All-Veggie Lasagna

Tons of diced mushrooms and carrots add plenty of texture to the sauce in this entirely vegetarian lasagna. The best part is that the 500-calorie serving size is VERY generous at 1/2 of the entire 8x8-inch baking dish. The secret to making that possible is using thinly sliced zucchini in place of lasagna noodles and fat-free ricotta cheese in place of regular ricotta.

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All-Veggie Lasagna

Prep Time
20 mins

Cook Time
25 mins

Serves
2

INGREDIENTS

Nonstick cooking spray

3 medium zucchini

2 teaspoons olive oil

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, diced

1 1/4 cups diced carrots

4 cups fresh spinach*

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg white

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil 

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, slice zucchini into thin and wide strips that will act as your lasagna noodles. Layer the zucchini between paper towels for 10 minutes after slicing to soak up excess water before preparing the lasagna. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or pot over high heat. Add mushrooms and carrots and sauté until they begin to sweat. Stir in spinach and garlic and lightly season with salt and pepper. Let cook just until spinach has wilted, about 1 minute.

Drain any excess liquid before stirring in marinara sauce.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg white, and spices to create the cheese filling.

Spoon 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and then top with a layer of 1/3 of the zucchini slices. Top the zucchini slices with 1 cup of the sauce mixture and then 1/2 of the cheese filling in small dollops.

Create a second layer by topping with more zucchini slices, 1 cup of sauce, and the remaining cheese filling.

Finish with a final layer of zucchini slices topped with any remaining sauce and then the mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake 10 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 10-15 minutes, just until cheese is well browned. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

Mona’s Tips

You can slice the zucchini earlier in the day before assembling, if desired. This will lessen the moisture of the zucchini before cooking. *Also, if you want to use frozen chopped spinach, microwave, and remove all moisture by placing in strainer and squeezing spinach wrapped in paper towel.

Ingredient Insider

The 3 zucchini in this recipe contain around 100 calories compared to around 800 calories for 8 ounces of traditional lasagna noodles. Net carbs are also significantly reduced by over 100 in the full lasagna.

Calories per serving: 500 ∙ Fat: 17.5g ∙ Net Carbs: 36g ∙ Fiber: 12g ∙ Sugars: 24g ∙ Protein: 40.5g