After rigorous testing in my kitchen, I can guarantee this recipe is reliable and easy to follow, so you can trust it will turn out perfectly every time.
You’ll love this Veggie Lasagna Recipe
My vegetable lasagna still uses pasta, not vegetables, ensuring you get that classic lasagna texture and taste that everyone loves.
This vegetable lasagna features a creamy white sauce instead of the usual red sauce, offering a delightful twist that enhances the flavors of the fresh vegetables and tender pasta layers.
Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting out, this recipe is designed to be both straightforward and delicious. The combination of a rich white sauce, hearty pasta, and perfectly cooked vegetables makes this lasagna a standout dish for any occasion.
My rigorous testing ensures that you can recreate this Stouffer’s favorite at home with confidence, enjoying an authentic and satisfying meal that brings everyone together around the dinner table.
Ingredients for Vegetable Lasagna
- Lasagna noodles – You’ll want to use standard lasagna noodles. I do not recommend using oven-ready noodles. They tend to have a completely different texture and result in a rubbery, chewy lasagna.
- Carrots – I like to start with matchstick carrots and then chop them up finely. By starting with matchstick, it saves some times and guarantees a small dice.
- Baby spinach – I recommend sticking with baby spinach vs. regular spinach because it has a sweeter, more tender flavor than mature spinach.
- Broccoli – The key with the broccoli in this recipe is to make sure you chop it finely. You want to give it the opportunity to soften in the lasagna while it’s baking. You also don’t want to get any large chunks in the final dish.
- Onion – I like to use a yellow onion finely chopped. You can use a vegetable chopper to make this easier.
- Butter – Both salted and unsalted butter work well in this recipe.
- All purpose flour – This will help you make the roux that will thicken the sauce
- Garlic – Fresh garlic works best for the ultimate flavor. By mincing the garlic, it will release the best flavor.
- Onion powder – It seems redundant, but the onion powder adds a different flavor than the whole, fresh onion.
- Vegetable broth – You can used vegetable broth or vegetable stock here. If you aren’t strictly looking for a vegetarian dish, you could also replace it with chicken broth.
- Milk – I like to use 2%, but you could use whole milk as well.
- Heavy cream – The heavy cream shouldn’t be replaced with anything else because it is needed for the correct texture and taste. It helps it have a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Ricotta – I prefer part skim ricotta, but full fat works great as well.
- Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, and Mozzarella cheese – Freshly grated cheese works best here if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent that doesn’t allow it to melt as well.
- Ritz crackers – The buttery, rich crackers make the perfect crispy, crunchy topping.
- All purpose seasoning – Any all purpose seasoning works here, just be mindful of the salt content because it will be added to the ritz crackers that are already salty.
- Salt & pepper to taste – I always recommend coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce
- Start by preheating the oven to 375°F.
- Cook the lasagna noodles to al dente according to the package instructions. Don’t go past al dente, they will continue to cook in the oven.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chopped yellow onion and saute until it is softened and translucent.
- Once the onion has softened, add the garlic and onion powder. Stir quickly to combine. Saute for about 1 minute, just until garlic is fragrant, but be careful not to burn it.
- Add the flour and whisk constantly until it is completely combined and smooth. It will take about 2-3 minutes.
- Slowly add in the vegetable stock and continue to whisk.
- Continue by adding the milk and cream one at a time while continuing to whisk allowing the sauce to thicken.
- Reduce the heat and continue to whisk slowly until the sauce is about the consistency of gravy.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add the carrots, spinach, and broccoli to the sauce mixture.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, romano, asiago, and mozzarella and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Add in the ritz crackers, all-purpose seasoning, and about 3 tablespoons of the shredded cheese mixture to the melted butter.
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Place 3 noodles on the bottom of the dish.
- Add ⅓ of the vegetable sauce mixture and spread across the top of the noodles.
- Cover the vegetable mix with ½ of the shredded cheese mixture.
- Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles, followed by ⅓ of the vegetable mixture, and the remaining ½ of the shredded cheese mixture.
