Lower calorie lasagna?

abbyrose1007
abbyrose1007 Posts: 5 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
I have always made lasagna for my friends and family, but it is packed with calories. Does anyone have a recipie for lower calorie lasagna?

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Can you swap parts of your recipe for lower cal options?

    Use half pasta, half vegie layers (like zucchini)

    Leaner meat. Bump up the meat sauce with vegies.

    Use lower fat dairy - I make white sauce with cheese, so flour, butter, milk cheese. Low fat milk and low fat cheese helps.

    Eat smaller portions?
  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    Basically was livingleanlivingclean said:

    1. Ground turkey or ground chicken
    2. Zucchini or eggplant versus pasta
    3. Low-fat riccotta cheese and low-cal cheese
    4. Make your own sauce or use a low-sodium version
    5. Add more vegetables to your meat mixture to amp up the volume and decrease the amount of meat present (higher calories)
  • cozytimes
    cozytimes Posts: 111 Member
    i'd probably just get a frozen meal if i'm craving it
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    edited April 2017
    I made it with ground turkey (own sauce - canned tomato, paste, beef stock, oregano, garlic etc), fat free ricotta and some real cheese, and zucchini instead of pasta and it was damn good.
  • kmcadam78
    kmcadam78 Posts: 21 Member
    You can use turkey mince and also grate carrots and add them to the turkey mince when you're cooking it. I also like to add a layer of dry fried mushrooms. Also just go a bit lighter with the cheese
  • 1coolmofo
    1coolmofo Posts: 65 Member
    Steamed shaved parsnips and carrots,make hood noodle substitute. Use plenty of fresh herbs to make the flavor amazing. Use cottage cheese and ricotta blended together properly seasoned with salt pepper and herbs. Garnish with parmesan that you grate with a mircoplane very fine so a little goes a long way. The ingredients are a factor butbso is the execution. If it is well made and tastes great (possibly better than the origonal) you are more likely to eat it.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    You can use eggplant as a sub for the pasta and with just that change, you would save a lot of calories
    I have done this and really, the difference is negligible in taste and texture.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    I've used either zucchini or eggplant or frozen chopped spinach to layer in place of the lasagna noodles. Then I add more chopped vegetables to the tomato sauce. For the cheese, you can use lower fat ricotta or cottage cheese (blend in the food processor to make it smooth). If you use eggs in your ricotta mixture, use egg whites. I usually use some parmesan which is lower in calories anyway and strong in flavor. You can use part skim mozzarella in moderation rather than piling it on there the way I like it. I cannot stand ground turkey so I would just use a leaner ground beef. Make sure to use lots of herbs to give good rich flavor to the lasagna.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    My lasagne is 500 cals for a big serving. I use 5% fat mince and don't put cheese on top.
  • tasha_998
    tasha_998 Posts: 12 Member
    edited May 2017
    I sometimes substitute very thinly sliced zucchini for the noodles. The trick is to salt the zucchini slices in a colander, let them sit and weep out the excess moisture, then rinse and blot them dry. Otherwise the lasagna will be too wet.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
    Another option is to make individual lasagna cups in muffin tin. Portion control.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I have always made lasagna for my friends and family, but it is packed with calories. Does anyone have a recipie for lower calorie lasagna?

    Meatless - Lasagna Florentine.

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/spinach-lasagna-rolls/
  • whatlunasaid
    whatlunasaid Posts: 173 Member
    For me the biggest thing with Italian food is portion control. I obviously recommend trying the lower calorie swaps that sound good to you (plenty of those in the comments above)!

    But in the end, if you need the taste of your usual recipe, load up on water and veggies before the meal. Then take a sensible portion and enjoy the heck out of it. Send all the leftovers home with your friends. :) I do this with pasta, pizza, desserts, etc.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Ground turkey and skim cheeses. I also use 9 noodles instead if 12. But it is delicious with zucchini or eggplant instead of pasta!
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    Maybe veggie lasagna with low fat cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I tried to make the zuchini lasagna and I thought it was gross, so from now on I will just splurge and eat a small portion of lasagna! :wink:
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
    I am making these Lasagna Stuffed Peppers tonight

    http://peaceloveandlowcarb.stfi.re/lasagna-stuffed-peppers-low-carb-gluten-free/?sf=bwxeaeb#aa

    Each stuffed pepper half is around 200 calories. I will come back after dinner and let you know how they turned out.
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