Description
This Easy Healthy Lasagna recipe combines lean ground beef with fresh zucchini and summer squash, layered with low-fat cottage cheese and a blend of shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. It’s a nutritious twist on the classic comfort dish, baked to perfection with oven-ready lasagna noodles and a flavorful homemade tomato sauce seasoned with garlic powder and Italian herbs.
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 the oven: Set your oven to 375 degrees F to prepare for baking the lasagna.
- Cook beef and onion: In a large pan with high sides, cook the chopped onion and ground beef over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until the beef is fully cooked. Once done, set aside and drain excess fat.
- Prepare vegetables: While the beef cooks, dice zucchini and summer squash into small cubes about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size.
- Cook vegetables: In the same pan, cook zucchini and summer squash for 7-10 minutes until tender.
- Add tomatoes and spices: Stir in whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, parsley, basil, oregano, and pepper. Continue cooking the mixture over medium heat for another 7-10 minutes, frequently stirring and breaking down the whole tomatoes with a spatula to create a smooth sauce.
- Combine beef with sauce: Add the cooked beef and onion back into the tomato and vegetable sauce, stirring to combine evenly.
- Assemble lasagna - first layer: Pour about one-quarter of the sauce mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Lay 4 uncooked oven-ready lasagna noodles over the sauce evenly.
- Layer with sauce and cheese: Spread another quarter of the sauce over the noodles, then layer half of the cottage cheese followed by half of the parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat layering: Repeat the layering process with the remaining noodles, sauce, cottage cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese until ingredients are used.
- Bake covered: Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Bake uncovered: Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Cool and serve: Let the lasagna cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving warm. Enjoy your healthy homemade lasagna!
Notes
- Make-Ahead: You can assemble the lasagna the night before or earlier in the day, then cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
- Freezing: Wrap the unbaked lasagna tightly in plastic wrap and foil or use an airtight casserole dish and freeze up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 15-20 extra minutes to baking time.
- Tomato substitution: Use crushed tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes if you prefer a smoother sauce.
- Tomato sauce texture: While cooking, break down whole tomatoes well to ensure a smooth consistency.
- Use oven-ready noodles to save prep time as no boiling is necessary.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
