Lasagna is one of the few “pasta” dishes that I really like. That’s probably because it’s really a casserole (which we all know I love) rather than anything that really resembles a “pasta” dish. That said, when it comes to actually making regular (i.e. not low carb) pasta, I hate to do it. Waiting for water to boil is not my favorite thing to begin with. Then you add in the size of the pot I wind up using to get the lasagna noodles to fit. Large pot = a lot of water = even longer to boil. Not my thing. Enter this simplified Easy Low Carb Lasagna as an alternative.
When it comes to making low carb lasagna, I cheat. I use low carb wraps that I buy at the store. They give me the structure and layers that I need with no water boiling required. Follow along to see how easy this Easy Low Carb Lasagna is to make. It was an easy win for my recent Mother’s Day Dinner.
What You Need to Make Easy Low Carb Lasagna
Equipment
- Cutting Board – For cutting the Low Carb Wraps
- Chef’s Knife – For cutting the Low Carb Wraps
- Large Sauté Pan or Skillet – For cooking the ground meat
- Spatula – For cooking the ground meat
- Plate Covered with Paper Towels – For draining the meat
- Rubber Scraper
- Medium Mixing Bowl – I usually use a 2 quart bowl.
- Measuring Spoon
- Measuring Cups – I prefer the plunger-style measuring cups for things like ricotta cheese.
- 9 x 13 inch Casserole Dish (with Lid if possible) – You can also do this in a Half Sheet Aluminum Pan (chafing dish style pan) also with lid, but you will likely need to use a couple more Low Carb Wraps if you do because that kind of pan has more of a taper as you go up the side, so you’ll have more surface to cover in your later layers.
Ingredients
- Ground Chicken – You can use a different ground meat if you prefer. I chose ground chicken because I was looking for something a bit leaner given the heavy cheese in this dish.
- Avocado Oil or Olive Oil – This is just for cooking the meat.
- Kosher Salt – This is for seasoning the meat. I use a ½ tablespoon, but feel free to adjust to your taste.
- Ground Black Pepper – As with my salt note, feel free to adjust to taste.
- Italian Seasoning – This is divided between the ground meat and the ricotta egg mixture. If you don’t have or can’t find Italian seasoning or just want to make your own, check out the Recipe Notes for the herb blend that I use.
- Ricotta Cheese – I buy the whole milk ricotta.
- Eggs – I pretty much always use jumbo eggs. It’s just what I buy.
- Low Carb Marinara Sauce – I buy Rao’s Marinara (or if I’m cooking for an audience okay with a little kick, Rao’s Arrabbiata). I use about 1.5 (22 ounce) jars of sauce in this recipe. I usually buy the 2 pack jars at Sam’s Club.
- Burrito Sized Low Carb Wraps – The burrito size wraps that I buy are ~8 inches in diameter. I buy 16-count packs at Sam’s Club.)
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – Always remember, there’s nothing to say that you can’t use more cheese if you want to. 🙂 Additional note: I use the pre-shredded cheese from the store. However, this includes an anti-caking agent that adds about 1 gram of carbs per ¼ cup of cheese. You can buy a block and grate it yourself if you want to avoid the extra carbs.
Getting Started with Making Easy Low Carb Lasagna
This Easy Low Carb Lasagna is pretty simple. I use store bought ingredients to save myself time and effort. You can, of course, make your own sauce. Alternatively, you could make low carb wraps or even low carb pasta from scratch and shred your cheese. The core of this recipe will still work, it just might lose the “Easy” part of its name.
Start by heating 1.5 – 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and cooking the ground chicken (or ground meat of your choice). While it’s cooking add the salt, pepper, and 1.5 tablespoons of the Italian Seasoning. Line a plate with paper towels to soak up any excess oil or grease and remove the cooked meat to the plate and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 3 eggs, and 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning. Whisk to completely combine. Set aside.
Cut the burrito size (about 8 inch diameter) low carb wraps in half.
Spray the 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray. If you are planning to make this in advance and store it in the fridge, I would suggest a casserole dish with a lid.
Lori Note: You can also use a half sheet aluminum pan–the kind you see in a chafing dish / catering set-up. However, if you do use one of those, be aware that you’ll need a couple more low carb wraps. Those pans typically start as 9 x 13 inch at the bottom and then taper out at the top, so you have more surface area to cover the farther up the pan you go.
