Vegetarian Lasagna – 380 Calories

I love Italian food, specifically lasagna.  If given the opportunity for a cheat meal, nine times out of ten I will choose lasagna for it’s cheesy deliciousness.  But as we all know, it has a ton of calories and takes forever to make.  That’s why I like this recipe from Good Housekeeping’s 400 Calorie series.  It swaps veggies for meat, cutting the calorie count and uses a slow-cooker and no-boil noodles to make your life easier.

Here is the recipe excerpted from “Good Housekeeping 400 Calorie Italian– Easy Mix-and-Match Recipes for a Skinner You!”  © 2013 by Hearst Communications, Inc. www.goodhousekeeping.com. All rights reserved: May not be reprinted without publisher permission.:

Vegetarian Lasagna

Active time: 15 minutes.  Slow-cook time: 2 1/2 hours on low or 1 1/2 hours on high.  Makes: 8 main-dish servings.

• 1 jar (25 to 26 ounces) marinara sauce or homemade marinara
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 package (8 to 9 ounces) no-boil lasagna noodles (12 to 15 noodles)
• 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 6 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend or mozzarella cheese (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup frozen veggie crumbles

  

1. In medium bowl, combine marinara sauce and tomatoes with their juice.
2. Spray 4 1/2- to 6-quart slow-ccoker bowl with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon 1 cup tomato-sauce mixture into bowl.  Arrange one-fourth of noodles over sauce, overlapping noodles and breaking into large pieces to cover as much sauce as possible.  Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce over noodles, then top with one-third of ricotta (generous 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Spread half of spinach over cheese.
3. Repeat layering, beginning with noodles and using frozen crumbles instead of spinach; repeat layering using remaining spinach.  Place remaining noodles over spinach, then top with remaining sauce and shredded cheese.
4. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs on Low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or on High for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or until noodles are very tender.

380 Calories PER SERVING.  21G Protein. 45G Carbohydrates. 12G Total Fat (6G Saturated). 5G Fiber. 35 MG Cholesterol. 812 MG Sodium.

Lisa 

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Recipe copyright information above.  Please note all opinions are my own.  No compensation was given for this review, other than a copy of the cookbook.

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