Description
A delicious and healthy vegetarian spinach artichoke lasagna featuring a homemade tomato sauce, creamy cottage cheese blend, tender artichokes, fresh spinach, and melted fontina cheese, baked to perfection for a flavorful and satisfying meal perfect for family dinners or gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Tomato Sauce
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Spinach Artichoke Mixture
- 2 cups (16 ounces) low fat cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 smallish red onion)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 cup jarred or defrosted frozen artichokes, drained, quartered if necessary
- 12 ounces baby spinach, preferably organic
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Assembly
- 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
- 2 cups (5 ounces) shredded fontina cheese or low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella
- Garnish: sprinkling of additional chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Prepare the Tomato Sauce: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Pour diced tomatoes into a fine mesh sieve or colander and let drain for about a minute. Transfer drained tomatoes to a food processor bowl, add fresh basil, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes. Pulse about 10 times until sauce reaches a spreadable consistency. Set aside approximately 2 cups of this sauce.
- Blend Cottage Cheese: Rinse the food processor bowl, then blend half the cottage cheese (1 cup) until smooth for about one minute. Transfer this blended cottage cheese to a large mixing bowl.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped red onion and ¼ teaspoon salt, cooking while stirring often until onions become tender and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Cook Spinach and Artichokes: Add the artichokes to the skillet, then add a few handfuls of spinach at a time, stirring and tossing until wilted. Repeat with remaining spinach until all is cooked down, continuing for about 12 minutes until the volume reduces significantly and most moisture evaporates.
- Combine Spinach Mixture: Transfer the cooked spinach and artichoke mixture to the food processor. Pulse 12 to 15 times to finely chop without pureeing. Add this mixture to the bowl with blended cottage cheese; then add remaining cottage cheese and mix well. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Assemble the Lasagna: Spread ½ cup of tomato sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish. Layer three lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Spread half the spinach mixture over the noodles, then top with ½ cup tomato sauce and ½ cup shredded cheese. Repeat with three more noodles and the remaining spinach mixture, followed by ½ cup shredded cheese (skip tomato sauce this layer). Top with the final three noodles, spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly on top of the noodles, and sprinkle with 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Bake the Lasagna: Cover the dish with parchment paper or loosely with foil (avoid foil touching cheese). Bake covered for 18 minutes. Remove cover, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and bake uncovered for about 12 more minutes until the top is spotty brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Serve: Garnish with additional fresh chopped basil, slice, and serve warm.
Notes
- This healthy vegetarian lasagna boasts fresh spinach, jarred artichokes, and a simple homemade tomato sauce for rich flavor.
- The lasagna tastes even better the next day as the flavors meld wonderfully.
- Recipe yields one 9-inch square lasagna, typically serving 8 to 9 people.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approximate, based on 8 servings)
- Calories: 384
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 758 mg
- Fat: 18.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39 g
- Fiber: 7.5 g
- Protein: 20.8 g
- Cholesterol: 38.1 mg
