Yes, another cabbage recipe! But, this one was possibly the most surprising for me.
Who doesn’t love lasagna night with the family? I know I do! But, when you’re on a diet or just trying to eat a little healthier, it may feel like lasagna is out of the question. Not so!
What is lasagna?
Lasagna is possibly one of the oldest Italian pasta noodles. This is a classic Italian dish using the wide and long pasta noodles known as Lasagna noodles. The dish consists of layers of noodles, tomato sauce, cheese, vegetables, and meat (though the meat is optional for vegetarians).
Sounds heavenly, right? Well, yes it is! I have experimented with lasagna several times. I have changed the sauce, the cheese, the vegetables, and I have made it with and without meat. One of my favorite ways to make lasagna actually involves alternating tomato sauce layers with alfredo sauce layers. Yes, two sauces! So good!
This time, though I felt I had to stick with my healthier and happier self mission. I decided to change the noodles and keep the other ingredients on the light (but still flavorful) side.
Low-Carb cabbage lasagna!
Recipe from yours truly! This lasagna recipe is unique and low-carb because it replaces the typical lasagna noodles with cabbage leaves!
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (I used a four-cheese tomato sauce blend)
- 1 small tub of ricotta cheese (part-skim or whole)
- 1 egg
- Tomato basil mozzarella cheese, shredded, fresh
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ½ cup onions, chopped
- Salt, pepper and Italian seasonings to taste
Instructions
- Before you can begin building the lasagna, you must prepare some of your ingredients. Start by heating the olive oil in a deep frying pan or skillet.
- Add the chopped onions and ground turkey. Stir, and separate the chunks of ground turkey. Cook until ground turkey is no longer pink and the onions are nearly translucent. Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Prepare your ricotta mixture. Dump the ricotta cheese from the tub into a mixing bowl. Break it up with a spoon. Add an egg and mix well with the spoon to combine. Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings if desired.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Select a deep baking dish or casserole dish
- Pour a small amount of tomato sauce into the base of the baking dish, just enough to lightly cost the bottom.
- Tear off leaves from the head of cabbage and lay them over the tomato sauce. Repeat until the sauce is covered. Tip: you may want to tear the leaves into smaller pieces to make serving easier later.
- Spread an even layer of the ricotta cheese mixture over the cabbage leaves, leaving enough to add another layer later.
- Top the ricotta cheese layer with a thin layer of the ground turkey mixture.
- Top the ground turkey mixture layer with a thin layer of freshly shredded tomato basil mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat steps 7 through 10 a second time.
- Finally, top the second layer with a final layer of cabbage leaves, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the shredded cheese. If you have ricotta cheese leftover, evenly spread it around the edges of the baking dish.
- Sprinkle parsley flakes over the dish if desired.
- At this time you can cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze the dish to heat later. Or, you can cover the baking dish with aluminum foil only and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or so. Tip: bake the lasagna for longer than an hour. Shoot for an hour ana half if the top cheese layer will allow for it.
- If you layered your cabbage leaves whole and not turn into smaller pieces, you will need to cut your lasagna pieces with a sharp knife. Serve warm, and enjoy!
