Lasagne is such a hearty meal, but it can also be a hearty set of calories so I decided to seek some alternatives for a healthy version. I love spinach and ricotta canneloni so decided to combine the two (caneloni tubes are too fiddly for me!). I saw an idea for replacing lasagne sheets with sliced courgettes and decided to mash them altogether for a low carb, low calorie meal!
For the red sauce:
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
1 large carrot
1 beef stock cube
Herbs (oregano, parsley, basil)
For the filling:
1 tub of ricotta
Half a big bag of spinach
Sliced tomato
For the sheets:
Three small courgettes
Salt
For the topping:
200 ml Ah Bisto! White sauce (can use a homemade roux)
60g cheese, grated
1. Slice the courgettes thinly, spread them out and sprinkle salt on. This pulls out all the water! Leave for about five minutes and then squeeze with a clean flannel or kitchen roll.
2. Dice the onions and garlic and grate the carrot. In a pan, fry the onions and garlic in a little oil or Frylite for two minutes before adding the tomato puree, herbs and stock cube. Fry for another minute before adding the carrots and chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. Once done, blend so it is a thick sauce.
3. Chop the spinach and fry in Frylite until it’s reduced to a big pulpy pile. Take off the heat and stir in the ricotta.
4. Layer the ricotta into the tray and add a layer of sliced tomatoes before spreading some sauce on. Add a layer of courgette slices, and repeat!
5. After the final layer of courgettes and then pour on the white sauce, before pouring on the cheese.
6. Oven at 210 degrees for 20 minutes.
7. Serve with some salad (and garlic bread!).
This is so tasty, and such a healthier alternative to your traditional lasagne. If you want to make it vegetarian, replace the beef stock cube with vegetable stock cube. It is quite sloppy, but that’s because the ricotta filling is soft and so is the sauce. If you made mince lasagne with courgette slices, it wouldn’t be any more sloppy than usual!
A quarter of this only comes in at 370 calories, 20g fat, 27g protein and 23g carbohydrates. Much more energy packed than your usual lasagne!
Do you use any healthy meal alternatives? Or are you tempted to now? 😉
