Low fat lasagna ideas needed

deedeehar
deedeehar Posts: 8 Member
Hi my daughter loves lasagna and I have googled low fat versions but there are so many? What can I use to reduce the calories and still have it taste good for the kids? Any suggestions? Thanks
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Replies

  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    That would really depend on what your child/ren like. There's veggie lasagna, for example, but if they're not into a wide range of veggies then you may be limited there.

    Ground poultry instead of ground red meat is another option. As is seafood lasagna.

    If you're making from scratch, I find kids tend to eat more of the stuff they make (or helped to make).
  • deedeehar
    deedeehar Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks, we eat veggie and meat so both are fine. I’m struggling with the calories in the white sauce especially.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    The bechamel has low-fat and/or higher fiber substitutes that you can look up separately online.
  • sharondesfor935
    sharondesfor935 Posts: 89 Member
    Remove the dairy. I replaced my bechamel sauce with a tofu ricotta filling instead. (ItDoesntTasteLikeChicken's recipe blog). I also top it with a "mozzarella" recipe from The Edgy Veg, but I'm not loving that. I may just skip it next time and skip the topping altogether. And make sure your noodles don't have eggs, which bumps up the fat content. (You might have to boil your noodles; I haven't found an egg-free no-boil noodle yet. But I live in a very small town so my options will be much more limited here.)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I use my favorite recipe but make swaps.

    2% mozzarella, then use less. Fat free is just nasty.
    1/2 the regular meat or Italian turkey sausage. Pre-cook and blot with paper towels.
    Non-fat ricotta or 1% cottage cheese.
    Egg beaters (or just egg whites) for binder.


    It's going to be a calorie dense thing. Use more veggies if you can. Bulk up the serving size with lower calorie items.
  • cleopold4
    cleopold4 Posts: 16 Member
    By far the best advice for eating low calorie lasagna's custard tarts etc is to:

    Eat a mung bean pita with your eyes closed whilst taking in a whiff of your neighbour's cooking through the kitchen window. :-)

    Lol, this story was given to me by an old friend who survived through WWII.. only difference he was eating rock hard bread.

    As far as the actual lasagna..I use ham, eggs, a bolognese sauce, lotsa mozzarella and egg pasta sheets..

    I'm Italian, my low calorie lasagna recipe:

    Substitute Pasta sheets with Mung Bean or Red Lentil Pita

    Instead of mince use half amount of very thinly cut lean meat, and other half mushroom bits

    Use very little low fat mozzarella. Dont spread it. put it in clumps. just enough to know its there but not enough to hold it together (tradeoff)

    Boil eggs.. slice and add to one layer..(very nice if you haven't tried.

    Add Peas...I do

    In lieu of the mozzarella..a Béchamel sauce - not too much ie 40gbutter 40g flour 400ml milk

    A sprinkle of parmesan on top of the Béchamel

    You can add olives. spinach, tomato etc

    Not quite a traditional lasagna..there is a dish i make called mexican lasagna...uses Pita. So by making mung or lentil pita we are basically making this... very nice








  • Stacey_c123
    Stacey_c123 Posts: 78 Member
    Go on Google and follow the slimming world recipe for lasagne. Its sooo nice, homemade bolognese sauce to go with it and to make the white sauce is fat free natural yoghurt, 2 eggs and nutmeg (i use sweetener) and still use the usual lasagne sheets. I make it for all my family and they prefer it to normal lasagne x
  • cleopold4
    cleopold4 Posts: 16 Member
    OMG , in checking 'slimming world recipe for lasagne', I came across Quorn

    Looks like an excellent substitute for mince in a lasagna... (and Nachos..my meal tonight TYTY)

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    cleopold4 wrote: »
    OMG , in checking 'slimming world recipe for lasagne', I came across Quorn

    Looks like an excellent substitute for mince in a lasagna... (and Nachos..my meal tonight TYTY)

    I like quorn as a meat substitute if you don't mind that it is processed. Lower calories than turkey mince. I am a meat eater but often replace a third of minced meat with quorn in a lot recipes like bolognaise sauce and meatloaf and there is no discernable difference in taste or texture.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    I cut calories by not adding cheese to the bechamel sauce or butter, if there's cheese on top that's enough and doesn't affect the taste IMO. (I make a basic white sauce, season with salt/pepper/nutmeg instead.)

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    I've also used creme fraiche as a white sauce substitute, handy and very tasty indeed.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited July 2020
    I don't make lasagna any longer. I make Spaghetti Squash and then take it out in strings, add in a little Ricotta (we use vegan because my wife is allergic to cow dairy), some Parm (we just replace that with Pecorino) and some Mozz (we use goat mozz). Chicken Sausage is actually good too (cooked and drained) and your favorite sauce. Then bake it again in the half shells for 10 to 15 minutes until bubbly. It's amazing. My wife wouldn't eat it if it wasn't delicious. She's a very picky eater that loved lasagna.
  • KevinWH87
    KevinWH87 Posts: 74 Member
    Use cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. You won't even be able to tell it's cottage cheese - honest!
  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 38,515 Member
    I make eggplant lasagna ...with Italian sausage either hot or mild .....ricotta and cottage cheese...super yummy
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 498 Member
    I use turkey mince and low fat cottage cheese when I make it, and it's DIVINE. If I do say so myself.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    Portion control: when there is a calorie-dense food, active kids and teens get a bigger portion, less active members of the household, a small one and lots of something filling and low cal, like a green salad. I do not think it is worth the energy to try and make something really low calorie with too many substitutions. Either it will not really be low calorie or it will have nothing to do with the initial recipe. Lasagna without sauce or even without lasagna, they are not going to convince a kid that they are what they were expecting.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    Low fat ricotta instead of full fat. (I don't like using fat free dairy items, the taste and/or texture seems off to me.)
    Lower calorie sauce (if you're like me and don't bother to make your own) - look at the labels and perhaps find one with less added sugar.
    Do you use meat? Try turkey sausage or ground turkey instead of pork sausage or ground beef.
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
    https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-lasagna/

    My son, didn't even realize it wasn't noodles when I made it. Grill your noodles first! Also, she has a great lasagna soup recipe ....so easy, and she does zucchini lasagna rollups ( I have not made this yet.). One key, is making your own Mariana, the jarred sauces, make a huge difference in your calories, and macros.