- Lay the final 3 lasagna noodles across the top with the remaining vegetable mixture.
- Sprinkle the top of the lasagna with the ritz cracker topping.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. You’ll want it to cool so that the pieces don’t fall apart.
Tips for making the Best Vegetable Lasagna
- Feel free to swap out the vegetables for some of your favorites. Some great options include mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, and cauliflower.
- When adding water-heavy vegetables like zucchini, you will need to release a lot of the water content to avoid a soggy lasagna. Chop the zucchini, add it to a bowl with salt to release the water, drain, and dry before adding it to the sauce.
- Do not use oven-ready lasagna noodles. They will not give you the same result.
- If you decide to make this ahead of time, I recommend keeping the ritz topping separate until you’re ready to bake so that it can stay crispy.
Serving Veggie Lasagna
To serve veggie white lasagna, you’ll want to be sure that it cools for about 10-15 minutes before you slice into it. This allows it to stay together when you remove it from the baking dish.
Vegetable Lasagna with White Sauce goes really well with:
How to store Vegetable Lasagna
To store any leftover white vegetable lasagna, let it cool completely. Once it has cooled, place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for up to 3 days when stored properly.
To reheat leftover lasagna, you can use the oven or microwave. I recommend taking it low and slow when using the microwave to avoid overcooking it and causing the noodles to harden.
Vegetable Lasagna Recipe FAQs
To keep vegetable lasagna from being watery, you have to be careful with the vegetables you are using. If you are using a vegetable that has high water content like zucchini, you need to salt it first to allow it to release its water.
You’ll then drain it and dry it before using it in the veggie lasagna.
If you don’t release the water content of vegetables like this, they will release the liquid as they cook and it creates a watery lasagna.
White sauce in lasagna is made up of a roux (flour & butter), heavy cream, and vegetable stock.
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Veggie Lasagna
Ingredients
- 9 whole lasagna noodles
- 2 cups matchstick carrots finely chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach finely chopped
- 3 cups broccoli finely chopped
- 1/4 whole yellow onion finely chopped
- 7 tablespoons butter keep 4 tablespoons + 3 tablespoons separate
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ½ cup 2% milk
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup part skim ricotta
- ½ cup Parmesan shredded
- ½ cup Romano shredded
- ½ cup Asiago shredded
- ½ cup mozzarella shredded
- 1 cup Ritz crackers crushed
- 2 teaspoons all purpose seasoning I use Mrs. Dash
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Cook lasagna noodles to al dente (they will finish cooking in the oven).
- Melt 4 tablespoons of your butter in a large, deep skillet.
- Add chopped onion and saute until softened and translucent.
- Add garlic and onion powder, stir quickly to combine.
- Add flour and whisk constantly until completely combined and not lumpy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Raise heat to medium.
- Slowly add in vegetable stock and continue to whisk.
- Continue in adding the milk and cream one at a time while continuing to whisk. You want the sauce to thicken.
- Reduce heat and continue to whisk slowly until the sauce is about the consistency of gravy.
- Remove from heat and add the carrots, spinach, and broccoli, to the sauce mixture.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, and mozzarella.
- In a separate bowl, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
- Add in the Ritz crackers, all purpose seasoning, and about 3 tablespoons of the shredded cheese mixture to the melted butter.
- Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Place 3 noodles on the bottom of the dish.
- Add 1/3 of the vegetable mixture and spread across the top of the noodles.
- Cover the vegetable mixture with 1/2 of the shredded cheese mixture.
- Cover this with 3 more lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the vegetable mixture, and the remaining 1/2 of the shredded cheese mixture.
- Lay the final 3 lasagna noodles across and top with the remaining vegetable mixture.
- Sprinkle the top of the lasagna with the Ritz cracker topping.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe. I used summer squash, spinach, mushrooms and carrots. I also used the no cook noodles and they were great. I did cover the pan with foil for most of the cooking. Then removed the foil and added the cracker crumbs to finish off. The noodles were tender. I did cook for closer to an hour. Great recipe.
