Vegetable and Sausage Lasagna

The typical lasagna recipes are heavy on the cheese, meat, and pasta. This recipe still gives you all of the flavors of lasagna, just lightened up. The vegetables I chose give you a savory and sweet touch to the contrast of spicy sausage (which adds to the depth of the sauce.)

Ingredients:

No Bake Lasagna Noodles

(note: I have usually use the whole wheat kind, but I love the thinness of the Barilla brand. It really lowered the overall amount of carbs being eaten.)

1 pound hot sausage

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 bunch carrots, peeled and chopped

1 jar spaghetti sauce

½ cup red wine

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

16 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese, shredded

8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook sausage through and crumble.

Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have cooked through (about 8-10 minutes.)

While vegetables are cooking, mix ricotta, half of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan, and basil.

Add chopped kale. Toss while cooking to wilt kale. Cook for about 5 minutes until mostly tender.

(Let’s be honest, cooking carrots can take some time compared to other vegetables. I placed them in a microwaveable safe dish with a little water and covered. Microwave until cooked through.)

Add sauce, wine, and carrots. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes.