Healthy Lasagna with Turkey, Pesto and Peppers

Let me first preface this post by saying that not everyone will like this lasagna. If you grew up like my husband and his family with down-home, butter-filled cooking, you definitely won’t like this healthy turkey lasagna, because for starters it has turkey instead of ground beef.

Meat and potatoes people, you can just skip this post, and instead visit my one for traditional lasagna (also called The World’s Best Lasagna) here.

HOWEVER, if you’re like my family and me, and don’t mind trying new foods or eating healthy, this is probably the healthiest lasagna you’ll ever make; and it doesn’t taste like cardboard. Yay!

What makes it so healthy you ask? You ought to get an idea just by scrolling through the colorful pictures.

For one, whole wheat lasagna noodles are used instead of traditional white ones. Lean ground turkey is used instead of ground beef. There are THREE bell peppers – yellow, red, and orange – all of which pack the most nutrients and vitamin A.

We also used basil and low fat ricotta cheese. Marinara sauce is already low it fat, and instead of mozzarella, this recipe uses Parmesan cheese.

I seriously don’t feel bad pigging out on this colorful lasagna. Feed your body the good stuff this time! #cleaneating

healthy turkey lasagna

How can you not smile by looking at that sweet face? 🙂 Enjoy!

Healthy Lasagna with Turkey, Pesto and Peppers

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 80 mins

Total time: 1 hour 50 mins

Serves: 10

Adapted from: Cookin Canuck

Ingredients

1 package (14 oz.) whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried chile flakes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
15 oz. low fat ricotta cheese
6 Tbsp. pesto
5 cups marinara sauce (your favorite kind)
2/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
8 basil leaves, thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare lasagna noodles per package instructions, rinse with cold water and lay in a single layer on kitchen towels.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and red chile flakes, and cook for 1 minute.
Turn the heat to medium-high and add ground turkey meat. Cook, breaking up the turkey meat with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Pour off and discard juices. Transfer the onion/turkey meat mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Warm 1 teaspoon olive oil to the same skillet, set over medium heat. Add diced bell peppers and cook until beginning to soften.
Mix ricotta cheese and pesto.
Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Lay a few lasagna noodles in a single layer, slightly overlapping, over top of the sauce. When fitting in the lasagna noodles, it may be necessary to cut some in half lengthwise or crosswise so that they fit properly.
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. Top with 1/3 of the turkey mixture, 1/3 of the pepper mixture, 1/3 of the sliced basil, and additional 1 cup of marinara sauce and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese.
Repeat these layers 2 more times, starting with the lasagna noodles. End with an additional layer of lasagna noodles and the remaining marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and cook until the lasagna is bubbling, 55 to 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and just beginning to brown.
Let rest for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Serving size: 1/10 Calories: 386 Fat: 14 Saturated fat: 4.3 Carbohydrates: 37.7 Sugar: .5 Sodium: 1066.6 Fiber: 5.5 Protein: 27.8

World’s Best Lasagna

Matt is a huge fan of lasagna and until now, I had never found a recipe that I truly loved until this one by Dallas’ own John Chandler.

While sitting in the lobby at Goodyear Tire a few months ago waiting for an oil change, I saw a segment on Good Morning America for the world’s best lasagna. (Watch the clip HERE). The man behind the recipe is John Chandler, a Dallas home cook who posted his lasagna recipe on AllRecipes.com 11 years ago, never thinking it would be the most popular recipe of all time on that website!

With more than 8,000 five-star reviews, it definitely lived up to it’s name “world’s best lasagna”. After watching the GMA segment and leaving Goodyear Tire craving lasagna, I made it a point to make this lasagna for Matt and I later that week.

And the verdict was??? We LOVED it!

The recipe is actually quite simple and uses simple, easily found ingredients from your typical grocery store… nothing weird of fancy; just fresh mozzarella, Parmesan and ricotta cheese, Italian sausage, lean ground beef, garlic, tomato sauce and paste, Italian seasonings, and lasagna noodles. It’s definitely a winner and we’re definitely eating this again!

Plus it serves 12 so it would be perfect for a large family get together or party. Enjoy!

World's Best Lasagna — Brown sausage, beef, onion, and garlic.

Heat until meat is browned and cooked through.

World’s Best Lasagna

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours 30 mins

Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 12

Adapted from John Chandler

Ingredients

1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles (or can use no-boil lasagna)
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. (Or use no-boil lasagna noodles). Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and baking an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Giada’s Shrimp Lasagna Rolls

I love shrimp and I love lasagna, so why not combine them? I have never heard of shrimp lasagna before, but when my mom and I saw it in Giada de Laurentiis’s cookbook, we just had to try them. They were very good, our only complaint was that we should have baked them longer in the oven for the cheese to melt more, but we were pressed for time.

Boil the noodles.

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook on the stove for about 4 minutes.

Make two sauces: the marinara and the ricotta/shrimp sauce mixture.

Lay out a noodle and spoon ricotta/shrimp mixture on it.

Roll up each individual lasagna and place in baking pan layered with marinara sauce and cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. We should have baked ours for about 40 minutes. Enjoy!

Giada’s Shrimp Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
1 lb lasagna noodles
3 tbps olive oil
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 large clove garlic, chopped
2 (15 oz) container whole-milk ricotta
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups marinara sauce
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 6-8 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and garlic to the pan and saute until shrimp are cooked, about 4 minutes, stirring often.
4. Remove from heat and let cool. Coarsely chop the cooled shrimp and place in a bowl with 1 cup ricotta cheese, the parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.
5. In another bowl, combine the marinara sauce with the remaining 1 cup ricotta and stir to combine.
6. To make lasagna, cover the bottom of a baking dish with 1/2 cup marinara mixture. Lay 4 noodles flat on a dry work surface. Spread about 1/4 cup shrimp mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll up and place seem-side down in a baking dish. Repeat to make 12 rolls total.
7. Drizzle the rolls with the remaining marinara mixture and top with mozzarella. Bake until the lasagna rolls are heated through and cheese begins to brown, about 25 minutes (we would recommend 40 minutes).