Followed this recipe exactly as written and oh my goodness it was divine! A great way to use up veggies, loved the creaminess and the crunch on top!
So yum and very easy to make!
This is my family’s new favorite lasagna and my new favorite because of all of the veggies. I love that they are chopped up small so picky eaters won’t notice them.
Really delicious! We love the Ritz crackers on this so I use extra. Everyone loves this – we never have leftovers!
So good! Ritz didn’t even cross my mind when I was trying to recreate the recipe in my head. I can’t stand breadcrumbs on pasta but really loved stouffers lasagna as a kid. Thanks for sharing! It was delicious!
A great basic recipe anyone can do! I hate when people “change up” the recipe, but I’m going to be that person. I’ve used this recipe a few times now, with changes.
Maybe I’m inept, but the “prep” time takes me easily 40 minutes (not including dish washing). Adding to the time – freshly grated cheese; I do use more veggies (so make a bit more sauce) and pre-cook them — Saute onions, garlic, carrots. Then steam/chop broccoli. Spinach gets chopped raw and thrown into the bechamel sauce with everything else just before assembly. Food Processor could speed up the knife work. I use whole grain noodles, and a little extra sauce helps there too. But for me, no way does this cook in 25 minutes! I cooked it for about an hour (covered) and then another 20 minutes uncovered to crisp the topping. Anyway, it was delicious!
So yummy and sooo cheesy!!! I do like the brand name one and was very glad to find this copycat recipe. I like making myself and knowing exactly what is in it. I added some chicken to it, and used brown rice noodles. I used baby bella mushroom slices, carrots and broccoli. This was great to use leftovers to take as lunch at office. I do plan to make this again!
This looks delicious! My family loved Stouffers white lasagne and I was thrilled to find this recipe because my daughter requested white lasagne for her birthday dinner! I have celiac so I”ll use gluten free flour, lasagne, and breadcrumbs for the topping. I like Barilla brand gf pasta and I plan to grate carrots in my food processor because I think the pre-cut ones get very dry and tasteless. I’m looking forward to making this, thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy to hear you’re able to adapt it for your celiac. I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve been a lover of the Stouffers veggie lasagna for years and have always wanted to try making it from scratch. I plan to make this recipe for my family for Easter this year! Would this work with oven ready lasagna noodles instead of traditional lasagna noodles? Thanks!
Hi Andrea,
I do not recommend using oven-ready noodles. They tend to have a completely different texture and result in a rubbery, chewy lasagna.
I forgot to add 5 stats to my review. Please add if you can!!
Stouffer’s veggie lasagna has always been a favorite. This was really delish. Hit all the taste notes I wanted. I didn’t think 3 layers was enough, so I did 12 noodles, in 4 layers. I just upped the liquids and made a bit more sauce to accommodate it. Will make again!
Came out great! Issue I had was that it came out a bit flat. I use the correct sized pan followed the directions perfectly. Any reasons you can think of?
I rarely ever comment on recipes but this was worth it. SO GOOD. I grew up loving Stouffers and this one blew it out of the water. Phenomenal.
I made an absolute mess in my kitchen, but I tell you what…. This was AMAZING!! My boys ate half the pan. I did add shredded chicken for a protein, but didn’t mess with the flavor. 10/10 recommend!
This recipe is great. Best vegetable lasagna I have ever made!
I look forward to making this! I’ve always enjoyed a white sauce based lasagna and Stouffer’s is a good one. But homemade is always better!!
Btw, McCormick’s Seasoning Salt is much better that Mrs. Dash, IMO
Hi Jenny! I agree, I do like Seasoning Salt better, but opt for Mrs. Dash in this one since it’s salt free. I usually go salt free on the seasoning since there’s a lot of it in all the cheeses, broth, and ritz.
Well, that makes sense! I didn’t even realize the Mrs. Dash is salt free. In recipes, I usually see Lawry’s. But it is not to my liking!
