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Quick and Easy Spinach Lasagna

Categories: Kid-Friendly | One-Dish | Pasta | What's for Dinner

[24 Aug 2010 | By Cecily | No Comment ]

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Love lasagna?  Does your greasy, meaty, high-calorie version need a makeover?   This super easy recipe nixes the meat as well as substitutes whole wheat lasagna noodles for traditional white, and uses part-skim cheeses.  You also get a dose of healthy spinach in this cheesy one-dish meal.  Filling ingredients are mixed in a food processor to reduce prep time.

This lasagna is great for a potluck or healthy vegetarian family meal.  It’s perfect for kids, too, as there are no big chunks of spinach; it’s all blended into the creamy filling.  Kids can also easily assist in making this one, layering noodles and spreading the sauce and filling.

Note:  When draining the thawed spinach, remove as much water as possible.  You can drain it in a colander in the sink and then press squeeze out the water with your hands.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

13.5 oz. package whole wheat lasagna (you may have some extra)

12 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

8 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese (set aside ½ cup)

2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese AND extra for topping

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I like Classico Tomato and Basil)

salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

spinach and cheese mixture in work bowl

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.  Add whole wheat pasta, one piece at a time to prevent sticking.  Boil for 5-6 minutes or until al dente.
3. While pasta boils, place drained spinach, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and salt and pepper in work bowl of food processor with blade attachment.
4. Process until uniform. Should be a pale green with tiny pieces of spinach throughout.
5. Spray an 11.5 x 8 pan (or pan of your choice) with cooking spray.
6. Add a thin layer of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of the pan.
7. Place one layer of lasagna noodles over sauce.
8. Spread 1/3 of spinach and cheese mixture over noodles.
9. Spread a layer of spaghetti sauce over cheese and spinach mixture.
10. Top with noodles.
11. Repeat until all spinach mixture is used.
12. For the top layer, cover lasagna noodles with sauce and the remaining ½ cup of mozzarella.  You can also sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.
13. Bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Tags: cheese, easy, kids, lasagna, vegetarian

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