Spinach - Veggie Lasagna

This recipe had its origins in a spinach lasagna recipe from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service's Cooking Well with Diabetes series.  I modified the recipe to include more vegetables; added an egg to the ricotta; and increased the amount of tomato sauce.  It is a very easy dish to prepare; chopping vegetables is the most time consuming part.  It’s just as easy to make two batches at the same time; make one for immediate use and one for the freezer!



Many lasagna recipes are very high in salt and fat.  Using vegetables rather than meat as the main ingredient lowers the fat content, and making sauce from no-salt-added tomato products rather than commercially made sauce reduces the sodium content.  Of course, cooked and drained ground beef ,  turkey, or Italian sausage can be added for a meaty dish, and commercial spaghetti sauce can be used if that is your preference.  I prefer ricotta to cottage cheese in lasagna because the texture is more appealing, and ricotta is much lower in sodium than cottage cheese.

Spinach - Veggie Lasagna

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano or 2 teaspoons fresh oregano

½ bunch fresh spinach (or half of a 10 oz. bag of fresh spinach)

1 (14.5 oz.) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

2 (8 oz.) cans no-salt-added tomato sauce

1 (15 oz.) container reduced fat ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten (optional)

8 oz. part-skim milk mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

12 no-boil lasagna noodles

In a large skillet, sauté onions, garlic, mushrooms, and green pepper in olive oil until the vegetables are wilted and the onion is translucent.  Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and oregano.  Simmer until heated throughout.

Mix egg and ricotta cheese; set aside.  (Leave out the egg, if you wish.  Adding an egg makes the ricotta easier to spread).



Layering order really doesn't matter!

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Layer the lasagna as follows:  a little sauce in the bottom of the pan, followed by noodles, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce; repeat layers, ending with noodles, more sauce, more mozzarella, and the Parmesan.  Don’t stress about the order of the layers; as long as you have three layers of pasta and use up all the ingredients, it will turn out okay.   Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.  Yield:  8 servings.  To freeze for later use, freeze lasagna unbaked; wrap pan tightly in heavy duty foil.  Thaw 3 or 4 hours in the refrigerator, then bake 1 hour and 30 minutes at 375°F.

One to freeze for later and one to bake now.

Variation:  Use vegetables other than spinach.  I have made this dish with a combination of sliced yellow and zucchini squash and broccoli florets, about 4 cups total. 



The finished product.