Thursday, September 5, 2013

Turkey, Mushroom, and Spinach Lasagna



I don't typically mess with lasagna at home.

It's a a bit fussy and usually pretty expensive to make. Definitely a special occasion meal in this house.

So I definitely broke my own rule when I made this lasagna. I was searching for lower calorie pasta meals (hard to do!) and came across this healthier version of a traditional lasagna that also came with just a 20 minute prep time and minimal pricey ingredients. At just 390 calories a serving, I was sold!

This was actually whipped up on a weeknight without much effort and it may possibly be my favorite lasagna recipe to date. It makes a large amount but we had no issues polishing it off within a few days. Even my traditional lasagna loving husband LOVED this version.

Ground turkey, spinach, and mushrooms add loads of flavor along with a secret ingredient of turkey pepperoni! I don't usually like pepperoni but I rolled with it and am glad I did. It adds a spicy unique flavor in the background that you can't quite pinpoint... unless you made it, of course.

Make sure you hold onto a full cup of marinara sauce to cover the top layer or you'll end up with not quite cooked through noodles on top like mine!


Turkey, Mushroom, and Spinach Lasagna
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 cups baby spinach
32 ounce jar of marinara sauce
4 ounces turkey pepperoni, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
15 ounces fat free ricotta
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella
fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the turkey, fennel, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and mix together. Cook until the meat is no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl.

Add oil to the same skillet. When hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft - about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted - about 2 minutes. Stir in the turkey and remove from heat. 

Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles, overlapping if needed. Layer half of the turkey filling on top, then add half the ricotta. Top with 1 cup of marinara, half the pepperoni, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Add another layer of 4 noodles, then turkey filling, the rest of the ricotta, 1 cup of marinara, sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and the rest of the pepperoni. Top with 4 more lasagna noodles and the remaining cup of marinara sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and basil.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 more minutes, or until the noodles are soft and mozzarella has browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. 

14 comments :

  1. Mmm your lasagna sounds wonderful! I've been wanting to make lasagna using turkey too, this looks delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Even my beef loving hubby didn't mind the turkey - give it a try!

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  2. Oh this sounds good. I love lasagnas!! This sounds healthy and yummy! I'm pinning to try it soon, thanks for sharing!

    ~Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy

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  3. Now this looks fantastic, Aimee! I love that you made a healthy version of lasagna. And the turkey, mushroom and spinach combination just sounds oh so good!

    Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Mondays! Pinning and sharing on social media!

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    Replies
    1. It's SO GOOD. I actually preferred it to the original :) Thanks for sharing it!

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  4. This is such a good way to use ground turkey! Thanks for sharing and broadening my idea of when I can use this :)

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  5. Made this recipe yesterday, and it was SO GOOD! My beef-loving, reluctant-to-eat-vegetables hubby agreed, too! I wanted to use whole wheat noodles, but I couldn't find a no-boil variety, so I parboiled them before cooking. However, I ended up with a lot of liquid at the end of the specified cooking time. Does the recipe as posted turn out with a lot of liquid, as well? I baked it longer, but I'm wondering if I should try leaving the noodles uncooked and just bake it covered for a much longer time? Would love your thoughts. Thanks for a great recipe! It's a keeper!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad he liked it, too! I was really surprised that Jason loved it so much given the non-traditional lasagna ingredients :)

      Couple thoughts on liquid... the spinach can carry a ton of water in it if you didn't squeeze it within an inch of it's life. Or maybe the noodles? I actually didn't have any liquid leftover so I'm not sure what went wrong. Sorry I'm not more help :(

      I wish I could find whole wheat no boil noodles, too!

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    2. Good thoughts. I used fresh spinach, so I didn't squeeze it out. It was probably the noodles. I have a recipe for lasagna that doesn't using uncooked noodles (doesn't have to be no-bake kind) that is cooked for longer. I'm going to experiment and see if I can get it to work with this recipe since we'll DEFINITELY be making it again.

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  6. Nice post! This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to more times this year! Thanks for informative post. one up mushroom bar

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