Healthy spring vegetable lasagna! Layers of zucchini, spinach, peas and creamy ricotta.
Less than 350 calories per HUGE slice. 
Sometimes I wonder if I should rename this blog “Delish Pasta”. While I love just about every cuisine under the sun, my first love will always be Italian. Nothing eases my soul like a giant bowl of slurpy, sauce-covered noodles, which is beyond obvious considering I have at least 50+ pasta recipes on this website. With no signs of stopping.
Once word gets out that I am a self-proclaimed pasta-holic, friends often want to know “how”- how are you able to eat pasta 3-4 times a week and not gain weight? Somewhere along the way, pasta gained the stigma of being unhealthy- along the same lines of rice, bread, and everything gluten-filled. Sure, these foods have calories, but can we please stop blaming carbs? The nutrition scientist in me knows that eating carbs doesn’t equate with weight gain; that’s too simplistic of an argument and doesn’t take bio-chemistry into consideration. If you’ve been avoiding grains for weight loss purposes, I’m happy to report that it’s possible to have your cake noodles and eat it too.
In my private practice, I spend a lot of time discussing small changes with my clients. While I’m all for sweeping changes, I know that sometimes when we take on too much too soon, we get fed up, exhausted, and head right back to where we started. Micro-goals are easier to accomplish and can make any health change seem more doable; small changes can add up to create a big difference.
MY LATEST VIDEOSI take this same approach to my pasta. First, I always make sure that I’ve included at least one serving of vegetables per serving of pasta. It’s a simple way to make sure that I’m increasing the nutrient density of the dish, adding in extra vitamins, minerals and fiber. For an added bonus, I prefer to choose whole-wheat or high-fiber pasta, like Dreamfields. Dreamfields pasta line is made from premium durum wheat semolina, giving it the familiar taste and texture of traditional pasta with 5 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein per cup.
The best part? It really does taste like white flour pasta. So much so that after BL polished off 2 huge slices, he turned to me and said- I think this is the best lasagna I’ve ever tasted. And really, if my former meat-and-potatoes hubby thinks that this lasagna is some of the best he’s ever had, you know it’s a keeper.
Why do I not make lasagna more often? I have this idea in my head that making lasagna is a complicated, all day process and then surprise myself when I’m done cooking in less than 40 minutes and have dinners + leftovers for days on end.
Leftovers only sound bad when they aren’t lasagna —-> even after 13 straight meals of lasagna while testing this one out, I still wasn’t sick of it. Which either confirms the fact that Delish Knowledge is now Delish Pasta or that this lasagna is really that good. I’m going to stick with the latter. Layer of sauce, fresh spring vegetables, and cheesy goodness, it’s 9X13 inches of total perfection.
As you all know, I am definitely NOT a calorie counter but wanted to run this recipe through my recipe analysis just to prove that pasta can be a healthy dinner choice.
Per serving stats: 333 calories, 9g fat, 44g carbs, 7g fiber, 20g protein.
Those are some impressive stats when you consider that this lasagna no-way, no-how tastes like diet food. I hope you love it as much as we did!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
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PinIngredients
- 12 Dreamfields Pasta lasagna noodles
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. dried italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 2 zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 cup peas (thawed if frozen)
- 1 lb. non-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 lb. whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
- 5 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until just al-dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add in italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and garlic clove. Cook for 30 seconds and add in the spinach, zucchini and peas. Cook for 10 minutes until spinach is wilted, peas are cooked through and zucchini is tender. Remove from heat and drain off any water.
- In a separate bowl combine the ricotta cheeses and grated nutmeg.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 3/4 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9×13″ glass pan. Layer with 4 of the lasagna noodles (3 vertical, one horizontal). Spread on 1/2 of the ricotta mixture and 1/2 of the vegetable mixture. Spoon on 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce on top. Continue to layer with lasagna noodles, rest of the ricotta mixture, remaining vegetable mixture and 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce. Top with 4 additional lasagna noodles and remaining 1 1/4 cup tomato sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese and cover loosely with foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes until bubbly and hot.
Notes
I like my lasagna pretty saucy! Feel free to cut back to 4 cups of marinara sauce if you’d prefer. For my dairy-free friends, this one is easily adaptable: swap in tofu ricotta for the filling and omit the cheese or use dairy-free mozzarella on top.
Liz Stark says
April 26, 2015 at 10:52 pmExcellent lasagna recipe! I would love to try the Dreamfields pasta and own the food scale. [email protected]
Jessica DeGore RD says
April 27, 2015 at 4:44 amI’m totally with you my friend- I loooove all the pasta! I’ve never tried Dreamfields before actually but I’ve heard great things!
ColleenMarie says
April 27, 2015 at 7:24 amLooks very good, pinned!
Erin Ellis says
April 27, 2015 at 7:57 amI love to use Dreamfield Pasta when I’m preparing dishes for my family. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
Dana | fresh simple five says
April 27, 2015 at 9:37 amI’ve been dying to try a vegetable lasagna — this one looks so perfect! I’m all about using whole wheat pasta and loading up dishes with veggies. There’s no better way to enjoy pasta!
kelly says
April 27, 2015 at 2:19 pmThe lasagna looks great. I would like to try their pasta.
