pasta la vista, baby. [turkey & vegetable lasagna]

March 15th, 2017 by | comments

Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes to cook. Although the process is somewhat laborious, the dish is delicious and provides at least one week’s worth of leftovers! My fiancé and I ate this lasagna for dinner and brought the rest to work for lunch the remainder of the week. The ground turkey and vegetables provide a delicious alternative to the classically prepared lasagna with beef.


turkey & vegetable lasagna
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
  • 2 zucchinis, diced into small pieces
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced into small pieces
  • 16 oz. ground turkey
  • 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
  • 1 tsp. dried basil, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried rosemary, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme, plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder, plus more to taste
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 (16 oz.) container whole milk ricotta
  • 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1½ tsp. Italian seasoning, plus more to taste
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add lasagna noodles. Cook according to package instructions.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add garlic, onion, zucchini and carrots. Cook vegetables until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
  4. Stir in ground turkey and cook until turkey is browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Crumble the turkey as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat.
  5. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and seasonings (basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic powder). Bring mixture to a simmer until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook sauce an additional 10 minutes.
  6. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, egg and Italian seasoning; set aside.
  7. Spread approximately 1 cup of tomato mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish, then top with three lasagna noodles, ½ of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with a second layer. Top with remaining noodles, tomato mixture and remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese on top.
  8. Place lasagna in oven and bake 35-45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Broil lasagna 3-4 minutes, or until top is browned in spots.
  9. Let lasagna cool about 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious.

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