Pesto Lasagna with Spinach and Mushrooms

We use a crockpot for lunches at work and everyone raved about this recipe.  We do all the prep at home then bring the ingredients in tupperwares to cook on site at the office.  The only difference was I sauteed the mushrooms in a skillet with a little salt first, to get out moisture--and I started the crockpot on high and turned to low once it got very warm to the touch.  I too found that the recipe was finished after about three hours rather than five.

This was a winner. All of my friends I served it to raved and wanted the recipe. I made it like a regular lasagna with the no boil pasta. I made my own pesto used all mozzerella cheese and added a pound of sausage (three mild and 1 hot) and fennel. It was fabulous!

Followed the recipe as written but the cooking time seemed way too long. Lasagna ended up really dry. Has potential, but I would either cut down the cook time or add more sauce.

I agree with previous comments about having to break up the lasagna noodles. I ended up using full fat products and MAN was this dish rich. I would like to make it next time with less fat/cheese and perhaps in the oven with penne noodles (more of a casserole). The pesto/spinach mixture was great; I would just use a good spaghetti sauce instead of mixing in the tomato sauce. Definitely use mozzarella AND provolone (I had to buy it mixed together since I couldn't find it separate) as it makes it taste amazing. It doesn't take a lot of prep time so I could even make this on a week night in the oven versus the crockpot.

I had to break the noodles to fit but it still turned out nicely layered. Used only mozzarella cheese, fresh spinach, regular button mushrooms and added crushed black pepper to the ricotta. I also didn't have any tomato sauce on hand so I pureed a tomato and black beans with a little water to bulk up the jarred sauce. Worked perfect and nobody had a clue there were black beans in it! Was great as leftovers. Would totally make again!

Delicious! I substituted ground turkey for the mushrooms and added extra basil and oregano. I also soaked the noodles in hot water for 20 minutes as another user recommended and the consistency was perfect. Mine was done in 3 hours on low.

So disappointed by this recipe. It was bland, mushy, not at all what I expected. I even added Italian turkey sausage and my dad's homemade pesto, which is ridiculously flavorful. Not sure where this went wrong. I use Cooking Light recipes almost exclusively and am rarely disappointed, but I will not be making this again.

I have made this recipe twice for my family of four. Both times the lasagna turned out perfectly and the family loved it. I prepared it exactly as written except I cooked it four hours on low after reading the previous reviews. I was careful to squeeze out all the water from the spinach and didn't note any problems with wateriness or mushiness.

I LOVED this recipe. If I don't have time to mix everything over my lunch break I prep it the night before in 3 medium sized bowls. I used whole grain lasagna noodles and didn't cook them before hand. I love the mushrooms--but added extra and used fresh spinach as well. My Hubby loved it too

I always have to give a recipe 5 stars when my picky 7-year-old loves it (and the rest of the family loved it too)! This is a fantastic dish, and I will definitely make it again! Thanks to other reviewers, my modifications were: a) used 8oz Italian seasoned ground turkey in place of the mushrooms, b) used about 16oz of frozen spinach, microwaved and squeezed dry, c) used a round crockpot rather than oval (a couple of extra layers, no problem), and d) pre-soaked regular uncooked lasagna noodles in hot tap water for about 20 minutes, and e) should have heeded others' warnings that the cooking time of 5 hrs on low is a bit long.

Delicious! Would definitely make this again. Added sweet italian sausage that I had to use up to the mushroom mix.

So delicious. Probably the best slow cooker recipe I've made. I put in a little extra pesto and used some browned ground turkey. Got rave reviews and makes for great leftovers. HIGHLY recommend!!

This recipe was so delicious and flavorful! I agree with previous reviews that in the oval crockpot, the cook time is too long. I did mine for 41/2 hours and it noodles came out mushy and overcooked. But I am giving it four stars for its potential. :)

LOVE this recipe! I added about a half a pound of italian seasoned ground turkey to the tomato sauce. Made this in both the crockpot and the oven, and it came out great! My new favorite lasagna recipe.

We really liked this recipe. I made exactly 1/3 the recipe (there are only two of us) and my husband had two pieces, and I one piece. Baked in an 9x4 dish with foil on top 50 minutes at 350 degrees, then rested it for 5. Used American Beauty no-cook noodles. Served with steamed green beans and sourdough bread.

This was surprisingly good.i didn't even miss the meat. I added sautéed onion, zucchini, and sautéed both the spinach and mushrooms with a bit of garlic. Even my 8 year old asked for seconds. Next time, I think I'll try adding some eggplant. The only downside is the amount of bowls needed for prep. I also baked it in the oven, 375 for about 55 minutes and used pre-cooked noodles.

Excellent! Flavorful and good looking for a lasagna from a slow cooker. I have a round cooker, so I had to break pasta sheets in half and overlap quite a bit. I sliced through with a long, thin knife and use a pie server to serve; worked surprizingly well. I thought the time for cooking was correct. The idea of adding fennel and red pepper is something I may try as I thought it could use a bit of a flavor boost (for my taste). Also, I thought it was great that the mushrooms did not require sauteing. They were firm and delicious - absolutely did not make the lasagna watery!

This was great!

Very good (I did not use the slow cooker method). I would use more pesto next time and some pepper, maybe even crushed red pepper, and maybe a little fennel. I like that it is vegetarian but I love the flavor of spicy sausage with fennel and think that would be a nice addition.

Just made this for dinner. Followed the directions as stated, but listened to other reviewers and backed off the cooking time. Nice, satisfying, comfort food dinner for the winter.