The target for this quantity of ingredients is two layers. I’ve made it as 3 layers before, but . . . you start stretching your ingredients and most 9 x 13 inch casserole dishes are not that high. If you want more layers because you like the look, you can use a deep dish casserole dish and I would increase the quantity of the ingredients by half to make sure you have plenty for that extra layer.
The Layers
Set up your assembly line components and start building. My layers are as follows:
- Thin layer of sauce (about ½ cup)
- Low carb wraps
- ½ of the ground meat
- ½ of the ricotta egg mixture
- Layer of sauce (about 1.25 cups)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Low carb wraps
- ½ of the ground meat
- ½ of the ricotta egg mixture
- Layer of sauce (about 1.25 cups)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Low carb wraps
- Layer of sauce (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
At this point, you can pause, cover the dish, and store it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.
When you’re ready to bake the lasagna, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. If you stored it in the fridge, take it out about 30 minutes before you put it in the oven. If you forget to take it out in advance, put the cold casserole in the cold oven and let it preheat along with the oven. Just don’t start the “baking” timer until the preheat is complete.
Bake it for 50 – 55 minutes. If you had it in the fridge, make sure to check the center to confirm that it is cooked the whole way through. (Ovens do vary.)
Serve warm.
If you need to hold it warm while you finish other things up or wait until your guests are done with appetizers, keep it in a 180 degree F oven. Cover loosely with aluminum foil if it starts to look like the cheese is getting browner than you would like.
Enjoy!
Easy Low Carb Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Ground Chicken You could substitute any other type of ground meat.
- 1.5 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2.5 tablespoons Italian Seasoning Divided: 1.5 tablespoons cooked with ground meat; 1 tablespoon mixed with ricotta and eggs
- 36 ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 3 Eggs I use jumbo eggs.
- 32 ounces Low Carb Marinara Sauce I used about 1.5 (22 ounce jars of Rao’s Marinara.)
- 8 Burrito Sized Low Carb Wraps I use burrito sized, which are ~8 inches in diameter. I buy 16-count packs at Sam’s Club.
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat, then add the raw 2 pounds Ground Chicken. Season with ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, and 1.5 tablespoons Italian Seasoning. Cook through. About 10 minutes. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil or grease. Set aside.2 pounds Ground Chicken, 1.5 – 2 tablespoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil, ½ tablespoon Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper, 2.5 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 36 ounces Ricotta Cheese, 3 Eggs, and 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning. Set aside.36 ounces Ricotta Cheese, 3 Eggs, 2.5 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- Cut 8 Burrito Sized Low Carb Wraps in half.8 Burrito Sized Low Carb Wraps
- Measure out your mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, open your 32 ounces Low Carb Marinara Sauce (1.5 (22 ounce) jars, and set up your assembly line: Sauce, Low Carb Wraps, Meat, Ricotta Mixture, Sauce, Shredded Cheese.32 ounces Low Carb Marinara Sauce, 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
- The goal is 2 layers. Start with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Add a solid layer of low carb wraps. Evenly sprinkle on half of the ground meat. Top with a layer of sauce, then ¼ cup Parmesan grated, ½ cup Mozzarella shredded. Next add the second layer of low carb wraps, the remainder of the ground meat, the remainder of the ricotta egg mixture, another layer of sauce, ¼ Parmesan grated, and ½ cup shredded mozzarella. Top with the last layer of low carb wraps, a layer of sauce, then the remaining ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.
- You can pause here, cover it, and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. If you are making it in advance, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to put it in the oven.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 – 55 minutes. Ovens can vary, so if you had it in the fridge, double check the center to make sure it is cooked through.
- Serve warm.
Equipment
- Plate Covered with Paper Towels
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Spoon
- Measuring Cups
Notes
- Italian Seasoning
- You can make your own with the ingredients below. You can use the amounts listed or adjust for your own purposes. If you happen to have a guest who doesn’t like one of these things like I do (no thyme), you can just omit that herb.
- 1.5 teaspoon Dried Marjoram
- 1.5 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1.5 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1.5 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1.5 teaspoon Dried Parsley
- You can make your own with the ingredients below. You can use the amounts listed or adjust for your own purposes. If you happen to have a guest who doesn’t like one of these things like I do (no thyme), you can just omit that herb.
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