A low calorie lasagne? You’ve got to be kidding, right…? Actually, no! A fairly generous serving of this tasty lasagne comes in at a measly 269 calories and is also great for the kids, as it boasts ‘hidden vegetables’!
Sure, it may lack the oozy layers of the traditional meat and béchamel version, but it’s flavoursome, filling and fits the bill in terms of winter comfort food.
Serves 6: 269 cals per serve
INGREDIENTS
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, coarsely grated
1 small zucchini, coarsely grated
300g ‘premium’ beef mince
50 g tomato paste
500ml jar of pasta sauce (I just used a plain Black & Gold type – 180kj per 100g according to the nutritional info)
3 lasagne sheets
250g low fat ricotta
30g finely grated parmesan
olive oil spray
sea salt and black pepper
PROCESS
Preheat oven to 180C.
Lightly spray a large non-stick frying pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and fry for 2-3 mins or until the onion is translucent. Add the carrot and zucchini and fry for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Add the beef mince to the pan and cook until browned, breaking up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes, then add the pasta sauce. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Place 200g of the ricotta in a medium bowl and add a couple of spoonfuls of the meat sauce – mix well. Then add to the remainder of the meat sauce and fold in until well combined.
Cover the base of a baking tray with one-third of the meat & ricotta sauce and then place lasagne sheet on top (the size of my baking tray meant that I used 1 ½ lasagne sheets per layer). Repeat, finishing with a layer of the meat and ricotta sauce.
Scatter the parmesan over the top of the lasagne, and dot with the remaining ricotta (each “dot” should be about the size of a 20c coin). Place in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the crust is golden.
Rest for about five minutes, then cut into six portions and serve with plenty of green salad.
TIP
If you have leftovers, great! It’s one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day…or you can freeze for a rainy day…
Great! I’m going to make this one Friday night. Mmmmmm…lasagne…..
OMG, I made it. Awesome. Does it still have 269 calories if you eat the whole thing yourself? Is it a MAGIC lasagne?
I’ve just made this, and will put it in the oven tonight. I wilted some spinach and tossed it through the ricotta… and left the ricotta separate from the meat sauce… so will see how that goes down.
I hope it’s ‘licious as Lacey says.
I would LOVE a magic lasagne…mmmmmm
Telle, I reckon that will work a treat – I thought about doing the ricotta as a separate layer but I’m lazy, really!
YUM, I made this tonight and it was delicious! Very hard to stop at the one serve… I love your recipes!
Well, more fool me for not getting back here ’til now! I’ve been eating Lean Cuisine Lasagne’s for low calories, but now…this one I’ve just got to try! Thank You Amanda…looks and sounds delish. I think I’ll throw Chantelle’s suggestions ‘into the mix’ also!