This recipe is what I came up with after having an excess of pumpkin grow in my garden this year and wanting to try something new from the normal sweet pumpkin recipes. It works well as a salad dressing or as a side dish to any protein. Use a sharp knife and proceed with extreme caution when carving your pumpkin; don’t let it roll around as you cut.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 butternut squash – peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, divided, or to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 (16 ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1 (8 ounce) ball fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange butternut squash slices in a single layer on each baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over each layer; season each with 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Bake in the preheated oven until squash is soft but still firm to the bite, about 15 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir beef and garlic until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain grease. Mix in remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, pasta sauce, brown sugar, basil, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors combine, about 10 minutes.
- Mix remaining 1 teaspoon salt, ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and parsley together in a bowl.
- Layer 1/3 of the squash slices in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover squash with 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the beef mixture. Repeat layers, ending with remaining squash slices and sauce. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until cheeses are melted and sauce is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 443 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 41 g |
| Cholesterol | 99 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 1235 mg |
| Sugars | 15 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This recipe came out Fabulous! I’ve never cooked a butternut squash, nor has my husband or I ever eaten it, until this recipe. Needless to say we will be making this again and trying other recipes in the future that contain this delicious squash.
I loved this! I made it as specified except I added a layer of spinach leaves for more green. And I assembled the evening before and baked the next day for lunch. I was skeptical but this turned out really good!
I vote 5 stars, but my family voted less, so I am giving it 4 stars. Changes: 1 butternut squash, not two, no basil, and I used chunky garden spaghetti sauce, so extra veggies. Reviews: me (36 yr old healthy woman): loved it. I had 3 servings, and got full without the carbs of the noodles. husband: said he missed the carbs from the noodles, and wanted carbs after dinner. He said without noodles there was too much meat sauce. Maybe the second squash would have helped with the meat issue. kids: none of them liked the squash. I would make this again, but with noodles.
For minimal carbs: skipped the brown sugar and used a standard sized (~24.5 oz) jar of marinara sauce w/o sugar. The 2 squash I used were relatively small, but that worked great w/ this size jar of sauce and meant a nicely cheesy/meaty lasagna overall.
Delish!
This was amazing! Will definitely make it again.
Delicious and gluten free!
I had already roasted pumpkin cubes (with no seasoning) that needed to be used up, so I picked this recipe. Instead of making it a “lasagna,” I put the squash in the bottom, then the ricotta mix, then the meat, then the mozzarella and parm on top. The family loved it. My 4 year old didn’t want to eat the big pumpkin pieces, and I am sure he would have preferred the seasoned lasagna-style flat pieces of squash. I will definitely put this on the regular winter meal rotation.