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This extra cheesy Brown Butter Pesto Spinach Souffle Lasagna is a Christmas Eve favorite. It’s simply a white lasagna with layers of creamy brown butter cheese Béchamel sauce with golden mushrooms, garlic, basil pesto, spinach, and cheese. This creamy, cheesy lasagna is always a favorite on Christmas Eve. It’s a great meal for entertaining; simply make it ahead of time and bake it off before guests arrive. Perfect for December!
Whenever I’m asked what’s on my Christmas menu, my first choice is usually lasagna. Lasagna is great because you can assemble the dish ahead of time. Then, bake it slowly in the oven while you enjoy your evening with friends and family.
I love to make multiple lasagnas, one with meat and one without. Sometimes, if my crowd of people is especially large, I’ll even make 3! This way, everyone has a yummy holiday dinner they can enjoy whether they consume meat or prefer a vegetable-filled dish. This makes life so super easy. Just add a side salad and bread for all to share, and your meal is complete! No stress, no fuss.
I like to keep my cooking pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas. Dinner on Christmas Eve is usually a beef tenderloin roast. But over the years, we’ve switched up our Christmas Day dinner. My mom used to roast a turkey. But when we moved to Colorado, I began to make lasagna. And the last couple of years, we’ve actually done Mexican.
This year, I’m returning to my roots and making everyone lasagna. This will be the easiest on me, and of course, delicious too! I’m going to make my classic homemade meat lasagna that I know all the boys will love. It’s a favorite recipe of theirs, especially when I make it spicy.
But I’m also going to make this white lasagna. Inspired by my late Aunt Katie’s white chicken lasagna that she used to make at Christmastime. But I’ve made a few tweaks that I know she would approve of! Aunt Katie was my cousin’s (that you always hear me talk about) mom.
Here are the details
Step 1: the mushroom Béchamel sauce
I make my cheese Béchamel sauce with golden brown butter for even more flavor.
Start out by cooking the mushrooms in butter. Then, add yummy flavors like garlic, sage, and thyme. The key is to let the butter brown slowly around the mushrooms until they smell nutty and delicious.
Next, mix in flour, milk, and white wine – or use broth. The flour will thicken the Béchamel sauce and make it creamy.
Now mix in the provolone cheese.
Step 2: the spinach and pesto
I use frozen chopped spinach. Thaw the spinach, then squeeze out all the excess water. Once most of the water is removed, mix the spinach with store-bought basil pesto.
Step 3: assemble
Now it’s time to assemble. Layer cooked lasagna noodles with the Béchamel sauce, spinach/pesto mixture, and mozzarella cheese.
Continue to layer until all of the ingredients are gone!
Step 4: chill and save – or bake
At this point, you can cover the dish and keep it in the fridge for a few days before baking. Or, you can freeze it, then thaw it later and bake.
To bake, I like to bring the dish to room temperature first. Then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Next, remove the foil and keep baking until the edges of the dish begin to crisp. So delicious!
It’s going to smell so wonderful!
A great dinner to entertain with over the holidays, from today through New Year’s!
Looking for other easy holiday dinners?? Here are my favorites:
Stuffed Spaghetti Squash 4 Cheese Pesto Lasagna
Crispy Prosciutto Cheesy White Lasagna
One Pot Creamy French Onion Pasta Bake
Creamy White Wine Mushroom Stuffed Shells
Lastly, if you make this Brown Butter Pesto Spinach Souffle Lasagna, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Pesto Lasagna
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 693 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 box dry lasagna noodles
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- salt and black pepper
- 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- chili flakes
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups dry white wine or broth
- 2 cups shredded provolone
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 packages (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup basil pesto
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly butter a 9×13 inch lasagna pan. Cook the noodles according to package directions. 2. Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes or until golden. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter. Allow the butter to brown lightly around the mushrooms for 5 minutes. 3. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, and chili flakes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and broth. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the provolone and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth. Set the cheese sauce aside.4. In a bowl, combine the spinach and pesto.5. Spread 1/4 of the cheese sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 3-4 lasagna sheets. Spread with 1/2 the spinach/pesto, then another 1/4 of the cheese sauce. Place another 3-4 lasagna noodles on top and then top with the remaining spinach/pesto, 1 cup mozzarella, and another 1/4 of the cheese sauce. Add the remaining lasagna noodles and pour the remaining cheese sauce over top. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. 6. Bake, covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes more. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Everyone loved this vegetarian lasagna on. Christmas Day and it paired well with honey baked ham! It was easy to prep ahead so thanks for including those notes in your recipes!
