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!!!
Ingredients
- 1½ 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 5–Green
WW POINTS PLUS 6
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 5–Green
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
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
That’s fantastic. Thanks so much Amy for your wonderful feedback!
My best,
Nancy
I’d love to try this but I hate mushrooms. What can I replace them with? It sounds yummi! Donna
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
Thank you, Nancy!
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?
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
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.
Sorry on my last post. I ordered my Press from Trekr Tek. NOT trektek
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
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
My pleasure, Jackie. I’m so happy you love this recipe!
With my best wishes,
Nancy
Has anyone tried cutting the zucchini into long flat strips that are almost the same shape as lasagna noodles?
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
Any way to make this vegetarian – so subbing turkey for something?
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
Has anyone tried this with dairy-free cheese options?
Doreen, I haven’t but maybe someone has and will comment!
My best,
Nancy
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.
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