A while back, I decided to embark on the adventure of making lasagna. But I had two problems – 1) How would I be able to make a healthy version of lasagna without cutting the flavor and 2) I had no recipe for lasagna! So I figured I’d experiment and see what happened. The end result actually turned out amazingly well! It’s been a big hit with family and friends since. Here’s the recipe – enjoy!
Ingredients
– Whole wheat lasagna noodles (uncooked)
– 4 zucchini
– 2 red bell peppers
– 1 bag of baby spinach
– 1 red onion
– Garlic
– Dried oregano
– Dried basil
– 1 can of crushed tomatoes (with spices added if you can find that)
– 1 jar ready made spaghetti sauce
– Olive oil & cooking spray
– Low fat ricotta cheese
– Low fat shredded mozzarella
– Shredded Parmesan or 4 cheese blend (I used this shredded 4 cheese blend from trader joes that has parmesan, asiagio, mozzarella and one other cheese)
Directions
Noodles
1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (leave them al dente) – salt the water if you like
2. Once they’re done, lay them flat on foil and set aside
Veggies
1. Quarter all 4 zucchini and thinly slice
2. Thinly slice one of the red bell peppers (I cut the slices in half so they’re not so long)
3. Mince 3 cloves of garlic
4. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat (I might have used a little less – maybe 2-3 tsp), saute the garlic, zucchini, red pepper together
5. Add the whole bag of baby spinach at the end (when the zucchini/red pepper are almost done cooking)
6. Sprinkle oregano/dried basil to taste on top, stir, and let it cook a couple more min
7. When the spinach is cooked, turn the heat down to low
Sauce
1. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
2. Dice half a red onion (or if it’s a small onion, dice the whole thing)
3. Dice the other red bell pepper
4. Heat 2-3 tsp olive oil in a pot over medium heat
5. Saute the red onion, garlic, and red pepper for a few min (until the onion starts turning a little translucent)
6. Add the crushed tomatoes
7. Add dried oregano (I’m not sure how much I put – I basically sprinkled it over the top and stirred it in – maybe 2 tsp?)
8. Once the sauce is heated through, turn the heat down on low
Cheese
1. Combine 1.5 cups of the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Parmesan (or 4 cheese mixture if you can find that at trader joes) in a bowl
Assembly
1. I used a casserole dish to assemble the lasagna in – and sprayed the bottom of the dish with cooking spray
2. Put a layer of sauce at the bottom of the dish (I did about half of the pre-made spaghetti sauce and half of the sauce I made myself – I did this for every layer except the top)
3. Put a layer of the lasagna noodles
4. Put another layer of the sauce (1/2 pre-made, 1/2 self made)
5. Put a layer of the veggies
6. Take the cheese mixture, and put little crumbles of the cheese mixture all over the veggie layer (don’t try to spread it out, the little crumbles seemed to work well)
7. Put another layer of the lasagna noodles
8. Layer of sauce (if you have enough use the self made, otherwise add in the pre-made as needed)
9. Layer of veggies
10. Cheese mixture crumbles
11. Layer of lasagna noodles
12. Layer of sauce (only self made)
13. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min
Uncover and bake for 5 min longer until the cheese has melted
Noodles
1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (leave them al dente) – salt the water if you like
2. Once they’re done, lay them flat on foil and set aside
Veggies
1. Quarter all 4 zucchini and thinly slice
2. Thinly slice one of the red bell peppers (I cut the slices in half so they’re not so long)
3. Mince 3 cloves of garlic
4. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat (I might have used a little less – maybe 2-3 tsp), saute the garlic, zucchini, red pepper together
5. Add the whole bag of baby spinach at the end (when the zucchini/red pepper are almost done cooking)
6. Sprinkle oregano/dried basil to taste on top, stir, and let it cook a couple more min
7. When the spinach is cooked, turn the heat down to low
Sauce
1. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
2. Dice half a red onion (or if it’s a small onion, dice the whole thing)
3. Dice the other red bell pepper
4. Heat 2-3 tsp olive oil in a pot over medium heat
5. Saute the red onion, garlic, and red pepper for a few min (until the onion starts turning a little translucent)
6. Add the crushed tomatoes
7. Add dried oregano (I’m not sure how much I put – I basically sprinkled it over the top and stirred it in – maybe 2 tsp?)