Btw, my lasagna is in the oven now! It took a bit longer on the veggie mixture bc I used frozen broccoli and spinach. So I made sure to thaw it out before adding to the 9 x 13 pan.
I’m so eager for it to be done!
have you ever frozen before hand.
I have. If you decide to make this ahead of time, I recommend keeping the Ritz topping separately until you’re ready to bake so that it can stay crispy.
I’m about to put mine in the oven. I have celiac so I used Jovial GF lasagna pasta. I miss being able to eat the Stouffers veggie lasagna, so I was excited to find this recipe! I used Scharr GF bread crumbs instead of the ritz crackers too. Looking forward to tasting it!!
Ooo! Never thought to find GF breadcrumbs, have tried some crumbled crackers but not as good!!
I actually love using Jovial’s rotini in this recipe! (I pre-cook the pasta!). Can be a tad messy while eating I love the way it holds the filling!!
I’ve made this recipe for years & it is always SO good!
Made this exactly as written and it was amazing! Had a friend helping me and we had a blast putting it together. Probably would have taken a whole lot longer. Definitely don’t need to buy Stouffers anymore! YUM!!!!!!!!!
To anyone thinking of ignoring the author’s warning NOT to use the “oven-ready” lasagna noodles, … don’t. She’s right.
Can’t wait to make it. Great recipe!
Only change I made to this recipe was a fresh bread crumb & butter topping instead of the crackers and seasoning. Nice recipe that came together well. I was surprised that the bechamel didn’t call for any salt, and I added maybe 1/4 teaspoon, but it wasn’t quite enough. It’s possible the original recipe has enough salt with the cracker and Mrs. Dash topping, but with my variation, it definitely needed more seasoning throughout, so just a note to others to season to taste. Loved the generous amount of veggies in this!
This recipe was big hit at my “Italian Night” party. I was able to make it gluten free using GF noodles and GF panko instead of Ritz. It turned out great! I made the full tray a week a head of time, brought it out the day before to thaw in the refrigerator and baked as noted. It was a fan favorite and met the needs of the GF folks as well as vegetarian folks.
I love hearing this!! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Delicious! This is my go to veggie lasagna recipe.
I love white sauce veg lazagna. I do have a question that always confuses me. As far as the veggies go are the measurement pre chapped or post chapped?
Hi Cindy, those measurements are post-chopped.
This recipe is a winner! Not only is it delicious, but it looks and tastes ‘fancy’, and can be made the day before! I made it just as it called for with one change…. I added a layer of shrimp! Perfect for company dinner.
I’m making this today and will freeze it. Should I defrost before baking? Or bake from frozen? Any ideas on timing? I’m really excited to try this!!
Hi Lori! I would recommend thawing it before baking. If you go straight from fridge to oven (if your baking dish allows), it’ll need closer to 55-60 minutes.
I am making this for Christmas Eve. I’d like to make it the day before (I’ll leave the Ritz topping off until bake time). What would you suggest in regards to cooking instructions for a cold veggie lasagna?
Hi Crystal, if you’re going straight from the refrigerator to the oven (with a baking dish that can handle that), you’ll probably need closer to 55-60 minutes baking time. Hope y’all enjoy it!
This recipe is delicious! I divided it into four portions and froze in tin foil pans. To cook from frozen I set the temperature to 375 for 40 minutes covered with foil, then 15 minutes without foil. The vegetables weren’t done enough. Next time I’ll try 50 minutes. I also added salt and cracked pepper.
Our family favorite lasagna recipe!
I’m so glad your family loves it!
Hi! My husband and I had the actual Stouffer’s last night (his first time, and many moons ago I had it and loved it). So today I came across this and am SO EXCITED to try it! This way we can put our own little twist but still have that creaminess veggie splendor. Thank you! I’ll post again when I try the recipe! 🙂
This is 100% delicious. I used zucchini, carrot, fresh off the cobb corn, spinach, broccoli. However, 20 minute prep, that’s a joke. It takes 20 minute plus to prep veggies! Actually I did that the day before and proceeded with the rest the next day. It takes 20 minutes to prep lasagna noodles. It takes another 20 minutes to make the béchamel. Then another 15 minutes to pull it all together. It’s worth every bit of time and far exceeds Stouffers. I will make it again. The crumbs are a nice touch but not absolutely necessary.
