This is one of my favorite lasagna recipes. Lasagna is one of those delicious classic Italian recipes and this one comes with a twist.
You can turn delicious lasagna into gluten free lasagna that everyone will enjoy. How?
Simply replace the cooked noodles with slices of zucchini or eggplant! Lots more nutrition, fewer calories and carbohydrates, and great taste.
So may people need to avoid gluten, either because they are gluten sensitive or they have full blown celiac disease. Celiac is a horrible disease that causes people to suffer terrible pain on eating any bit of flour containing food. So no lasagna noodles for them.
I originally developed this recipe because I have diabetes and was looking for a much lower carb version of the lasagna I grew up with and love.
So I replaced the lasagna noodles in my recipe with slices of eggplant and zucchini. I often use all zucchini slices as that is my favorite.
It cuts the carb count immensely and makes lasagna a delicious dinner that everyone will love and works perfectly for both diabetics and those who are gluten intolerant. A real win in my books!
To make it vegetarian, just leave out the ground beef.
This gluten free lasagna recipe is great for someone who wants to cut some of the carbohydrates from a meal like lasagna, cut the calories, or just try something different.
It’s also a wonderful way to get more vegetables into a meal.
I am always looking for ways to add vegetables to a meal. Traditionally, lasagna was a meal that really lacked vegetables. Not with this version! My diabetic and gluten free lasagna is packed with vegetable nutrition.
It’s a terrific healthy cooking recipe. To make it healthier, do what I suggest above in the tips. Sprinkle the top of each layer with some grated Parmesan cheese, and save the grated mozzarella for the top layer only. You still have that ooey goodness, but just on top. It saves a lot of calories and fat and makes the whole dish lighter.
Gluten Free Lasagna with Veggie "Noodles"
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup dry red wine, Optional
- 1 - 19 ounces canned tomatoes, crushed
- 14 ounces canned tomatoes, diced
- 2 teaspoons oregano, dried
- 2 teaspoons basil, dried
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, small, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 eggplant, large, sliced
- 2 zucchini, medium, sliced
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, grated (low fat if preferred or leave out for a low fat lasagna)
Instructions
- Brown beef in pan on medium high heat. Drain if necessary once it is well browned. Add red wine and reduce until almost gone. Add tomatoes, oregano, basil, garlic and onion. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer sauce.
- While sauce is simmering, place eggplant and zucchini on a cookie sheet. Lightly sprinkle veggies with salt and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Place cookie sheets in preheated 350ºF oven for approximately 10 minutes to help release some of the moisture from the veggies.
- In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese with egg and parmesan cheese. Add a bit of salt if desired.
- Place a very small amount of meat mixture on the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Layer approximately six zucchini "noodles" on meat, then half of the remaining meat, then the ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle with a little mozzarella cheese. For the next layer use the eggplant "noodles". Pour on the remaining meat mixture, then zucchini and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. You can sprinkle a little oregano and parmesan cheese on top, if desired.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
The red wine in the sauce is optional. You can replace it with chicken stock, beef stock or just a bit of water. (Replacing the wine with water reduces the carb count even more.)Nutrition
Tips and Variations:
- Leave out the beef for a great tasting vegetarian lasagna.
- You can replace the zucchini with sliced eggplant as the noodle layer.
- Low Fat Lasagna: Use low fat cheeses and cut the amount of cheese you use in half. I often use Parmesan cheese in the middle layers and just put a bit of mozzarella on top.
This is a wonderful diabetic recipe because it has a much lower carb level than regular lasagna. For those who love the Italian flavors of lasagna, but have a difficult time with the high carb count of all those noodles, this version that replaces the noodles with zucchini and/or eggplant is perfect. You get all of that traditional lasagna flavor with far fewer carbs. Enjoy.
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