Spinach Artichoke Lasagna
This healthy vegetarian lasagna includes lots of fresh spinach, jarred artichokes, and the simplest homemade tomato sauce.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on November 19, 2024
Ever tried artichoke in lasagna? If not, you’ve been missing out. This vegetarian recipe is freshly flavored, hearty and cheesy, but not too heavy. It’s a marvelous option for date night at home or a special Sunday dinner.
This spinach and artichoke lasagna recipe has been one of my personal favorites for nearly a decade, and it has raving reviews. Today, I’m sharing it again with new photos and a step-by-step video. You’ll also find plenty of serving suggestions below to round out your meal.
I originally created this recipe for our friend Scott. He came to the blog looking for a lasagna recipe to cook for his wife, Sara, and I had nothing to offer! This recipe formed the backbone for my Best Vegetable Lasagna and Vegan Lasagna, so if you have enjoyed those, you’ll certainly love this one.
This recipe taught me the beauty of no-boil lasagna noodles, which are so much easier and quicker to work with. It also features a simple, no-cook, diced tomato sauce with basil and garlic that tastes so fresh. Try it, and you’ll see!
Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Notes & Tips
You’ll find the full recipe below. Here are a few tips and options to be aware of before you get started.
- This recipe is designed for no-boil lasagna noodles, which saves a few steps and makes for easier layering.
- I used cottage cheese in this recipe instead of the classic ricotta. It’s a little trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen (they are full of tricks!). Cottage cheese has a better flavor and texture than ricotta when it comes to lasagna. I am not a fan of cottage cheese on its own, but it’s perfect in this recipe!
- If you are in a pinch for time, you could substitute store-bought sauce for the homemade sauce below.
- You could also get by with frozen spinach instead of fresh, but the fresh spinach flavor really plays nicely with the fresh-tasting tomato sauce.
- If you don’t love artichokes or can’t find any, you can skip them altogether for a classic spinach lasagna recipe.
- The recipe below makes heavy use of a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can use a blender.
- If you don’t have a food processor or blender, buy crushed tomatoes instead of diced, skip the blended cottage cheese step and chop the spinach mixture after it’s done cooking.
Watch How to Make Spinach Artichoke Lasagna
Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Serving Suggestions
While this lasagna already offers a serving of hearty greens, it’s great with a side salad. The most simple side salad options include this Lemony Kale Salad or Super Simple Arugula Salad. Or, improvise your own with my Italian Dressing or Lemon Vinaigrette.
Other side dish options include green beans—try these Best Ever Green Beans, Perfect Roasted Green Beans, or Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds and Feta (I think the Mediterranean flavors would complement the spinach and artichoke).
For date night at home, you could end the meal with a special dessert. I love Betty’s Pots de Crème for the small portion and rich flavor. Foolproof Basque Cheesecake tastes amazing, and it’s best made in advance. For just two people, try these chocolatey Mini Lava Cakes for Two!
More Hearty Italian Recipes to Try
Here’s a short collection of cheesy baked Italian dishes. Browse more Italian recipes here.
- Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
- Best Vegetable Lasagna
- Lentil Baked Ziti
- Spinach Stuffed Shells
- Italian Eggplant Parmesan
Please let me know how your lasagna turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Spinach Artichoke Lasagna
This healthy vegetarian lasagna includes lots of fresh spinach, jarred artichokes and the simplest homemade tomato sauce. This lasagna tastes even better the next day! Recipe yields one 9-inch square lasagna, which is enough for 8 to 9 servings.
Ingredients
Tomato sauce (or substitute 2 cups prepared marinara sauce)
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Spinach artichoke mixture
- 2 cups (16 ounces) low fat cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 smallish red onion)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 cup jarred or defrosted frozen artichokes, drained, quartered if necessary
- 12 ounces baby spinach, preferably organic
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Remaining lasagna ingredients
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cups (5 ounces) shredded fontina cheese or low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella
- Garnish: sprinkling of additional chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. To prepare the tomato sauce, first pour the tomatoes into a mesh sieve or fine colander and let them drain off excess juice for a minute. Transfer drained tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor. Add the basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper flakes. Pulse the mixture about 10 times, until the tomatoes have broken down to an easily spreadable consistency. Pour the mixture into a bowl for later (you should have about 2 cups sauce).
