I absolutely love pasta and like most people I could probably live off of it if necessary. Unfortunately, with the love of pasta comes unreasonably large portion sizes, more calories and carbohydrates, and little to no protein. Below is my favorite lasagna recipe with a few healthier modifications to make it slightly guiltless.
Have you ever noticed how after eating a big bowl of pasta you’re hungry just an hour or two later? This is because of the large amount of refined carbohydrates in the meal and lack of protein. Refined carbohydrates are the easiest to digest and are therefore utilized by the body quickly. I chose to use whole grain lasagna noodles for this recipe instead of the traditional white. They are made with whole wheat and therefore have 6 grams of fiber per serving compared to the 1-2 grams in traditional lasagna noodles. This will help you feel fuller longer.
I found it the easiest to use my KitchenAid mixer to mix the ingredients, however an old fashioned spoon and bowl works just fine.
Skinny Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
- 9 Whole grain lasagna noodles, cooked
- 5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets (very small)
- 1 grated carrot
- 15 oz. fat-free ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 32 oz. no sugar added spaghetti sauce ( I use Rao’s Homemade )
- 3 oz. part skim milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
- Preheat the over to 350°.
- In a medium bowl, combine spinach, carrot, broccoli, ricotta, parmesan, egg, salt and pepper
- Spoon about one cup sauce on the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish
- Place a piece of wax or parchment paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles to dry. Spread 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll and place seam side down onto baking dish.
- Spoon remaining sauce over noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp. mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until bubbly.
CarlyJohnstonNutrition.com
This recipe makes 9 rolls. I usually pair 1 roll with green beans for a complete meal. If you’d like to up the protein a bit, brown some lean ground beef/turkey and mix with the spaghetti sauce. 🙂
– Carly