Rule #344: Keep it light. Keep it cheesy.
Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups are a deceivingly light pasta dish that will leave your guests WOW’ed and their bellies happy! It may seem like a lot of steps, but each one is simple and can be broken up easily. These are worth every bit of effort!
Each bite is so deliciously cheesy and surprisingly light. My meat-loving hubby even loves these lasagna roll ups! He asked for seconds without even realized there was zero meat in each little delightful bite.
Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
To make the Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, first, either steam or boil your cauliflower florets until fork-tender. I love to use the steam-in-a-bag cauliflower florets when I can find them. Once cooked, place in a food processor.
Next, add in some blue cheese and Parmesan cheese. You can definitely sub a different kind of cheese if you’re not a blue cheese fan. To be honest, I’ve had folks who don’t love blue cheese try the sauce, and they couldn’t taste the strong blue cheese flavor!
Then, add some Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic powder.
Next, give everything a good ole blend in the food processor until it’s nice and smooth.
The best part of this Cauliflower Cheese Sauce (besides how delicious it is) is that you can make it up to 3 days ahead of time! Just store in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to bake your Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups.
Mushroom and Kale Mixture
Now let’s make our filling for our Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups, shall we? First, chop 1 small yellow onion and 1 lb. of mushrooms. We like to use Baby Bella mushrooms, but white button will do just fine also!
Next, chop some kale greens (discard them stems) and throw everything in a biggo bowl.
You may be tempted to skip the kale, but I promise you the texture (and vitamins) are worth it! Kale soaks up the flavors in the pasta so well you won’t even know it’s there.
Now, melt some butter in a large Dutch oven or skillet. Sauté the veggies until they’re softened (about 8 minutes).
Once the veggies are softened, throw in some fresh thyme sprigs (dried works, too) and minced garlic.
Then, sprinkle on 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
Finally, pour in 1/4 cup dry white wine (we use Chardonnay) to deglaze the pan. Cook until the liquid evaporates by half (about 5 minutes).
Lasagna Roll Ups
Now we assemble our Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups! Go ahead and whip together 15 oz. ricotta with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.
Then boil about 12 (NOT oven-ready) lasagna noodles in heavily-salted water until al dente. Drain and allow to cool slightly on paper towels so you can handle them.
Now, put a biggo dollop of the ricotta mixture and a biggo dollop of the mushroom mixture on one end of a lasagna noodle.
Roll ‘er up, and don’t worry if she’s messy. Everything bakes together just fine.
Repeat with remaining mixtures and lasagna noodles. Go ahead and sprinkle any extra of the two mixtures overtop the rolled up lasagna rolls.
And now for the best part: evenly spread on that amazing Cauliflower Cheese Sauce you whipped up earlier.
Then sprinkle on a handful of Parmesan.
Bake at 350, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Then turn the heat up to broil and broil for about 4 minutes, until the top is golden bubbly!
I like to garnish our Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups with a little fresh thyme. It gives it that little extra “zuzsh” (is that a word) I’m looking for.
We serve our lovely roll-ups with a simple side salad and a crisp, cold glass of white wine.
Some other great pasta recipes: Chicken Tetrazzini | Chicken Sausage Pasta | Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Cheesy Mushroom and Kale Lasagna Roll Ups
Equipment
Ingredients
Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
- 2 heads cauliflower florets only (or about 20 oz. cauliflower florets)
- ½ cup blue cheese goat cheese, Feta, or white cheddar will do also
- ¼ cup Parmesan shredded
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¾ tsp. Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Mushroom and Kale Mixture
- 4 tbs. unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms chopped (white button work, too)
- 1 head kale greens only, chopped
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme, plus more for garnish
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ¾ tsp. Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup dry white wine we use Chardonnay
Lasagna Roll-Ups
- 12 lasagna noodles not oven-ready
- 15 oz. ricotta
- 1 cup mozzarella shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan shredded, plus more for garnish
Instructions
To Make the Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
- Steam the cauliflower either in the bag if you can find the steam-in-the-bag kind or in a vegetable steamer. You can also boil the cauliflower florets until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Whichever way you choose, be sure to make the florets fork-tender so they blend well with the other ingredients.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked cauliflower florets with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
- The cheese sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the lasagna roll-ups.
To Make the Mushroom and Kale Mixture
- In a large Dutch oven or nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, mushrooms, and kale. Sauté until softened (about 8 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add in the thyme sprigs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook an additional minute, until fragrant. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan. Allow to simmer, cover, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until liquid evaporates by half (about 5 minutes). Remove thyme sprigs.
To Assemble the Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Cook your lasagna noodles until al dente (about 8 minutes) in a large pot of boiling, heavily-salted water. Drain and allow to cool slightly on paper towels until ready to assemble.
- Meanwhile, mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses.
- Spoon about 3 tbs. of the mushroom and kale mixture onto the end of a lasagna noodle. Dollop on about 2 tbs. of the ricotta mixture. Roll-up (it’s okay if it’s messy – pasta ain’t perfect) the mixture until closed.
- Place in a 9×13” pan coated with cooking spray.
- Repeat with remaining mushroom and kale mixture, ricotta mixture, and lasagna rolls.
- If you have any extra of the mixtures, just sprinkle them over top the lasagna rolls.
- Top with Cauliflower Cheese Sauce, then sprinkle on a handful more Parmesan.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Turn heat up to broil and broil for 4 minutes, until cheese is golden bubbly.
- Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh thyme, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary, and Pineapple House Rules makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.