Hey! Thank you so much for trying the recipe out! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! 🙂 xT
Loved this lasagna delicious flavor and easy to make
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
VERY rich. A LOT of butter and oil is used in this. Proceed with caution if you have any stomach issues at all.
Also has a LOT of trouble getting the cheese (and mushroom) sauce to thicken up. Had to add more flour to it because it wasn’t happening.
It is good, but too rich for my stomach.
Hi Christine! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! I really appreciate this feedback! xT
I made this recipe for my husband and me for Christmas and it was divine! Followed the recipe to a tee- I subbed oven ready lasagna for the regular (so put the noodles in dry, but of course it needs to be the oven ready type) and it worked out great, saving another step. Had about a cup of the cheese sauce leftover, no regrets just keeping it to the side because it may have been too soggy if I added it all. Must try!
Hi Paige! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
I cooked this today for Christmas dinner. I added more mushrooms, because they cook down and I love them. I also added the pesto in one layer, just to keep it simple. Other than that I cooked it exactly as shown and it was fabulous. Thank you.
Hi Jill! Thank you so so much for giving the recipe a try! xT
Hi Tieghan, thank you for this scrumptious recipe. I’ve made it twice now in the hopes of perfecting it in time for New Years dinner! Do you have any tips for trying to get the cheese sauce to not be so oily or greasy? I tried switching up the size of the grated bits of grated parmesan the second time around hoping that would help, but I’m still getting lots of oil. Hoping there’s some solution other than blotting a paper towel around the pools of oil. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, and merry Christmas to you and your family. -Dorothy
Had the same issue
Getting ready to make this, put lasagna noodles in uncooked? Just checking…..and by the way, um the previous comments have nothing to do with cooking!
I bought some nice dop provolone and shredded it myself. I googled ounces of cheese in a cup of cheese and was surprised to find that it’s dependent on the hardness of cheese. When making I thought 8 oz = 1 cup, foolishly. Anyways I think I added much more cheese than called for…..and yum!
Hi Megan! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
This recipe sounds fantastic. All of your recipes sound great and the presentation and photos are superb. Don’t listen to all the Debbie downers. Have a Merry Christmas!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing Christmas! xT
Can this be made the night before and baked day of?
Yep, that should work super well! 🙂 xT
Hi! Do you think I could add some chicken to this recipe? If so, any tips?
Hi Hannah! Yes, I would add precooked shredded chicken to the lasagna layers! xT
Oh dear. I purchased all of the ingredients to make this for a last minute holiday dinner this evening. I was hoping to find some good feedback from other home chefs or even some additional tips & tricks from Tieghen in the comment section, to say I was shocked is an understatement.
I know Tieghan can face some challenging criticism from time to time and a lot of loyal fans come to defend her personal and private life outside of cooking which, within reason, is fair.
But why must we all attack folks who are simply asking her to clarify the recipe? Some of these recipes have so many ingredients that can get quite pricey. I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking for additional advice or clarification. Not everything has a hidden agenda or meaning. Not every negative review is Reddit fueled hate.
Any food blogger who pushes out this much content will likely have a few less than perfect recipes. Tieghan has been doing this for years, I’m confident she had a thick enough to skin to let the less than perfect feedback roll of her skin. She doesn’t need her fans spewing hate over a lasagna.
I truly hope yall find some perspective in 2024. It’s just a lasagna (not a soufflé) at the end of the day.
No eggs = not a souffle.
Cheese in sauce = not Bechamel.
Might be a good idea to take a break for awhile and go to culinary school. Clearly this site is “all about the clicks” at this point. I feel for young folks here trying to learn actual techniques because they’re in the wrong place.
Hi Lizzy!! Happy holidays! Thank you so much for commenting, all of this is great information! I grew with spinach soufflé as a side dish, so it felt comforting and cozy to call this a spinach soufflé lasagna with all the frozen spinach in the recipe! Apologies if that’s lead to some confusion!! Have a merry Christmas 🎄🎁
Those brown butter mushrooms were the icing on the cake. This was fantastic!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! xT
Hi Tieghan,
This lasagna was so good! My kids went nuts over the sauce and now want it on everything! I even managed to sneak in the vegetables without much protest. 🙂
I love this site and have for years, but your comments are getting spammed to death. Is there anything that can be done about this? My husband has a blog (not for cooking, but similar layout) and we can see the comments before posting and we have to approve them first. Maybe you could do the same? The arguing is really distracting. Thank you, and happy holidays to you and your entire family!