Lightened Up Lasagna Without Ricotta

Name: Lasagna Without Ricotta
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 500 grams / 1 lb. Beef Mince (Ground beef); 1 medium Onion diced; 3 cloves Garlic crushed; 2 tablespoons Fresh basil finely chopped; 1 can Crushed Tomatoes (400g/14ounce); 3 tablespoon Tomato Paste; ½ cup Tomato Passata/tomato puree; 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce; ½ teaspoon Garlic salt/sea salt; 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano; ½ teaspoon Dried Chilli flakes; ¾ cup grated carrot; ¾ cup grated zucchini; 5 tablespoons Butter; 1 ½ cups Milk; 3 tablespoons Plain flour; ½ cup Grated cheese; Oven Ready Lasagne Sheets; ¼ cup Grated cheese for top

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This lasagna without ricotta is made with an easy 4 ingredient cheese sauce. The ragu bolognase is thick and saucy, the cheese sauce is cheesy, and the lasagna sheets are perfectly soft. Its healthy comfort food you can make with just 30 minutes of prep.

Why You Should Make My Lasagna Recipe

It's healthier, uses low fat options, and includes over a cup of hidden veg
It uses pre cooked noodles so cuts down on time
It's perfect freezer friendly food to make ahead
Its delicious as a meal on its own or with a garden salad
Its filling with rich, flavoursome meat sauce
Made with a light and healthy cheese sauce recipe that anyone can make
3 delectable layers of lasagna goodness

This recipe makes 4 good sized servings of healthy lasagna. I used a rectangle casserole dish that measured 25cm x 15cm. If your dish is a similar size it should be fine.

I would recommend using a dish as close in size as possible to the one I used so that you don;t run the risk of not having enough ragu bolognase, as this recipe is for a small batch lasagna.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

Mince/Ground Beef: I use extra lean beef mince. Choosing a leaner mince will help to lower the fat content
Cheese/Butter/Milk: To lighten up a traditionally heavy dish, I use the low fat varieties of cheese, milk and butter for this recipe.
Lasagne Sheets: I use San Remo brand – Large Instant Lasagna Oven Ready Lasagna Sheets: no pre cooking required. These sheets are the perfect size for a 25cm x 15 cm dish.

What Makes This Recipe Healthier than Regular Lasagna Recipes?

Includes one and a half cups of grated zucchini and carrot
Uses extra lean ground beef - the leanest cut you can buy, so it has less fat
Uses low fat butter and milk in the white sauce
Uses cheese that is lower in fat content, than mozzerella
Contains no parmesan cheese, cream or ricotta.

Don't let the fact that its a healthier, lightened up version of lasagna make you think that its not loaded with flavour, sauciness, creaminess, and luscious lasagna noodles.

I've served this lasagna recipe to loads of people and and everyone always comments on how rich the meat sauce is, how generous the lasagna noodles are and how the white cheese sauce oozes out the sides when you eat it.

How To Make

Meat Sauce

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F. In a medium pan sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add in the ground beef, using a spatula to break up any lumps. Cook through for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the grated carrot and zucchini and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

cooking onions, garlic and beef mince in a pan

adding carrot and zucchini to pan and cooking through

Add passata, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, oregano, fresh basil leaves and chilli flakes. Stir until combined.

Keep heat on high, stir occasionally until liquid reduces (around 3 – 5 minutes). Once liquid has reduced, remove from heat, cover and set aside.

cooking ragu bolognase sauce in a pan on the stove

White Cheese Sauce

Add butter to a clean pot and gently melt on low heat. Remove pot from heat, add in flour and stir until a paste is formed
Return to medium high heat, add milk gradually over a minute or two, whisking continuously to avoid clumping.
As the milk heats it will slowly begin to thicken the sauce mixture. Do not let the milk boil. Once sauce has thickened to your liking, add in ½ cup of grated cheese. Stir in the cheese with the whisk until it melts. As soon as cheese has just melted, remove from heat immediately.

Assembly

Place ⅓ of meat sauce on base of dish.
Spoon over ¼ of white sauce. Add lasagne sheet on top of white sauce.
Repeat twice, ending with lasagne sheet on top (making sure to reserve ¼ of the white sauce)
Add remaining white sauce on top of lasagne sheet. Sprinkle with ¼ cup grated cheese and a light sprinkle of chopped basil if desired.

assembling the lasagna in a casserole dish

Bake

Bake in oven at 180 degrees C (fan forced)/350 degrees F for 30 minutes
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Lasagna in casserole dish before and after baking in oven

Recipe Tips

How thick should the White Cheese Sauce be?

Before you add the cheese, it should be the consistency of custard. When you dip a spoon into the sauce, you should be able to see it drip off. The cheese will thicken it a little more

How long does the White Cheese Sauce take to thicken?

It can be anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Once it begins to thicken, it may bubble a little and it will begin to thicken very quickly. I recommend you stir continuously during this time to ensure the sauce doesn't burn, or boil.

What to do if White Cheese Sauce is not thickening

Check the heat. The flour is the thickening agent in the sauce and required heat to thicken. If the pot is on a low or medium heat, it won;t thicken. It needs to be on high heat, however keep watch on the sauce to make sure it doesn't boil

Lasagna Without Ricotta

Why You Should Make My Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

What Makes This Recipe Healthier than Regular Lasagna Recipes?