8. Once the sauce is heated through, turn the heat down on low
Cheese
Combine 1.5 cups of the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Parmesan (or 4 cheese mixture if you can find that at trader joes) in a bowl
Assembly
1. I used a casserole dish to assemble the lasagna in – and sprayed the bottom of the dish with cooking spray
2. Put a layer of sauce at the bottom of the dish (I did about half of the pre-made spaghetti sauce and half of the sauce I made myself – I did this for every layer except the top)
3. Put a layer of the lasagna noodles
4. Put another layer of the sauce (1/2 pre-made, 1/2 self made)
5. Put a layer of the veggies
6. Take the cheese mixture, and put little crumbles of the cheese mixture all over the veggie layer (don’t try to spread it out, the little crumbles seemed to work well)
7. Put another layer of the lasagna noodles
8. Layer of sauce (if you have enough use the self made, otherwise add in the pre-made as needed)
9. Layer of veggies
10. Cheese mixture crumbles
11. Layer of lasagna noodles
12. Layer of sauce (only self made)
13. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min
Uncover and bake for 5 min longer until the cheese has
Noodles
1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (leave them al dente) – salt the water if you like
2. Once they’re done, lay them flat on foil and set aside
Veggies
1. Quarter all 4 zucchini and thinly slice
2. Thinly slice one of the red bell peppers (I cut the slices in half so they’re not so long)
3. Mince 3 cloves of garlic
4. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat (I might have used a little less – maybe 2-3 tsp), saute the garlic, zucchini, red pepper together
5. Add the whole bag of baby spinach at the end (when the zucchini/red pepper are almost done cooking)
6. Sprinkle oregano/dried basil to taste on top, stir, and let it cook a couple more min
7. When the spinach is cooked, turn the heat down to low
Sauce
1. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
2. Dice half a red onion (or if it’s a small onion, dice the whole thing)
3. Dice the other red bell pepper
4. Heat 2-3 tsp olive oil in a pot over medium heat
5. Saute the red onion, garlic, and red pepper for a few min (until the onion starts turning a little translucent)
6. Add the crushed tomatoes
7. Add dried oregano (I’m not sure how much I put – I basically sprinkled it over the top and stirred it in – maybe 2 tsp?)
8. Once the sauce is heated through, turn the heat down on low
Cheese
Combine 1.5 cups of the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the Parmesan (or 4 cheese mixture if you can find that at trader joes) in a bowl
Assembly
1. I used a casserole dish to assemble the lasagna in – and sprayed the bottom of the dish with cooking spray
2. Put a layer of sauce at the bottom of the dish (I did about half of the pre-made spaghetti sauce and half of the sauce I made myself – I did this for every layer except the top)
3. Put a layer of the lasagna noodles
4. Put another layer of the sauce (1/2 pre-made, 1/2 self made)
5. Put a layer of the veggies
6. Take the cheese mixture, and put little crumbles of the cheese mixture all over the veggie layer (don’t try to spread it out, the little crumbles seemed to work well)
7. Put another layer of the lasagna noodles
8. Layer of sauce (if you have enough use the self made, otherwise add in the pre-made as needed)
9. Layer of veggies
10. Cheese mixture crumbles
11. Layer of lasagna noodles
12. Layer of sauce (only self made)
13. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese all over the top
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min
Uncover and bake for 5 min longer until the cheese has melted
The Picky Eater: A Healthy Food Blog 
Wow.. Love the veggie version of it. I always wanted to try this, thanks for the recipe.
No problem! Glad you like it 🙂