No Pasta Lasagna
I used my own homemade spaghetti sauce that I make, food vacuum seal and freeze. Use whichever sauce you prefer just make sure you are reading labels to make sure of the carb and sugar content.
For the no-pasta noodles:
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 c parmesan cheese
- 1 c mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 t Italian Seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
- 1 lb. ground beef (or mixture of beef/sausage if that's what you prefer.)
- 1 t Italian seasoning, 1 t garlic powder, 1 t dried oregano, 1 t onion powder
- 1 1/2 - 2 c spaghetti sauce of you choice (I make mine homemade) Check carb and sugar counts on yours
- 1 c ricotta cheese
- 1-2 t dried basil
- 1/3 c mozzarella or Parmesan cheese
Turn the 9X13 pan of baked cheese "pasta" the long way in front of you and slice it into 3rds. You now have 3 sheets that are the same size as a bread loaf pan. These are going to substitute the pasta. Mix the basil into the ricotta cheese. Sometimes if the ricotta is a brand that isn't very thick (brands differ) then I beat in 1 egg. Up to you. I use cottage cheese with an egg when I don't have ricotta on hand. You can also use sour cream instead of cottage cheese or ricotta if that's all you have on hand.
In a loaf pan, layer your lasagna as you usually do. A bit of sauce, a sheet of cheese-pasta, meat, the ricotta cheese mixture, sauce, cheese-pasta, meat, ricotta. Layer at least 3 layers and you should be to the top of the loaf pan. Sprinkle with parmesan or mozzarella (or even a mixture of cheddar jack if that's what you have in the house). Bake about 25-35 minutes at 350 until golden brown, bubbly and hot all the way through (depends on the thickness of your pan, your oven's 'personality' for baking, etc) Let set at least 10 minutes to set up - or if you dig into it right away (like we always do) expect it to look more like a casserole on your plate because you didn't allow it to set up. We enjoyed with a green salad and blue cheese dressing on the side.
The pasta substitute
Spread into a pan and ready to bake
This is your finished 'pasta' which is really an egg/cheese mixture
Layer as you usually do with lasagna - only use a bread or loaf pan
Ready for the oven