- Rinse out the food processor and return it to the machine. Pour half of the cottage cheese (1 cup) into the processor and blend it until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to large mixing bowl. No need to rinse out the bowl of the food processor this time; just put it back onto the machine because you’ll need it later.
- Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped onion and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the artichoke to the skillet, then add a few large handfuls of spinach. Cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until the spinach has wilted. Repeat with remaining spinach. Continue cooking for about 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the spinach has dramatically reduced in volume and very little moisture remains in the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the spinach artichoke mixture to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until the contents are finely chopped (but not puréed!), about 12 to 15 times. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of whipped cottage cheese. Top with remaining cottage cheese and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now it’s lasagna assembly time!
- Spread ½ cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch square baker. Layer three lasagna noodles on top, overlapping their edges as necessary. Spread half of the spinach mixture evenly over the noodles. Top with ½ cup tomato sauce, then sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top.
- Top with three more noodles, followed by the remaining spinach mixture. Sprinkle ½ cup shredded cheese on top. (We’re skipping the tomato sauce in this layer.) Top with three more noodles, then spread the remaining tomato sauce over the top so the noodles are evenly covered. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Wrap the lasagna with a layer of parchment paper over the top (or cover tightly with aluminum foil, but don’t let the foil touch the cheese). Bake, covered, for 18 minutes, then remove the cover, rotate the pan by 180 degrees and continue cooking for about 12 more minutes, until the top is turning spotty brown. Remove from oven and let the lasagna cool for 15 minutes before sprinkling with chopped basil and slicing.
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from several lasagnas in The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, with reference to Serious Eats and Gimme Some Oven.
Make it gluten free: Substitute gluten-free no-bake lasagna noodles, such as Jovial brand.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Another winner, Kate! This is soo tasty and comforting. I could it eat it for weeks. I didn’t have any artichokes, so I used mushrooms instead. My boyfriend, who hates mushrooms, couldn’t even tell and kept raving about how delicious the lasagna was (hehe, I win). It really does set up nicely…if you have the patience to wait. ;)
I LOVE this lasagna. Did I say LOVE? Even my 8 yrs old grandson asked for seconds!!
I will make this my go to recipe
Teri
It’s so great to hear this, Teri. Thank you :)
I know I can count on all your recipies to be amazing! This one is no exception. My husband who doesn’t like onions somehow eats this all. You’re doing gods work!
I made this yesterday. It’s absolutely delicious. The only problem was that the noodles did not cook all the way and were a bit tough. I cooked it even a little longer than you said to to get a little golden on top and it still could have used more. Maybe I’ll try knocking the heat down to 400 and leaving it in longer…because I definitely want to make it again!!
Wonderful! I hope the noodles turn out just right next time.
Hi Tresca! Are you sure you used no-cook noodles? I haven’t heard from others with that problem, so I thought I’d ask!
Totally loved this! I ended making it with half ricotta and and cottage cheese, and added the egg in as well.
We ate it and loved it for days!
Yum! So happy you enjoyed it, Sarah.
Made it with added mushrooms & olives as I didn’t have artichokes … Used feta too because I didn’t have cottage cheese…Anyway it turned out perfectly thanks
PS my noodles were a bit tough too but I altered the recipe so much with the different cheese etc … I would recommend maybe making sure the tomato sauce is a certain thinness to hydrate the noodles properly …
Yum, mushrooms sound wonderful with this. So glad your version turned out well!
I made this lasagna last night and I turned to my husband and said, I think this is the best lasagna I’ve ever had. He completely agreed. I did have to cook the lasagna a lot longer (about 40-50 min), but that may have been because I had to use a different brand of no-boil lasagna noodles. So good!!
Great! I’m happy this worked out, regardless of the longer cook time. It sounds worth it, though :)
Wow this disappeared fast! I’m so glad I doubled the recipe and have another one ready to go in our freezer. YUM!
Awesome! This one is really great for weekly meal prep.
Maria, did you cook it then freeze it or freeze it before cooking? Results?
