No Noodles Veggie Lasagna with Meat Sauce

This lasagna replaces noodles with layers of summer squashes, eggplant, ricotta and a homemade sauce. This savory and healthy lasagna brings the comfort without the guilt. This recipe makes 9-12 servings. It’s a perfect dish to serve for company or make it and freeze the rest for a quick heat & serve dinner later.

Lasagna…Cheesy. Saucy. Delicious. Comfort food. Just a few words that come to mind when I think about lasagna. This dish replaces traditional layers of noodles with layers of nutrient rich vegetables instead. Smothered between rich ricotta cheese and delicious fresh homemade tomato sauce, your picky eaters will hardly be able to tell the difference.

The key to making this lasagna a successful dinner is to make sure you cook your vegetables well. I pierced the eggplant and summer squashes and zapped them in the microwave quickly to soften them and help get the cooking process started.

A homemade meat sauce tops this dish off! Literally. You could skip the meat and make this a perfect vegetarian dish. I used homemade roasted tomatoes and fresh canned tomatoes, but feel free to use your favorite sauce.

I’m not one to cut out any major food group and I believe that it is important to eat the food you love BUT also the food that loves you back.

We did an elimination diet 2 months ago, cutting out dairy, gluten, sugar and inflammatory oils. It was challenging but worth it. Thankfully we didn’t find any necessary “trigger” foods, but we did notice other differences. My occasional acne, (yes I still get the occasional pimple at the age of ____. Uggh, insert eye roll) cleared up and my skin looked much brighter. We both felt lighter and less bloated after eating which I believe was the combination of eliminating all 4, but mostly from eliminating gluten and dairy.

I grew up eating a “well balanced meal”- meat, vegetables and a starch filled our plates each night. I carried that pattern into adulthood preparing meals with a protein, vegetable or two and typically a starch or grain. Since the elimination diet, we have cut back on eating grains and really do not eat any pastas. We found alternate ways to make dishes we love without the gluten belly bloat or fullness and digestive issues that can come from some grains- quinoa anyone?

There are so many brands now using alternate ingredients to make delicious gluten free pastas from chickpeas, sweet potatoes, spinach, lentils and other vegetables. (As always READ YOUR LABELS!- sometimes “healthier” is not necessarily true). I recommend trying a couple of brands and variations and finding one you like. Some brands and textures are not for me. We found we like the Banza brand that uses chickpeas and in particular their Cavatappi– because it’s fun to eat and fun to say! .

This is not to say we never eat grains or pasta, it’s just as of right now, in this season it’s working for us to focus on lean proteins and loads of veggies!

What you need to make No Noodles Veggie Lasagna

Ground meat– I used ground chicken for this recipe
Onion
Green bell pepper
Seasonings: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, parsley and fennel seeds– adding the fennel seeds and oregano to the meat when it’s cooking help season it to taste like Italian sausage, delicious! P.S fennel seeds are great for your digestive tract aiding in the digestion of food and helping decrease bacteria that causes gassiness. Read more about fennel seeds here.
Eggplant
Zucchini
Squash
Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roasted tomatoes & Canned tomatoes– I used 2 cups each of homemade tomatoes because I had them to use up. You can buy cans of tomatoes and make your own sauce blending them together with a can of tomato paste or you could use a jar of premade pasta sauce.

How to make this Lasagna

For exact measurements and steps see the recipe card below.

Gather the ingredients to make your sauce.
Cook meat and add in onions, peppers and seasonings and let simmer.
Puree fresh or canned tomatoes to make homemade sauce, then add to the seasoned meat.

Pierce small punctures into the vegetables and microwave for 1-2 minutes at a time, checking for a light softness. DO NOT OVERCOOK…as I did with the eggplant I planned for this recipe. Head smack…Mush mush! (see pic below)
Slice each vegetable into 1/4″ slices. No, they will not be gorgeous and perfect. As you can see from my picture, it’s challenging to get them to cut into perfect slices without falling apart or your knife getting a little squirrely…but it’s totally okay and you’ll never notice once you cover it up in layers of cheese and sauce.

Whoopsy!! This is what an overly "softened" eggplant looks like.

Layer the bottom of your dish with sauce, then begin layering your veggies, top with ricotta, sauce and mozzarella cheese then repeat until you use up all of your ingredients or until you reach the top of your dish.
This lasagna made 3 layers (without the eggplant)
Top off your lasagna with sauce and a generous amount of mozzarella cheese.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil using toothpicks to prevent the foil from falling onto the cheese.
And bake!

Good for you ingredients

Cooking at home allows you to control what ingredients go into your food. If you need to make dietary adjustments based on health needs or personal wellness goals you have that control in your hands. That’s one of the main reasons I’ve always enjoyed preparing my meals at home. I know what’s in each dish and I get to choose fresh, quality ingredients.

Frozen and premade foods are often high in sodium and contain additives and preservatives to help sustain their shelf life. Our bodies weren’t designed to process and digest preservatives, additives and other artificial ingredients. Regularly consuming these foods can cause real damage in our bodies- especially our digestive systems.

This chart compares the nutritional values of this recipe to two frozen brands. The comparison in calories and fat is not all that different. The Lean Cuisine lasagna actually has less fat than the homemade recipe, however often when companies remove fat, it’s replaced with something else, like sodium or artificial ingredients to create that satiating taste. There is a third of the sodium in the homemade recipe, compared to Stouffers and a significant difference in the carbohydrate load as well. Check it out!

Homemade Veggie Lasagna

Lean Cuisine Frozen Lasagna

Stouffer's Frozen Lasagna

How to store leftovers

To store: Store leftovers in a sealable glass container and store in the refrigerator. I recommend eating within 3-4 days. It would make a great grab and go lunch tomorrow!
To freeze: Once cooled, place leftovers in a sealable dish and freeze. I would recommend eating within 2 months.
To reheat: From frozen, place lasagna in an oven safe dish and cover. Warm in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the lasagnas feels warm throughout.

In a hurry? Try these shortcuts…

Use prechopped onion and peppers either fresh or frozen for the sauce.
Use a premade spaghetti sauce to make it a quick, meatless lasagna and buy frozen meatballs to cook for the meat lovers to have on the side.
Use a mandolin slicer to quickly, but carefully, slice up the veggies.