Broken Lasagna with Walnut & Gruyere Cheese Pesto
Broken lasagna with walnut and Gruyere cheese pesto is a quick vegetarian pasta dish where you snap dry lasagna sheets into rough pieces, boil them until al dente, then toss them with a creamy no-cook pesto of roasted walnuts, fresh basil, garlic, and Gruyere. It comes together in about 15 minutes and turns a single box of lasagna sheets into a full dinner with no layering and no baking.
Italians would be amazed to see what I did with the lasagna sheets in this recipe! I decided to turn them into strips of pasta, something probably abominable from their point of view, and rightly so. I understand them, except that sometimes it is fun to experiment in the kitchen and take everything as a game. The idea came from my wish to add a touch of creativity to a weeknight plate, so I took these pieces of lasagna and dressed them with a rich walnut pesto and Gruyere cheese.
Why Tearing the Lasagna Sheets Works
Lasagna sheets are wide and flat, which means those torn, uneven edges catch and hold onto a thick pesto far better than a smooth strand of spaghetti would. Every ragged piece traps a little pocket of walnut and basil, so each bite carries the full flavor of the sauce. Snapping the sheets by hand also gives you rustic, mismatched shapes that feel homemade, and it saves you from fussing over perfectly cut noodles. It is the easiest way I know to get lasagna flavor without building and baking an entire tray.
What Goes Into the Walnut and Gruyere Pesto
This pesto is a small ingredient list doing a lot of work. Roasted walnuts bring a warm, buttery depth that stands in for the pine nuts you would find in a classic basil pesto, and they blend into a lovely creamy base. Gruyere adds a nutty, slightly sweet saltiness that melts into the sauce, while fresh basil keeps everything bright and garlic gives it backbone. Olive oil pulls it all together into a smooth, spoonable paste. If you like building your own sauces, it is worth browsing more ideas for pasta sauce to see how a handful of pantry staples can change a whole dish.
- Roasted walnuts — toasting deepens their flavor and softens any bitterness before you blend.
- Gruyere — dice it small so it breaks down evenly in the food processor.
- Fresh basil — use the leaves only; tough stems can turn the pesto stringy.
- Garlic and olive oil — add the oil slowly, with the blender running, for a creamy finish.
Cooking the Pasta and Bringing It Together
Boil the broken sheets in well-salted water and pull them off the heat while they still have a little bite, around 8 to 9 minutes for al dente. The single most useful step is saving about half a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain. That water is what loosens the thick pesto and helps it cling to the pasta instead of clumping. Return the drained pieces to the warm pan over medium heat, stir in the pesto and a splash of the reserved water, and toss for a minute or two until everything is glossy and coated. Because the pesto is uncooked, keep the heat gentle so the Gruyere melts smoothly rather than turning grainy.
Easy Swaps for Vegan and Gluten-Free Diets
As written, this dish is vegetarian because of the Gruyere. To make it vegan, swap the Gruyere for a firm plant-based cheese, or lean on a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast for that savory, cheesy note; my collection of vegan cheese recipes has options that blend beautifully into a pesto. For a gluten-free version, simply use your favorite gluten-free lasagna sheets and cook them according to the package, since they can soften faster than wheat pasta. Everything else in the recipe stays exactly the same.
What to Serve Alongside
This is a rich, cheesy plate, so I like to balance it with something fresh and green. A crisp salad with a sharp vinaigrette or a bowl of roasted vegetables keeps things from feeling heavy. If you are cooking for a crowd who loves pasta, set it next to a lighter bowl of oyster mushroom spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce so guests can go between a creamy plate and a tomato one. And if you find yourself craving the full layered classic another night, my vegan lasagna with mushrooms is the comforting, baked counterpart to this quick version.
Storing and Making Ahead
The pesto is the make-ahead hero here. You can blend it up to three days in advance, keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top, and it stays fresh and green until you need it. Leftover dressed pasta keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. To reheat, warm it gently in a pan with a splash of water so the sauce loosens again, since a microwave tends to dry it out and can make the cheese seize. I would not freeze the finished dish, as cooked pasta turns mushy once thawed, though the plain pesto freezes well on its own.
If you try this playful twist on lasagna, I would love to know how it turned out. Leave a star rating and drop a comment below to tell me whether you kept the Gruyere or went for a vegan swap, and what you served it with.
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Broken Lasagna with Walnut & Gruyere Cheese Pesto
Ingredients
- 500 g 17.6 oz lasagna sheets, broken
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the pesto:
- 100 g 3.5 oz Gruyere cheese, diced
- 60 g 2.1 oz roasted walnuts
- 80 g 2.8 oz fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 50 ml 2 fl oz olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare the pesto: In a food processor, add Gruyere, walnuts, basil, and garlic.
- Blend until you get a puree composition. Then, with the blender on, slowly add the olive oil and blend until you get a creamy pesto.
- On high heat, put a saucepan or double-bottomed pan with water to boil. When it boils, leave the heat low-medium and add salt. Then add the brroken lasagna sheets and let them cook for 8-9 minutes, or until al dente.
- Strain the cooked pasta, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
- Put the pasta back in the pan, on medium heat, add the pesto and water from cooking the pasta.
- Mix pasta with pesto well, until it is heated and well incorporated, for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve warm, with freshly ground black pepper, extra cheese and olive or walnut oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Broken lasagna is simply dry lasagna sheets snapped into rough, uneven pieces before boiling, so they cook like a wide, rustic pasta instead of being layered and baked. The torn edges hold onto thick sauces like pesto really well. It is a fast way to enjoy lasagna flavor without assembling a full tray.
As written it is vegetarian, because the pesto contains Gruyere, which is a real dairy cheese. To make it vegan, replace the Gruyere with a firm plant-based cheese or a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast. The rest of the ingredients are already plant-based.
Yes. Walnuts give the pesto a warm, buttery depth, but toasted pine nuts, almonds, or cashews all blend into a creamy base too. Roast or toast whichever nut you choose first, as it deepens the flavor and mellows any bitterness.
The starchy cooking water is what loosens the thick pesto and helps it coat every piece of pasta evenly instead of clumping. Reserve about half a cup before you drain, then add it a splash at a time when you toss the pasta with the pesto. It also keeps the sauce glossy rather than dry.
Keep the heat gentle when you combine the pasta and pesto, since the sauce is uncooked and high heat can make the cheese seize. Toss over medium heat for just one to two minutes, using the reserved pasta water to help the Gruyere melt smoothly into a creamy coating.
Absolutely. Blend the walnut and Gruyere pesto up to three days ahead and store it in a sealed jar in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top to keep it green. It also freezes well on its own, so you can have a batch ready for a quick weeknight pasta.
