It’s no secret that I’m a fan of comfort food. Rich, calorie-laden dishes, often filled with cheesy goodness … yep, that’s my idea of comfort food. Unfortunately though, it often seems that comfort food and dieting just don’t go hand in hand. Enter a new comfort food classic: turkey and spinach lasagna.
I found a recipe for turkey and spinach lasagna from Eating Well that sounded both healthy and “comfort food worthy.” I made a few changes to the recipe and the adapted version, which went over quite well with the family, is below. I’m happy to say that my turkey and spinach lasagna remained healthy and filled my need for comfort food.
Mangia!
Turkey Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce (flavor of your choice)
- 1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free marinara sauce (flavor of your choice)
- 1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup pre-shredded fresh Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 12 cooked whole-wheat lasagna noodles
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is softened. Add turkey; cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add 5 3/4 cups marinara sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
3. Combine cottage cheese, egg, Parmesan, parsley, pepper, and spinach; stir well.
4. Spread remaining marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over marinara; top with half of the cottage cheese mixture and half of the mozzarella. Spoon 1/4 of the turkey mixture over the mozzarella. Arrange 4 more noodles over turkey mixture; top with another 1/4 of the turkey mixture then top with remaining cottage cheese mixture. Arrange last 4 noodles over cottage cheese mixture; top with remaining turkey mixture and mozzarella.
5. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes: Sustainably-raised ground turkey breast is available at Whole Foods. I also used Whole Foods 365 Organic brand marinara sauce and Whole Foods 365 brand pre-shredded Parmesan, Asiago, and Fontina cheese blend in this recipe.