Craving a veggie lasagna today and found your recipe. It was so delicious and I enjoyed it more than Stouffers! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you!!!
This is such a kind compliment! Thank you so much!
If I am dividing this recipe between two baking containers, one about 3/4 and a smaller one with the balance, will I have enough sauce? I usually make lasagna for daughter and a smaller one for me and husband. I want to make in tomorrow morning and freeze both.
Hi Judy, It should be plenty of sauce as long as you divide it between the containers in the same ratio.
I have a gluten intolerance, but I have recently found gluten free lasagne noodles. Obviously I can’t have ritz crackers. My go to is ground pork rinds, crushed corn flakes and gluten free breadcrumbs. Which would work best here? I am really anxious to try this recipe.
PS: I am a fellow Texan from Houston, Longview and now Denton.
Hi Madeline, I haven’t personally tried this with gluten-free lasagna noodles. As far as the topping goes, you want a buttery, crunchy topping. I feel like the crushed cornflakes would probably be the closest option for this of the options you listed.
Hi Madeline – I needed to make a GF option as well and I used GF panko – it was fantastic! and the crowd loved it!
I’m excited to try this recipe but I would like to make it in the crock pot. Any suggestions on how to cook it and assemble the ingredients in it?
Hi Lana, I haven’t personally tried it in the crockpot yet myself, but you could follow the same cooking method I use for my standard crockpot lasagna here: https://sweetlysplendid.com/crockpot-lasagna/ – I would try cooking it on low for 5-6 hours, but just follow the layering as written in the recipe.
I googled around looking for a first course recipe for Christmas dinner. Luckily, I stumbled on this recipe.
I made it ahead of time (froze before cooking).
It was outstanding and the best part of the dinner.
I have guests coming to visit so I’m making one now!
Thank you, Lisa!! This is such a kind compliment! I’m so glad everyone loved it.
Can I assemble this the day before, then add the ritz topping and cook the next day? I’ve done this with tomato based lasagna, but not sure how it will do with the cream base?
Yes, you absolutely can!
This was incredible! I made the mistake of buying oven ready lasagna noodles. I knew what I was doing when I did it but I had a sick kid at home and the store I went to was out of regular lasagna noodles. I couldn’t bear the thought of going to another store for one item. I was able to save the dish, but learn from my mistake! I still rate this 5 stars because aside from the lasagna noodle mishap which was my own fault, this was to die for. My daughter tasted the filling and fell to the ground. Well done!
Oh my goodness, thank you Megan!! This is so incredibly nice of you to say. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Delicious lasagna! I made it a couple months ago and plan to make it again next week for a friend.
I’ve already made the innards and while reading the reviews came to this! Bad to use the ones you don’t cook first? Should I still cook them a bit?
Hi Candace, this recipe uses standard lasagna noodles. I don’t recommend using “oven-ready” noodles. They produce a weird texture result.
The flavor/sauce is delicious! Worth the effort…took me alot longer than 20 minutes prep time! Followed recipe exactly but my veggies were not done. I had even covered with foil and left it in oven an additional 10 minutes. Let it cool 10 minutes. I will definitely make it again but bake about 50 to 60 minutes covered for most of the time. It’s a keeper! Thanks.
Hi. Does this taste like the Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna? I can’t wait to try this recipe!
That’s what I was trying to achieve with it! I love it too!
Can this recipe be frozen without the topping and then baked another day?
Hi Maria. Yes, it absolutely can be!
Can I make this the day before?
Yes, but I’d recommend keeping the ritz topping separate and adding it the day of and just popping it in the oven for a little bit to crisp it up.
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I want to add chicken though. Do you have any advice on that? I’m thinking to pre-cook the chicken first. Should I cut some of the veggies out so it doesn’t get overloaded, or should I just go for it?
