Traditional lasagna is incredibly comforting and indulgent. But as you grow older, many of us cannot have too much pasta, or the weight gain is real. Diabetes is another health concern from eating too many carbs. So I’ve created a pasta-free low carb lasagna that satisfies all your cravings for lasagna, but without all the carbs. I’ve replaced the pasta sheets with layers of roasted eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper. Enjoy!
Low Carb Lasagna
Layers of roasted veggies with cheese and meat sauce
Ingredients
Meat Sauce
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 3 carrots finely diced
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- 1/2 onion finely diced
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1/2 can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup milk
- 16 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Lasagna Layers
- 3 large zucchini sliced into 1/4 inch piecs
- 1 Italian eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 2 red and yellow peppers seeded and destemmed, then julienned
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 16 oz grated mozzarella cheese
- 16 oz full fat ricotta cheese
Instructions
Meat Sauce
- Place a large skillet on high heat. When the pan is hot, brown the ground beef and sausage on medium high heat, breaking up the meat into small chunks. In about 10 minutes, when they are browned, remove the meat from the pan.
- Add diced celery, carrot, and onion into the pan drippings. Saute on medium for at least 10 minutes. Then add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the meat back into the pan of sauteed vegetables. Then add in tomato paste and saute on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add in red wine and allow to reduce until the mixture is almost dry, about 5-10 minutes.
- Then add in milk and allow to reduce until the mixture is almost dry.
- Then add in crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Allow to simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes. Then set aside.
Prep Vegetables
- Cut off ends of zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers. Thinly slice zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers. Place sliced zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers onto a sheet pan and toss with oil. Then roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes until they have softened. Set aside.
Assembly
- On the bottom of a 10.5" x 7.5" rectangular baking dish, place a large ladle of meat sauce. Evenly spread on the bottom. Then add a layer of zucchini
- Evenly spread a layer of ricotta.
- Evenly spread a layer of meat sauce.
- Add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Add a layer of eggplant and bell pepper.
- Evenly spread a layer of meat sauce.
- Add a generous layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
Baking
- Place a tent of foil to the top and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes, making sure that there is a space between the foil and the cheese.
- Take the foil off and broil cheese for the last 5 minutes of cooking until cheese is golden brown.
- Allow to cool for at least 1 hr. Then slice and serve.