Hey Kate, I plan to make this for family visiting. Could I make it up till the baking part and pop it in the oven the next day? Thanks!
Sorry I didn’t see this until now, Erin! How did it go? I haven’t tried doing that myself, so I wouldn’t have been much help!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I had a friend come over with her daughter, who is a pickier water and she even enjoyed it! I had quite a bit of the spinach and cottage cheese mixture left and am wondering what I can do with it? Bake it and serve it with pita points? What would you suggest! Can’t wait to make this again!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Brittany! And yes, I think warming the cheese up would make for a great dip with pita chips. It could also be a great sandwich spread, too. Let me know how it goes!
Yum!!! Really delicious. BF went back for 2nds… and 3rds…
PS I was definitely apprehensive about the cottage cheese but I agree it’s way better than ricotta when baked, and I’ll never go back!
Ha! So good to hear that, Asako. Thanks!
I made this yesterday. It is so delicious! I used Ricotta cheese because that’s what I had. Next time I’ll use cottage cheese. This recipe is a keeper.
Yum! I’m so glad you loved it, Claudia.
Hi Kate and Cookie of course,
I just made the lasagna for my vegan daughter’s 23rd birthday dinner this weekend. I substituted vegan ricotta for the cottage cheese and added some peppers and mushrooms to the spinach, onion and artichokes, also, I topped with vegan mozzarella. I also plan to make the squash and sage carbonara, and I made stuffed mushrooms to start. I will let you know how it tastes! I’m also making a vegan chocolate peanut butter cup pie for dessert.
That sounds like an absolutely delicious spread, Lisa! I hope your daughter has a great birthday dinner.
I really have enjoyed reading your Cookie & Kate recipes and how you got started doing your blog. I’ve been toying with it for many years and have finally gotten my web savvy daughter to help me along. Most importantly I want to thank you for all your recipes and pictures, I’ve tried many and they inspire me to experiment more with my own ideas. Just many thanks for what you share.
debbie
Tulsa, Oklahoma girl gone to California to be near my one and only daughter.
Hi, Debbie! So nice to hear from a fellow Oklahoma girl. Congratulations on starting your own blog–I’m glad you finally took the leap! Thanks so much for the kind comment.
My husband and I made this tonight for a mini get-together and everyone loved it! We wished that we had made more. Thank you!
Wonderful! Thanks, Amanda.
Hi
I love this recipie and made it several times. Tonight i made it with spinach only but added ground walnut to it. And also mixed ricotta and light sour cream instead of cottage and it really worked.
Great! Thanks, Lida.
Kate, just wanted to say thank you so much for an on-going slew of amazing recipes. I’ve pretty much fallen into the routine of consulting your blog every Sunday to plan our weekly meals and make my grocery list. Eating mostly vegetarian now is not only healthier, but helping us stay well under-budget.
I’m deciding between your Red Thai Curry and Spinach Artichoke Lasagna to make for 9 adults over vacation at the end of August. My husband and I are hearty eaters and RTC with crispy tofu provides one dinner for the two of us and leaves enough lunch for my husband the next day (I get free lunch at the school I teach at!). SAL lasts us two nights of dinners for two. I don’t think all 9 of us will eat quite at those quantities (he and I are runners) but I am wondering about what portion size I should make. Double? Triple? Ha. And maybe if you were me, and you were cooking for a crowd that large in August, which dish would win out? (I know they are interesting choices for an August meal but they are hands-down my husband’s favorites and I let him pick).
I feel like after making this recipe about 10 times it’s time I let you know how much I love it! It’s easily my favourite vegetarian lasagna recipe. If you come up with any more veggie lasagnas I’d love to know :)
Thanks, Leigh! I’ll put that down on my recipe requests lists. :)
I’ve never made anything bad from your blog and this lasagna was no exception! It was so delicious and I’m bringing the leftovers to work for lunch tomorrow :-) Using cottage cheese instead of ricotta is new for me, but it tasted so good! I followed the recipe to T, except I used jarred sauce instead and it turned out fine, maybe a little salty like you mentioned. A+++!!!
Perfect! I hope you enjoyed your leftovers, Kelly!
Hi.