Hi Molly! If you plan to add some chicken, I would precook the chicken and use shredded or diced. You could go one of two ways… you could add it to the veggie/sauce mixture and in this case I would cut down on the amount of vegetables. You could also add it as its own layer when layering the lasagna. In that way, I wouldn’t cut back on the veggies. You’ll just have a bit taller of a lasagna! Hope you enjoy!!
I’m cooking this lovely dish as we speak. Only thing I can say so far is in the directions you state add ricotta and veggies to sauce, then next step is to add ricotta and cheese in separate bowl. Which is it?! to the sauce or the Cheese. I had to guess in hopes that adding it to the sauce was accurate as i don’t make pasta dishes often and just had to assume.
Can’t wait to eat this day after Christmas!!!
Catherine.
also the butter issue someone had brought up still was not clarified, so i have double the butter. but who can be mad at that, lol!!
Hi Cat! The ricotta should be added to the cheeses. I’m so sorry for that miscommunication. I thought I had fixed it. The butter is divided – 4 tablespoons are used to cook the onion in and the 3 tablespoons are mixed with the ritz cracker topping. Hopefully, it still came out okay 🙂 Sorry for the confusion.
Should the vegetables be raw or steamed ahead of time?
Hi Heather! The carrots, broccoli, and spinach go in raw.
Hi! I’m planning to use zucchini instead of broccoli and incorporating mushrooms, would I have to sauté the veggies first? I love the idea and convenience of adding them raw into the sauce, though
Hi Ana,
I would not saute the veggies first. I would add them in raw. The only issue I see could be the zucchini releasing too much water during cooking. To avoid this, you could chop it, sprinkle it with salt and let the water release for a few minutes while you prep the other ingredients. Then drain/dry it and add it in. It may be totally fine without doing that though!
Absolutely the best vegetable lasagna I have ever made. Every time I make this for company, everyone asks for the recipe. It’s so good!!
I’m cooking a stouffers one rn but I’m trying this recipe next! Thanks-
Wonderful! Hope you love it!
I made this for my boyfriend because he’d never had a vegetable lasagna before, after looking up about 30 vegetable lasagna recipes this is the one I chose. It was phenomenal! We had leftovers for days and we were looking forward to those lunches everyday.
One thing I noticed is your recipe says to use 4 tablespoons of butter, then on the first step of the sauce it says to use all 4. Later on it says to use “the remaining 3 tablespoons” definitely not a big deal, just thought you might have missed that 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to have this again!
I love hearing that, Suzi! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed the recipe!
I didn’t realize about the butter in the recipe. Thank you so much for pointing that out! I got it updated 🙂
This lasagna is delicious! Looks like a lot of effort, but it really isn’t. The first time I made it, I made it exactly as the recipe states. The second time, I had different veggies on hand so I subbed those and it’s still delicious. I love the white sauce and the fact that it’s not too thick and rich.
Amanda, thank you so much for your comment! That’s so kind of you. I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I made this for the first time and it’s absolutely DELICIOUS!! I was a little intimidated by both the number of ingredients and steps, but I ended up having many of the ingredients already and the steps were easy to follow. I made 2 substitutions, I used cauliflower instead of broccoli and seasoned bread crumbs instead of Ritz. I will definitely be making this again and highly recommend the recipe!
Oh my goodness what a compliment! Thank you so much!! I love your alterations too. I’ll have to try them!
Delicious recipe and very clear instructions. I’ve made it 3 times now. I would just say that the prep is closer to 50 minutes. It’s alot of vegetable chopping, etc. but very worth it!
How much sauce does this make?
I might substitute jar sauce because I only have half and half unless you think that would work instead of heavy cream? More cheese to make thicker?
The sauce doesn’t have anything comparable in a jarred version. The half and half would work, it just wouldn’t be as creamy.
My family luvs this veggie lasagna. Making it today n sitting over nite for brunch tomorrow. So good setting it over nitemore flavor throughout lasagna.