. Taste and add vinegar or lemon juice at the end to brighten the flavor. Set aside.
2. For the Lasagna:
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and (optional–add lots of salt to the water for more flavorful noodles) boil the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain and lay flat while you prepare the beef and sauce. (If they’re curled as they cool, they will be difficult to flatten and layer, but not impossible.)
4. Brown the beef in a large pan with the sage, oregano, basil and salt. Combine with the spinach and ricotta cheese.
5. Assemble the Lasagna:
6. Spread a little pumpkin sauce on the bottom of a 9×13-inch glass casserole dish or cake pan. // Add lasagna noodles to fill your dish. (I did 4 layers of 3 noodles each layer. You can cut the noodles to suit your pan/dish size.) // Add 1/3 of the spinach-ricotta-meat mixture. // Top with more pumpkin sauce.
7. Add another layer of lasagna noodles // ricotta mixture // and pumpkin sauce. In this middle layer, if you have enough mozzarella, I would add about 1/3 of the mozzarella to bring some gooey cheesiness to the center of the lasagna. Continue layering until you run out of ingredients and/or space.
8. Cover and bake on 425ºF for 30 minutes. Remove cover/foil and bake 5 more minutes to brown the top of the cheese. Let cool at least 10 minutes and serve!
9. Optional: Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese or fresh oregano.

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