Have you ever used ribbons of zucchini liinstead of lasagne noodles? I want to make this but am experiencing wheat allergies like when i was young until age 8
Hi Kate! I have the same question as Eileen from a while back – I’m wondering if any modifications to other ingredients are needed to use zucchini ribbons in place of lasagna noodles, such as cooking down more of the liquid since there are no noodles to absorb it. Any insights? Thanks!
I’m trying this tonight (alas, with gluten-y noodles) and looking forward to the results!
I made this recipe two nights ago – I am a new vegetarian but my fiance’ is not, so I am trying to find foods that please us both.
He told me this was the best lasagna he’s had in his LIFE, and this is high praise being that he is a good cook and a restaurant owner!
The only tweaks I made to it was that I added sun dried tomatoes with a little of their own oil, pesto, and a little sriracha sauce.
We’ve had it the last two nights in a row and got rave reviews both nights. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!
My daughter loved to take the Amy’s vegetable lasagne from Costco for school lunch but they stopped carrying so I’ve been trying to find a recipe. This one is perfect! I used ricotta because I was out of cottage cheese but will try next time.
Thanks, Elisabeth!
This is my new favorite food blog. I’ve enjoyed every single thing I’ve made from here (thank you, Kate!), and this was no exception.
I’m a pretty amateur (and slow) cook, and this was pretty easy, especially since the tomato sauce doesn’t need to cook after you make it in the processor, which saves a lot of time, while still giving you that great homemade sauce taste.
I love the flavors of the spinach and artichoke and cottage cheese, too. Delicious on night 1 and for leftovers.
I left out the onion because my husband hates it (I feel like that’s pretty sacrilegious for most cooks), but it was still great.
Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Also just want to clarify re: my above comment that this is my new fav food blog AND I’m not even a vegetarian!
I made this tonight for my “carnivore” family and they loved it! My 6 year old who can always tell when the meat is missing didn’t even notice and asked for seconds! This will make the transition to more vegetarian meals much easier :)
This is one of my favorite recipes! Have you tried freezing it? How do you think it would hold up?
I’ve heard it freezes well! It will definitely require a 24-hour defrost in the refrigerator before baking. I hope to try freezing soon and make notes on it. Please report back if you try.
Any news on freezing this lasagna, Kate?
made this last week, oh so good! used thin-sliced zucchini because I didn’t have lasagne noodles. I will be making this again!!
Sounds like an extra veggie way to do it, Sandi! Happy it still worked with the adjustment :)
This is by far the BEST veggie lasagna recipe I’ve ever tried. The flavor is excellent, and I can’t wait to share it with my 13 month old for dinner! I wasn’t sure about how the artichoke would work, but it’s really great with the basil/spinach/garlic flavors. Also impressed with the cottage cheese as I’ve always used ricotta – awesome recipe! Definitely take the extra 10 minutes to make your own tomato sauce, as the fresh flavors make a huge difference as well.
Happy to hear that, Carrie! I love that you could taste the specific flavors. I appreciate the review!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I am a huge fan of artichokes and lasagna. I think next time I will add even more veggies. It’s my first time making lasagna using cottage cheese and I like it.
Thank you, Sandra!
Hi!
I’ve been referring to you blog for meal inspiration for some time now. As an amateur cook your recipes are easy to follow and flexible enough that I can change them up based on what my limited kitchen has!
With this recipe would it be possible to assemble everything beforehand and then bake it in the oven a few hours later?
Thanks!
Thank you! I am happy to hear they are approachable. That is my goal. As for your question, I think that should work. I usually cook right away, so let me know how it goes.
OMG This was FANTASTIC! Easily the best lasagna I’ve ever made. We were actually sorry when it was gone.
Made this for my meat eating family tonight it was a hit!!!!! Score one for the veggie mom!!!!!!! Used jarred artichokes and loving the no prep sauce
Hooray! That is great to hear. I am happy it was such a hit! If you wouldn’t mind leaving a star review since you liked it so much, that would be great. :)
OMG. This is crazy good. My husband said it’s his favorite lasgna. He liked it so much he asked me to make it for New Year’s Eve dinner. I made it with ricotta since I already had it.
I’m happy to hear it Winnie! Thank you for your review.
