Description
This Easy Healthy Lasagna recipe features lean ground beef, zucchini, and summer squash in a flavorful tomato sauce layered with cheese and oven-ready noodles. It's a nutritious twist on classic lasagna that comes together with simple steps and bakes to a cheesy perfection.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Vegetables
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup diced onion (chopped)
- 2 cups finely diced zucchini (about 2 small or 1 medium/large zucchini)
- 1 cup finely diced summer squash (about 1 medium/large summer squash)
Tomato Sauce
- 1 15 ounce can whole tomatoes (2 cups, or crushed tomatoes if preferred)
- 1 10 ounce can tomato sauce (1 1/4 cups)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Lasagna Layers
- 6 ounces uncooked, oven-ready lasagna noodles (8 noodles)
- 16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F to prepare for baking the lasagna later.
- Cook beef and onions: In a large pan with high sides, cook the diced onion and lean ground beef over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until the beef is fully cooked. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- Prepare vegetables: While the beef cooks, finely dice the zucchini and summer squash into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes.
- Cook vegetables: In the same pan, cook the diced zucchini and summer squash for about 7-10 minutes until tender.
- Add tomato ingredients and spices: Add the whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, and pepper to the cooked vegetables. Stir and break down the whole tomatoes with a spatula for a smooth sauce. Cook for another 7-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.
- Combine beef with sauce: Return the cooked ground beef and onion mixture to the tomato sauce and stir to combine evenly.
- Layer lasagna - first layer: Pour about a quarter of the tomato sauce mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
- Layer noodles: Place 4 of the oven-ready lasagna noodles over the sauce layer.
- Layer sauce again: Spoon another quarter of the tomato meat sauce over the noodles evenly.
- Add cheese layers: Spread half of the low-fat cottage cheese over the sauce, followed by half of the shredded parmesan and half of the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat layering: Repeat steps 7 through 10 with the remaining sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella to form the second layer.
- Cover and bake: Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and finish baking: Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden.
- Cool and serve: Allow the lasagna to cool for a few minutes before serving warm for the best taste and texture.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: Assemble the lasagna up to one day ahead, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Freezing: Wrap the unbaked lasagna well with plastic wrap and foil or place in an airtight container, freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 15-20 minutes to the baking time.
- Tomato substitution: Use crushed tomatoes in place of whole tomatoes for a smoother sauce texture from the start.
- Texture tip: When cooking the sauce, break down whole tomatoes thoroughly with a spatula for a better consistency.
- Use oven-ready noodles to skip boiling and save time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
