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This tomato-free Red Pepper Lasagna is a rich cheesy vegetarian lasagna that’s filled with red peppers, a red pepper sauce, and then baked up so it’s comforting and melty!
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Many of the ingredients are right there in your pantry. And it’s great if you don’t have any canned tomatoes or tomato sauce in the house.
This recipe was requested by a reader who told me she was allergic to tomatoes, so I hope it helps those of you who can’t or don’t eat tomatoes as well.
I’ve based this recipe off of one of my favorite lasagnas, my Red pepper and fresh mozzarella lasagna and my Roasted red pepper soup.
For this version, I decided to make it in a 13×9 casserole dish so it’s a bit larger and uses more lasagna noodles than my original lasagna. And I love leftovers of lasagna; it’s so easy to reheat it in the microwave and have a quick and delicious comfort food dinner.
You can also make this in a taller narrower casserole dish so each slice of the lasagna is thicker. Either way, it’s delicious.
I’ve suggested some substitutions below and in the recipe card in case your cupboard is looking a bit bare in places.
And if you’re looking for a Lasagna recipe without ricotta, be sure to hop over and check out this one.
Don’t have any flour?
If you don’t have any flour in the house, or want the sauce to be gluten free, simply use 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch in place of the flour. Just add it into the sauce following the same instructions.
You can also use dried thyme leaves in place of fresh thyme sprigs. Use ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves instead of the fresh thyme sprigs, and you don’t have to pull out the sprigs at the end of cooking the sauce.
Jarred roasted red peppers
I always try to keep a jar or two of roasted red peppers around. It makes for an easy way to toss in a little extra veggies into dinner. They’re also great to add to breads and appetizers.
Here are some of my favorite recipes that use roasted red peppers:
One Pot Pizza Tortellini Bake
Roasted Red Pepper and White Bean Stew
Quick and Easy Paella
Pesto Puff Pastry Pinwheels
If you don’t have any jarred red peppers you can also roast your own red peppers. They are easy to do, and really fun to make. You’ll probably need 4-5 peppers for this recipe, depending on the size of the peppers.
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Red pepper lasagna (tomato free) Recipe
Red Pepper Lasagna
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter
- 1 small red onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon Salt plus more to taste
- 4 garlic cloves minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons flour or 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 ½ cups jarred roasted red peppers drained and rinsed, coarsely chopped if whole
- ¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- 5 springs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup milk
- Freshly ground pepper
Lasagna:
- 15 no-boil lasagna noodles from a 9-ounce package
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella shredded
- 2/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups jarred roasted red peppers drained and chopped
Instructions
Make Sauce:
- Heat oil or butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until the onion begins to brown, about 15 minutes. If the onion is cooking too quickly, add a little bit of water to slow the cooking. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add flour and stir until flour is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add red peppers, red pepper flakes, thyme springs, oregano, basil, and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer until peppers are soft, about 20 minutes.
- Remove and discard thyme sprigs. Working in batches, puree sauce in blender until smooth and creamy, or use an immersion blender in the pot to blend the sauce.
- Return sauce to pot, and heat over low, stir in milk, and adjust the seasonings to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 more minutes to thicken and reduce the sauce.
Assemble lasagna:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta and 2/3 of the shredded mozzarella. Set aside.
- Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon ½ cup of the sauce in the dish. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Spoon ¼ of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with ¼ of the red peppers. Top with ½ cup of sauce.
- Top with 3 more noodles, continuing to layer like this until all the cheese and red peppers are used. Add last 3 lasagna noodles, and remaining sauce. Sprinkle the top with remaining shredded mozzarella and remaining Parmesan.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 50 minutes. Let stand, covered, on a rack for 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Kathleen Pope
Soooo delicious, refreshing and the flavor was out of this world!!
Amy Nash
I loved this fresh take on lasagna! Like all lasagna, it was hearty and savory and delicious, but the red peppers made it so new and wonderful!
Patiekalų
Good recipe, thank you! We made it last night for dinner. So good and so easy to make. My familay ate it all.
Ann
has anyone added Italian sausage?
Sophie
so yummy!!
Dottie
This is a fantastic recipe! I have added ground turkey and a few other veggies. I have also used the sauce as a regular pasta sauce because I can’t eat tomatoes.
Megan
I’ve made the recipe twice so far and it is absolutely delicious. The second time I added some Italian sausage to the layers.
The recipe works well with modifications, I’m allergic to onion and gluten and it still turned out great.
Niki
Came out great!