I like small things.
Tiny dogs? Love them. Baby corn? Yes please. Pygmy goats? I’ll take 12. For a while, I even collected those little erasers that are shaped like food for no other reason than the fact that they were small, exact replicas of delicious things. So obviously, when I find a recipe that takes a big dish and makes it bite-sized, I’m all over it.
After seeing Petite Lasagnas that were made in muffin tins on Pinterest, I decided to make a vegetarian version. Simply subbing out the ground turkey for veggies seemed like a pretty lazy adaptation to me, so I also used pesto instead of a tomato-based sauce. (Sidenote: I could put pesto on anything. Seriously. Here’s a bit of advice: grow basil this summer, make pesto with it, and freeze it so you can use it year-round. You’ll thank me later.)
So are Mini Vegetable Lasagnas as good as regular-sized lasagnas? Heck yeah. In fact, I think I may prefer the mini version because the wonton wrappers peak out over the edge of the muffin tins and get nice and crispy. And I love crispy things almost as much as I love small things. The best thing about this recipe is that it is highly adaptable. Use any filling and any sauce you like–as long as you stick to the assembly instructions and bake time, they’ll turn out fine.
Lasagna in a muffin tin? Yes, it's possible! These Mini Vegetable Lasagnas are made with pesto, cheese, lots of veggies, and wonton wrappers instead of lasagna noodles. Adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner's Petite Lasagnas.
Ingredients
- cooking spray or oil mister
- 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 c. chopped artichoke hearts (frozen, marinated, or canned would all work)
- 1/4 c. sliced sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/3 c. basil pesto
- 1 1/2 c. low-fat ricotta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 24 small square refrigerated wonton wrappers
- 1 c. shredded Mozzarella or Italian-blend cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil or cooking spray.
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms and saute until softened and just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in artichoke hearts; cook 2-3 additional minutes or until liquid evaporates, if needed. Add sun-dried tomatoes and pesto to skillet and stir until well-combined. Remove from heat.
- Combine ricotta, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste (I added 1/4 teaspoon) in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup of the muffin tin. Divide half the ricotta mixture into each cup; top this with half the vegetable mixture. Divide half of the shredded cheese into each cup. Place the remaining wonton wrappers into each cup, making sure the corners are in the opposite direction of the first wrapper; gently press down to smash everything into the cup and then repeat layering process with remaining ingredients (ricotta, veggies, then cheese). If any of this is confusing, refer to the photos above!
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted and edges of wonton wrappers are golden brown.
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Those look fantabulous!!!! Seriously!
Thank you!
Theses where great. How many calories in a serving?
I’m sorry, I don’t calculate calories for my recipes because they vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients used, exact weights of the vegetables, etc. Here’s an online calorie counter that might be helpful: http://caloriecount.about.com/
I have some leftover ricotta cheese so I’ll definitely be making this! I love that it’s portion controlled too
I hope you like it if you make it! It’s one of those recipes that’s so versatile, you can throw just about anything in and it will be good.
I never thought lasagna could be “cute” til now
Cute lasagna is the best lasagna!
These look sooooo delicious! I want to eat a whole dozen right now. Love this idea. Love that you included zucchini and artichoke hearts too. Mmmm!
Thank you! I am all about artichoke hearts–they’re so good with pesto too.
Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever. I love little individual portions like this. This is such a perfect idea!! They look amazing. Bookmarking it [:
Thank you! I love anything in individual portions too & it’s especially nice with lasagnas and casseroles, which can be such a pain to divide up without having everything fall apart.
I make a lite (because I’m on weight watchers) breakfast version of wonton cups. I use turkey sausage (omitted, of course, by vegetarians), egg beaters, laughing cow cheese and veggies.
Ooh, I might try something like that with a tofu scramble–thanks for the idea!
These look great – serve as appetizers or a meal!
Yes, they would make awesome appetizers too–I should have mentioned that!
Seriously, you scare me. On my way to work I was thinking, “I need to make Lasagna, how can I make it small?” I was thinking stacks, but this is so much easier and cuter. LOVE!
Great minds think alike!
Definitely use the wonton wrappers–no boiling needed! And crispiness!
They look fantastic. Especially the crispy parts!
I LOVE this! And I think my 2 little rugrats would love to eat their own l’il lasagnas. This would also be fun for a kids’ party. Oh, the ideas, the ideas!
And hey–nothin’ wrong with being “lazy” in the kitchen. I don’t think making a tray of mini lasagnas could ever count as lazy, period!
Yes, these are so perfect for kids! Maybe sub in some more kid-friendly veggies (I don’t think I’d touch an artichoke when I was younger), but they’re small and self-contained, so they can be eaten without a fork–no mess!
Oh wow! This looks AMAZING! You are so creative – I would have never thought of doing this! I bet my kids would actually EAT these. Nom!
Well, I did see the idea on Pinterest first, so I can’t take all the credit.
DELISH…these would be perfect for my husband and I. We could have them for supper and take for our lunch the next day. Love the recipe.
Yup, that’s what we did! And they reheat pretty well, just like regular lasagna.
So cute! I’m only afraid I’d eat all 12 in the muffin tin in one sitting! I finally got around to planting stuff the other day, and there is some basil!
You won’t though! I really thought I’d need 6 to feel full, but 3 is definitely enough.
Good luck with your garden!
These look great!
Question – how far ahead could I make these, and how should I store them if I have any left overs?
Thanks!
I haven’t made these ahead of time, so I can’t answer with certainty, but I’m pretty sure you could assume these the night before and then bake them the next evening for dinner. Pesto is not as saucy as a tomato-based sauce, so I don’t think you’d have to worry as much about things going soggy. Just make sure you cook off any liquid in the veggie mixture. But again, I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know for sure.
We stored leftovers in a Tupperware container. Not sure how long they’d last in there because we ate them the next day.
I love miniature things too! These would be a great idea to serve at a party, and they look easy enough to adapt for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians by adding meat to some of the cups!
Yes, they’re easy to eat without forks, so they’d make a great appetizer!
These are so cute and sound delicious! Mini corn freaks me out but all other mini things I am totally on board with
Aw, how can you not love baby corn? It’s so wee!
These are so cute and look so yummy!
I saw these recently and loved them too, but your version sounds so much better! They would be so great for a potluck or party!
Definitely! They’re perfect because you can assemble them ahead of time and they only take 10 minutes to bake. It’s always a struggle to find recipes that don’t monopolize the oven when you’re entertaining.
Oh my goodness. Those look and sound wonderful. I may have to try them and add a little spinach.
Adding spinach or kale would work well with these. You can really do just about anything!
These would be a great way to stop me from eating “1 piece” that was actually 3 pieces, not cut yet.
Yeah, for some reason I’m completely unable to eyeball a casserole, pizza, or pie and divide it evenly. This is much easier!
I love bite sized foods too! These look delish!
I keep seeing these muffin tin recipes – I really need to try one. You make it look so easy!
It is easy!
They came together much more quickly than I thought they would.
Those look completely amazing! Definitely going to have to try those!
These look fantastic! I love that you used pesto. These would be awesome to make some night when I have my granddaughter. I love to feed her healthy food and I think she would love these. Thanks!
These are so kid-friendly–I’m sure you could put her to use assembling them too!
what about freezing?
If you freeze these the best way to do it would probably be to assemble them and then pop them in the freezer. If you bake them and THEN freeze them, the edges might not get crunchy when you reheat the lasagnas. But I haven’t frozen them, so I’m not 100% sure.