Elizabeth Shaw says
April 27, 2015 at 7:51 pmFirst, this looks amazing! Bookmarking to make ASAP! Second, who doesn’t love carbs! I agree with you in this day and age nearly everything that’s GF or high carb is dismissed like its the plague! Bring back the CARBS!! 🙂 Nice work DK…
Kristen says
April 27, 2015 at 11:22 pmLasagna is something I’ve never made (not sure why!) but I’ve been wanting to, so I’m definitely going to try this recipe!
Sarah says
April 28, 2015 at 2:55 amI haven’t made lasagna in ages, but I clearly need to fix that!
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
April 28, 2015 at 7:51 amI love lasagna and all cheesy pasta dishes for that matter! Love the spring twist on this one!
Katie (The Muffin Myth) says
April 28, 2015 at 8:06 amLoving the looks of this spring veggie lasagna! I’m also a carb lover (hallelujah!!!) and lasagna is one of my favourites to pack in the veg and get amazing leftovers in my freezer. Thanks for the recipe, have pinned and will be trying this soon!
Anne|Craving Something Healthy says
April 28, 2015 at 8:47 amThis looks delicious! I’m totally with you about pasta. I think I must have been Italian in another life 🙂 Pinned!
Sandra Meaders says
April 28, 2015 at 10:13 amLooks great!
cris says
April 28, 2015 at 12:05 pmLooks very delicious. I have never tried nutmeg in my lasagna. This will be one I have to try and share with my family. Thank you for this new spin on traditional dish!
Alex @ DelishKnowledge says
May 6, 2015 at 2:45 pmThanks Cris! Just a sprinkle, makes the filling pop!
sandy says
April 28, 2015 at 12:12 pmLove the veggies added, cover it with cheese and no one will notice .
Heather says
April 28, 2015 at 4:34 pmSpinach is already coming up, peas not far behind, and then soon enough the zucchini! Can’t wait to incorporate all of those into meals — this in particular looks like a winner.
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:42 pmThanks Heather!
Ashley Kolpak says
April 28, 2015 at 5:32 pmLooks delicious!
Farrah says
April 28, 2015 at 9:24 pmYay! I haven’t made a good lasagna in ages–this looks amazing! <3
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:42 pmThanks Farrah!
TheNutritiousKitchen says
April 29, 2015 at 6:41 amThis looks so cozy and yummy! Pinned and for sure making soon 🙂
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:41 pmThanks friends!
Alex @ DelishKnowledge says
May 6, 2015 at 2:44 pmAwesome! Hope you like it!
Cindy Aiton says
April 29, 2015 at 6:57 amMmm… now I want lasagna! 😉
Andrea Hidalgo says
April 29, 2015 at 10:55 amI would love to try the pasta. The recipe looks great!
Maribeth M says
April 29, 2015 at 1:49 pmThis recipe looks delicious!
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:39 pmThanks Maribeth!
Rana Jeree says
April 29, 2015 at 5:22 pmI am ready to try out dream field pasta! Looks so good ! Your recip was amazing
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:37 pmThanks Rana!
Rosemary Stevens says
April 29, 2015 at 6:08 pmI have been using Dream field pasta for over 3 years now. I have not been able to find the lasagna noodles, but love the penne, spaghetti and elbows.I will continue to look for them I and my family prefer dreamfields over all the rest. Including old fashion pasta.
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:38 pmYeah, I’m a huge pasta fan so wasn’t sure if I would like it over other pastas but it really was love at first bite! The taste is incredible!
sharyl wolter says
April 29, 2015 at 7:54 pmI wonder if Mark would fall for this yummy lasagna. He’s so meat and potatoes!
DK says
April 29, 2015 at 8:38 pmMy husband used to be too and LOVED this recipe! I’ve already made it three times in the last few weeks 🙂 Let me know if he does!
Lauren says
May 2, 2015 at 8:39 pmI would like to try this pasta.
cezovski says
May 4, 2015 at 2:49 amI use lots of Pasta so I would love to win this giveaway. I’ve never tried Dreamfields before so this would be perfect timing!
RAFFLECOPTER: CAROLSUE
Caisy says
November 12, 2018 at 8:28 pmHave you cooked these from frozen? If I wanted to freeze this-Could I thaw and cook it or do you bake,freeze and then reheat it?
Alex says
November 14, 2018 at 7:15 amYes, cook right from frozen. Bake it, then let cool completely, wrap tightly and freeze. Then, cook directly from frozen, just extend the bake time; checking at around 50 minutes.
Lisa says
January 6, 2019 at 10:49 amHi! So to clarify, do you just bake it for the first 40 mins and then freeze? Or do the last 10 minute part sans foil as well before freezing? And when reheating do you bake at full temp of 375? and with or without foil?
Alex says
January 8, 2019 at 7:12 amHi Lisa, yes- I would just bake it for 40 minutes, then let cool completely and freeze. To reheat, wrap in foil for another ~30 minutes of baking (you don’t want the top to burn) and then remove the foil during the last 15-20 minutes so the cheese gets nice and bubbly.
Lina says
May 6, 2019 at 12:27 pmYou have two different kinds of ricotta written on the list off ingredients. Is it a miss-print? if not what is the reason for non fat and whole fat ricotta and can I use just non fat?
Alex says
May 9, 2019 at 5:56 amIt’s not a misprint; I like to combine the two for flavor. I think that non-fat ricotta isn’t as yummy as whole milk ricotta, but I combined the two for maximum flavor while reducing calories/fat