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Skinny Lasagna, Fabulous and Noodle Free (Gluten-Free)

 

Skinny Lasagna, Fabulous and Noodle Free (Gluten-Free)
When I think of Italian comfort food, a yummy lasagna comes to mind. This lasagna is so decadently delicious and made without noodles! It’s skinny since using 99% fat-free turkey, fat-free ricotta cheese, and loads of zucchini, mushrooms, and onions. Each velvety, cheesy slice has just 234 calories and 5 grams of fat. It’s a real keeper!!!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Bake Time: 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 234kcal

Ingredients

  • cups onions, chopped
  • 3 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 cups (~3 medium) zucchini, sliced into rounds (⅛” thick)
  • ½ pound 99% fat-free ground turkey
  • ½ tablespoon garlic, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1 (24 oz.) jar pasta sauce, I used Classico Tomato and Basil or use your favorite
  • 1 (15 oz.) container fat-free ricotta cheese, see shopping tips
  • ½ cup light mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated, see food facts
  • 1 large egg, I like using Egg-Land’s Best

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
  • In a microwave-safe bowl, add onions and mushrooms. Cook in the microwave for 4 minutes. Drain liquid. Next, place zucchini in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes, until soft. Drain liquid.
  • Coat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray.  Add ground turkey and garlic. Cook, breaking up the pieces until browned.  Once browned, stir in 1 cup pasta sauce, cooked onions and mushrooms, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix well.
  • In a bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese and egg. Combine well.
  • To assemble lasagna: Spread ¾ cup pasta sauce on the bottom of baking pan. Add ½ of cooked zucchini. Spread ½ ricotta mixture over zucchini. Spread the entire turkey mixture over top of the ricotta. Add remaining zucchini over top of turkey. Add remaining ricotta. Spread remaining pasta sauce over the top of the ricotta. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese all over. Finally sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.
  • Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
  • Remove foil and let casserole sit for 15 minutes. Cut into 6 slices.
  • This casserole freezes great!

Notes

Makes 6 servings (each serving, 1 slice)

Food Facts

Grated Parmesan cheese is finer than shredded. Shredded looks like thin strips, grated is more of a powdery consistency and is usually done with harder cheeses like Parmesan. You’ll find grated Parmesan cheese in containers and sold in all supermarkets.

Healthy Benefits

Fat-free ricotta cheese, light mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese are great sources of protein and calcium.
Zucchini is high in fiber, water, vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium.
Mushrooms contain fiber, iron, folate, and vitamin C. They are also very low in calories. Half of the cup has only 21 calories.
Onions are a very good source of vitamin C, B6, biotin, chromium, calcium, and dietary fiber. In addition, they contain good amounts of folic acid and vitamin B1 and K.

Shopping Tips

Many supermarkets sell fat-free ricotta cheese in the cheese aisle where other ricotta cheese is found. Sargento makes one. I bought mine at Trader Joe’s.
If you find ricotta cheese or don’t like it, you can use 2 cups of fat-free cottage cheese instead.
Looking to buy a 9-inch square baking pan? I use mine all the time. Great for casseroles, baked chicken, fish and such. And, you can serve your dish right from the pan. Here’s one of my favorites on Amazon.

WW Freestyle SmartPoints
5-Blue
WW SmartPoints 5Green

WW POINTS PLUS
6
 
SKINNY FACTS: for 1 slice
234 calories, 5g fat, 2g sat. fat, 61mg chol, 26g protein, 22g carbs, 3g fiber, 648mg sodium, 12g sugar
FACTS: for Freestyle SmartPoints
144 calories, 2g sat. fat, 10g sugar, 13g protein

Skinny Facts

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 234kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 26gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 648mgFiber: 3gSugar: 12gBlue Smart Points: 5Green Smart Points: 5Plus Points: 6

Comments

  1. OMG! Thank you so much for this. I never could have thought that Lasagna could be made skinny. I love Lasagna but tend to avoid it due to its high fat contents but your recipe has given me hope. I can still eat what I love and not worry about the fat. Thank you so much for this recipe. The funnest thing is my husband ate it as well and he loved it even more then the store bought fat filled Lasagna.

    Amy Bar

  2. I’d love to try this but I hate mushrooms. What can I replace them with? It sounds yummi! Donna

  3. Donna, I’d add 1 1/2 cups chopped red, yellow or orange bell peppers and 1 1/2 cups cups yellow squash.
    Enjoy!
    My best,
    Nancy

  4. When I try to pin this , the link to pinterest shows the Chicken Picatta picture. This happens when ever I click on a recipe at the bottom of a recipe page. How do I pin the clicked on recipe?

  5. Pam, I’m sorry you’re having a problem trying to pin this recipe. I tried to duplicate the issue but couldn’t. It’s always best to go to the recipe and pin it from the top, right above the photo. Or, you can always join me on Skinny Kitchen Pinterest page. I’ve put my recipes into categories. Here is the link to my page: https://www.pinterest.com/skinnykitchen/boards/
    All the best,
    Nancy

  6. This was just excellent. Didn’t miss the noodles one bit It was runny and I made cut lines through the top layer and then scooped out the servings but I will make it again anyway Any tips on getting the water out of the zucchini? I even put the vegetables in the salad spinner. It really tasted like the most decadent slice of lasagne.

  7. Jackie the easiest way to remove the moisture from the zucchini is to lay the cut pieces out on paper towels and sprinkle them with just a tad of salt. This will help to remove all the moisture.
    Let them sit for 5 minutes. Next, pat the tops of the zucchini with more paper towels. You should be good to go!
    My best,
    Nancy

  8. Thank you Nancy for the tip on draining zucchini. This is my favorite recipe yet. I don’t think I’ll ever make lasagne using noodles again

  9. I haven’t Barbara but I love this idea. The cook time would probably need to be less.
    Let us know if you give it a try!
    My best,
    Nancy

  10. Sheri, to make this vegetarian, leave out the turkey and up the veggies. I’d add 1 more cup of mushrooms and 1/2 cup onions and cook in the microwave with the other mushrooms and onions. Plus you could add 1/4 cup more light mozzarella cheese.
    Enjoy!
    My best,
    Nancy

  11. Despite my best efforts this turned out way too runny. I microwaved the zucchini in the morning, drained and spread on several layers of paper towels. Then I changed the towels frequently. We thought it could use more seasoning but that is our personal taste. If I make again I will have to make sure the zucchini is much more dry.

  12. I’m really sorry you had such trouble with the zucchini. I haven’t made this for quite a while but don’t remember having any issues. Maybe next time, you could wash, slice and dry the zucchini well and then let the air dry completely.
    All the best,
    Nancy

If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it. Leave me a comment below or give it a rating. Thanks so much. Happy Skinny Cooking!

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