Kale Pesto Lasagna

This Kale Pesto Lasagna recipe is a delicious way to add some healthy greens into your family’s diet. Kale pesto cooks along with noodles, plenty of cheese and garlic for some serious green comfort food! A vegetarian lasagna recipe. Originally published in 2016, updated in 2020 with new step by step photos. Get more detail on the pesto in our kale pesto recipe post. 

Recipe Inspiration

When I was working on the Collards & Kale cookbook, I was always looking for creative ways to get some healthy greens on the plate. I recalled a tasty green lasagna in The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest  by Mollie Katzen, that calls for basil pesto and spinach. I figured I could double up on the greens by using a similar method, with kale pesto and another green. (included the Amazon link above to the classic vegetarian cookbook from the author of Moosewood). 

“One of my favorite recipes you make!” Jodi said of this pesto lasagna recipe. And she has sampled pretty much everything on Cooking Chat!

You could certainly make this recipe with basil pesto instead of kale pesto if you prefer.

Making Kale Pesto Lasagna

Here are some tips on making kale pesto lasagna Click here to jump down to the recipe card to get the complete step by step instructions.

What greens to use?

This recipe gives you a double dose of healthy greens– kale is used for the pesto, plus a second green gets chopped into small pieces and then mixed in with the ricotta cheese.

The first time I made this Kale Pesto Lasagna, I used dandelion greens for the ricotta mixture, and really liked the touch of bitterness these greens provided, as it made a nice contrast with the cheese. Dandelion greens seem to be more seasonal, so you might need to swap in another green.

I have successfully used mizuna greens, Tuscan kale and regular kale as well. This is a great recipe to try if you get a farmshare and have some greens on hand you’re not sure what to do with! If you try a different green in this Kale Pesto Lasagna, please let me know how it turns out.

No boil lasagna or traditional noodles?

I like the convenience of no boil lasagna noodles; it’s just one less step you need to do to make this dish. But if you do want to use the traditional lasagna noodles that need to be boiled, get the noodles cooking as you make the kale pesto and prepare the ricotta mixture. Rinse the cooked noodles in cold water and drain thoroughly to minimize the noodles clinging together.

If you are using the no boil noodles, you need to break them into shapes to fit the contours of your pan and cover the open spots. Also, be sure to cover the top layer of noodles with enough sauce so the noodles come out moist rather than crispy.

Steps for putting the lasagna together

• • Start by making the kale pesto. For tips for making kale pesto and other ideas for using it, visit this article on kale pesto.
  • As the oven preheats, mix the ricotta with 1 cup kale pesto, the chopped greens, ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese, the 4 cloves of minced garlic, and the pumpkin seeds. Stir the mixture until the greens, pesto and other ingredients are well distributed throughout the ricotta cheese, as shown below.
  • Arrange a layer of noodles to cover the bottom of the baking dish, as shown below.
  • Add half of the ricotta mixture to cover the first layer of noodles, so that that the noodles are completely covered with the cheese. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta.
  • Create a 2nd layer of noodles followed by ricotta and mozzarella, repeating the process above.
  • Cover the 2nd layer of cheese with a final layer of the noodles. Spread the remaining pesto over the final layer of noodles, using the back of a tablespoon to move the pesto around so that there is at least a little bit coating all of the noodles. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the pesto, and you are ready to cover and bake the lasagna!

Wine Pairing for Kale Pesto Lasagna 

I tend to gravitate toward whites to go with dishes featuring pesto, but with all the cheese baked into this dish, an Italian red wine is my preferred choice. A Dolcetto from the Piedmont area of Italy can be a very good pairing for this pesto lasagna. If you can find one from Anna Maria Abbona, she is definitely my favorite producer of Dolcetto. A Chianti can also work with this dish.

Speaking of wines from the Piedmont, I had a Barolo waiting patiently in the cellar for a couple months after picking it up at the fall grand tasting at Pairings Wine & Food.  I decided to give the 2011 Giacomo Fenocchio Barolo ($45, 14.5% ABV) a try with the lasagna. Not a classic pairing for Barolo, but this is an excellent bottle of wine, and it worked reasonably well with the lasagna.

That said, my recommendation would be to stick with the Dolcetto for the lasagna, but do treat yourself to a bottle of this Barolo if you come across it! Pair the Barolo with something like this mushroom risotto recipe for best results.

When remaking our kale pesto lasagna on a cold winter day in January 2018, we opened the 2013 Rosso del Ripalte Toscana Alicante ($24, 13%) a lean, medium bodied red wine from Elba. I really like this wine, and it pairs nicely with the kale pesto lasagna.

Off the beaten path wine options

Fairly common wines like Dolcetto and Chianti are solid wine pairing options for the lasagna. But I do love branching out and trying new grapes–and Italy has hundreds of grape varietals!

The Wine Pairing Weekend group will be exploring interesting wine grapes next weekend. That made it the perfect time to open some interesting wine to try with the kale pesto lasagna.

I covered the new wines in more detail for the #winePW event, but I will just say that the 2016 Ricardi Reale Neccio ($28, 14.5%), made from biodynamically produced Cesanase grapes, was excellent! Black pepper on the nose, raspberry fruit and a silky mouthfeel. A touch of vanilla on the finish. Reminds me a bit of a high quality Pinot. Enjoyable to sip on its own, it paired quite well with our lasagna.

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Recipe card

Want to try kale pesto in a dish that is a little bit lighter? Check out our Ziti with Kale Pesto and Roasted Broccoli recipe! For more nut-free pesto recipes, see our pesto recipes without nuts collection.