I made this recipe for my bunco Christmas party and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe! A couple of people are vegetarians so this worked well. I personally felt like it needed a little more flavor. I love mushrooms so I added extra. I think next time I would use all spaghetti sauce and no tomato sauce. I may add a little more pesto and spinach too. Overall though a great different take on lasagna!

This recipe was delicious and SO EASY! I used a little less than a half pound of ground turkey instead of the mushrooms. I also made a half recipe because I only have a 3oz. crockpot, and I cooked it on high for 2 hours and then on low for 1.5 hours. Enough for 4 good-sized servings. Perfectly cooked and DELICIOUS!

I made this recipe at Thanksgiving for my vegetarian niece. It was a HUGE hit - in fact, several people asked for the recipe. I used cremini mushrooms, and I made my own pesto (using a recipe from Cooking Light on this site). The whole thing was a lot of work, but well worth it. I think 5 hours in my crockpot was almost too much; next time, I may just bake it like a regular lasagna.

So easy and delicious for a weekend dinner with leftovers for weekday lunches. I wouldn't leave this one while away at work, because 5 hours on low is plenty to make the cheese nice & brown & bubbly. Cooked perfectly in 5 hours in our 6 qt oval crock - we will definitely make again!

This was amazing....I always find what makes lasagna watery is the mushrooms, so I sauted them first until all the water evaporated. Add some Italian herbs to them when they're cooking for extra flavor. I found pre-shredded mozzarella and smoked provolone...delicious...baked mine and it turned out perfect.

This recipe was very flavorful but i couldn't figure out how to fit the noodles in the slow cooker! (yes, it's a 6 quart oval). I ended up breaking them in pieces so it really didn't come out like a lasagna but more like a messy 5-layer dip. Also, the cook time was WAY too long for my slow cooker, after 4 hours it was burned around the edges.

This recipe was delicious!! Made it for Easter and received rave reviews! Will definitely make again!

Good recipe, but I added some chopped, grilled chicken and some extra hot sauce in the seasoning. It was a crowd-pleaser for sure!

This recipe was amazing! I made it for my friends last night and everyone loved it (even the non-mushroom eater). I think the trick is to use fresh pesto. I got some at a small local market. It smelled and tasted so much better than canned, preservative laden pesto. I also used part-skim ricotta as I couldn't find non-fat.

I baked this instead of a slow cooker; might explain why there was way too much liquid even though we removed the water from the spinach. Still, it was very bland; and the mushrooms seemed to disappear. There's much better on this site.

I loved this recipe. It was delicious and I will definitely add it to my rotation. I used no boil noodles and baked it in the oven at 375 for about an hour. I also used the whole container of pesto--it wasn't too much more than half a cup so why not? Also no mushrooms, since I'm not a fan. I made my own red sauce, too. I think the sharp provolone does add good flavor, so I recommend it. Next time, I'd like to make my own pesto--the fresh basil at the grocery was terrible this week--but that might have to wait for the summer and the fresh bunches of basil from the farmer's market. It's great to have another recipe that will double as lunch for the next few days. Hurray for saving money :)

This was fabulous! I too used regular whole wheat noodles, soaked them first, and then baked it at 375 for 1 hour. I made my own healthier pesto which is: 1 1/2c basil leaves, 2-5 cloves garlic, 1/4c each pine nuts, parmesan, and fresh lemon juice. I used all mozzarella,as the provolone wouldn't have added much, if anything. Delicious! Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

The flavors a very good. The original recipe is a salty so we use fresh spinach. We make this many times a year.

I tried this because my daughter is a vegetarian and I enjoy offering her more nutritional choices that she might think of. She would never eat spinach or mushrooms on her own. She loved this!!! She has asked for it over and over again. It's delicious and different and so easy to prepare. This would be great to a pot luck. A leafy salad and you are all set. Recommend!

Very tasty recipe and helpful for using the contents from this week's CSA. I was concerned that the dish would be too soggy using the no-boil noodles so I used whole-wheat noodles that I soaked for a few minutes. I had lambs quarter greens that I used instead of spinach but I didn't have enough so I supplemented with fresh squash. Like another reviewer, I had lots of mushroom mixture so I added another layer. Instead of using the tomato sauce, tomato-basil sauce, or commercial pesto, I used Basic Marinara sauce (previously frozen) and made my own pesto (both CL recipes). I put it in a round slow-cooker rather than an oval one so I didn't need all of the noodles but it cooked in the same amount of time. I would definitely make again.

I've never made lasagna in a slow cooker before, but this turned out really well. I didn't have no-cook noodles, so rather than cooking regular noodles I simply soaked them for a few minutes. My husband thought the lasagna needed a bit of salt, so I will probaby add it next time. Will make again.

Love this recipe. However, I add a layer of ground turkey breast and omit the mushrooms. It is great in the oven! We make it at least once a month!

I would rate this higher (the flavor is amazing!) but the noodles were pretty soggy. I will make this recipe again, but I will try using regular uncooked noodles.

So terrific -- I wish I could give it more than five stars. I used the two 10-oz pkgs of frozen chopped spinach and 8 oz of sliced button mushrooms. Be sure to use a very flavorful prepared pasta sauce (I used caramelized onion and roasted garlic). Also, I found I had more than two cups of the spinach mixture, so I just added a third layer. All in all, this was perfectly cooked and tender, held together wonderfully and yet still was very saucy. A total knockout -- will become part of my permanent collection!