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I am so proud of this healthy lasagna recipe. There are three major swaps that make this recipe macro friendly while producing huge portions. The first swap being hearts of palm “noodles” for lasagna noodles. Normally I wouldn’t swap with a vegetable product because I don’t think vegetables can replace pasta. For instance, I was never a fan of spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. The dishes would render too much moisture and just be “meh.” Ya know? But this swap works. When the hearts of palm sheets bake with the sauce and cheese it all blends together and you don’t even miss the pasta. It’s a great substitute. I use the brand Palmini and it comes out great every time. Be sure to rinse then soak the “noodles” in hot tap water then dry in between paper towels. Removing as much water as possible is key to a hearty lasagna and not a wet lasagna.
The next swap is low fat cottage cheese for ricotta cheese. I love the brand Good Culture for this because it’s super high in protein, low in fat, low in calories and tastes great. Once processed in the food processor or blender is mimics the texture of ricotta. If your cottage cheese has a lot of liquid in it, be sure to strain it in a mesh strainer to remove it.
The final swap is lean ground beef for sweet Italian sausage. Adding seasoning makes the ground beef taste more like Italian sausage but adds more protein and removes a lot of fat. Look for 90% or leaner ground beef and use the little fat rendered to cook the onions in. If your meat produces more fat then necessary, sop up some of the extra with paper towels. Rao’s jarred marinara is added to the meat and onions and doctored up with some seasoning and fresh herbs. The sauce tastes homemade and comes together in 30 minutes. The final product is an outstanding healthy lasagna that is filling and delicious.
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Healthy Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pack hearts of palm lasagna Palmini brand
- 8 oz part skim mozzarella cheese shredded
Meat Sauce
- 1 lb 90% Lean Ground Beef
- 28 oz Rao’s Marinara Costco size
- 1 Onion diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley
- 1 tbsp Fresh Chopped Basil
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Whipped Cottage Cheese
- 1 Pack Palmini Hearts of Palm Lasagna Sheets
- 16 oz low fat cottage cheese, strained Good Culture brand
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 2 tb Fresh Chopped Parsley
- 1/4 c Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 8 oz Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella
Instructions
- Brown meat and onions together over medium heat.
- Add garlic once the pink is cooked out. Brown until the fat has been cooked out.
- Add the Rao’s, stir and add all seasoning, parsley and basil.
- Let simmer for 15 min.
- Add a little water if it dries out.
- Strain hearts of palm noodles, rinse then soak in hot tap water in a bowl for 10 minutes. Remove from water and dry on paper towels.
- To a food processor blend strained cottage cheese, Parmesan, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
- Once smooth add parsley and pulse a few times.
- Build the lasagna in an 8x8 dish with a little sauce on bottom, a layer of hearts of palm noodles, sauce, half the cottage cheese mixture, shredded mozzarella. Repeat those layers.
- Your top layer will be the remaining hearts of palm noodles which will not make a full layer. Just spread them out.
- Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
- Let cool for 20 minutes.