Do you love a lasagne, but also find yourself not cooking them very often because they can take quite a long time? Then you need to try Charlotte Stirling-Reed’s ‘Cheat’s Veggie Lasagne’ from her Sunday Times Bestseller How to Feed Your Family.

This lasagne recipe is super easy. There is no pre-cooking of individual elements first, and no bechamel, which saves lots of time. If you can grate the vegetables in a food processor it’s even quicker, as this is the only thing that takes a while. You can swap the lasagne sheets for layers of pasta, and both fresh and dried lasagne sheets work well. This recipe makes loads so you’re bound to have leftovers!

Serves: 4 with plenty of leftovers
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, crushed or finely grated
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 or 2 sweet potatoes (about 300g), coarsely grated
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp dried oregano
250g pre-cooked lentils e.g., puy or green lentils
600g cottage cheese or dairy-free alternative
150g grated mozzarella, plus
40g for sprinkling on top (or dairy-free alt)
200g packet of fresh lasagne sheets (dried work too, but might take a little longer to cook)
Steamed greens or a simple salad to serve.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan.
2. Grate the vegetables (garlic, carrots, sweet potato) into a large bowl. Squeeze out any excess liquid by wrapping the grated veg in a paper towel and pressing firmly. Then add back into the bowl and tip in the tinned tomatoes, dried oregano and lentils. Give it a good mix and pop to one side.
3. In another bowl, mix the cottage cheese and 150g of the grated mozzarella.
4. Spoon a third of the tomato and lentil mix into an ovenproof dish or tin (about 20 x 30cm), then lay down the lasagne sheets. Top with 4 heaped tablespoons (about a third) of the cottage cheese mix, spreading it right to the sides, then add another third of the tomato and lentil mix, then more lasagne sheets and another third of the creamy mix. Finish with a third layer of lasagne sheets and the remaining creamy mix, and a little extra cheese for the top.
5. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Serve with steamed greens or a simple salad.

 Charlotte’s top tip for babies and young children:

Babies who are still experimenting with solid foods may need this to be lightly blended. Or you could roll up the lasagne sheets and give the sauce a blend. Older babies will probably be happy to play with and dissect this a little, and eat some with their hands and some off a spoon. Let them explore.