I couldn’t find no-boil whole wheat noodles, so I just used regular noodles and cooked them al dente while sauteing the veggies. I also added 1/4 cup of blotted oil soaked sun-dried tomatoes. This came out so delicious! I was able to freeze leftovers in individually wrapped slices and I’m happy to report they reheated beautifully! Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad cooking them worked well and that this froze well for you. I appreciate the review, Noelle.
Made this lasagna – I can’t fathom how this tastes exceptionally rich but bright and light at the same time. I have a new favorite lasagna recipe.
Great description! Thank you for trying it, Linda.
Have you tried to make this ahead and freeze it for later?
I don’t typically freeze all my recipes. You could try it and let me know how it works!
I have made this so many times I have lost count. DELICIOUS!
Thank you for keeping this post available, esp. since it isn’t included in the cookbook, which I might add is one of my favorites!
Teri
I love that! Thank you, Teri for sharing.
Thank you Kate for this wonderful lasagne recipe! My husband and I had 2 friends over to watch the Oscars last night and I made this. I followed the recipe step by step. It was a hit! Our guest had second helpings! We had no leftovers! Thank you!
I’m so glad you and your friends enjoyed the lasagna, David! The no leftovers is, however, unfortunate. I guess you’ll have to make another round soon! :) Thanks for the kind words!
I made this s tonight and the final product did not disappoint!!! Absolutely delish! I used ricotta, not cottage cheese and was heavy handed on the fresh basil bc well, I paid for the bunch and figured I’d rather use it all than chuck a bunch in the trash bin!!! My house smelled like heaven and my taste buds were tickled pink! Definitely a “do again” recipe!!!
Omgoodness Kate. Cookie is darling! Lol. So now I’ll go cook my husband this delicious looking lasagna.
Thank you! I will make sure to tell Cookie she has another fan. :)
I made this and it was loved by all who voraciously devoured it!
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Lilly.
Good. Can leftovers be frozen?
I don’t freeze all my recipes, but you could try! The noodles could get a little mushy when thawed.
Thanks so much for your quick reply.
This was delicious!! I love the filling. The only thing I will change for next time is using traditional lasagna noodles instead of no-bake. I like those better. Otherwise perfect for me. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Ann Marie. Thanks for the review!
I love this recipe! The intro caught my eye, “it’s even better the next day”. I’m planning an Italian party and wanted to offer this. So what is the best way to prepare ahead of time. do i assemble and bake day before and just reheat? or do i assemble and then cook the day of?
Bake it and then reheat. :) Hope this helps!
SO good. Whole family loves it.
Wonderful! Thank you, Mallory for your star review.
The eggplant artichoke lasagna sounds scrumptious to me – I am going to make it this weekend. Thank you for all the delicious recipes that you post on your blog.
Thank you! What did you think?
Hey Kate!
Do you think this might work with baby kale in place of spinach? I ask because that’s what we have but I’m not sure if there will be a not so great flavor difference. This is our favorite lasagna and I wanted to make it tonight!
Baby kale could work too!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I’ve made it five or six times now, including last night and twice for a family dinner. It is loved by all, vegetarians and meat lovers alike. The leftovers are SO delicious the next day. I make it with a good quality jarred marinara sauce. Never disappointed by your recipes, your spiced lentil soup is another favorite that I keep on rotation year round. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Sarah! Leftovers are really great for this recipe. I’m glad you aren’t disappointed! Thanks for commenting.
Actually pretty easy and DELICIOUS! I subbed crushed tomatoes for diced for the sauce and really liked the consistency. Will definitely be making again!
Wonderful, Caroline!
I love this recipe! ? how far ahead can you assemble it before baking?
Teri
I believe have assembled it prior to baking. Try looking through the comments to see what has been successful for other readers! :)
Hi Kate,
This is my new favorite lasagna recipe, thank you. Do you think I could double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan? Thanks for all you do.
Mary
Hi Mary, I would recommend seeing what other readers have tried by searching through the comments. I believe others have tried this!
I’ve made both the vegetable and spinach artichoke lasagnas several times and really enjoy them! However, I find it difficult to bake them in 9” square without spilling into my oven. What do I need to change , if anything to use 9x 13 pan?