Yes, people. There is a way to eat lasagna that isn’t totally awful for you!
It’s called substituting beef with turkey; whole ricotta and mozzarella with skim; and adding spinach.
A couple things need to happen before baking this dish. First, you’ll cook a tomato, onion and turkey mixture with italian seasonings.
Then you’ll mix together ricotta, shredded mozzarella and thawed spinach to form your cheesy filling.
Finally, it’s all about the layers! Make sure to firmly press each layer down to save space. You’ll want to repeat the 3 mini layers (turkey mix, noodles, cheese filling) three times if you can fit it!
And of course, top it off with some extra fresh mozzarella!
BOOM! You are a professional Italian chef. Now go make this bad boy so you can have leftovers for days.
low-fat Spinach Turkey Lasagna
Serves 4-6 for dinner and lunch leftovers
Get the Goods
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
- 1-15 oz. can part-skim ricotta cheese
- 10 oz. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1-10 oz. package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1-24 oz. package oven-ready lasagna noodles (VERY IMPORTANT they’re oven ready)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Just a Few Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and stir occassionally for a few minutes until translucent.
2. Add the ground turkey and satue until cooked through. Add the Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes (with juice from the can), tomato sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Remote from heat and season with salt and pepper.
3. In a bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella and chopped spinach. Mix until combined and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spray an 8x8 or 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of the turkey/tomato sauce (from step 2) across the bottom of pan. Add 2-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Spread ricotta cheese mixture on top until fully covered.
5. Add the same number of lasagna noodles to start a new layer. Add more turkey/tomato mixture followed by more noodles, and then the cheese mixture.
6. Repeat all steps in step 5 until you reach the top of your baking dish. Top with extra shredded mozzarella! Place the lasagna dish on top of a baking tray and cover with nonstick alumnium foil.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Once you make the layers it's only a matter of baking and waiting! How did yours come out? I hope you enjoyed the rich flavors like I did. Share your cooking story in the comments or on Instagram with #CookingWithKrij