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I grew up in a traditional Italian family. Lasagna was sacred and my grandma and mother only made it for special occasions like Christmas and Easter. It is a nostalgic comfort food for me. I refused to give up this favorite so I reinvented it using 93% lean ground turkey, Indian fennel seasoning, and fat-free cheeses making it heart healthy and point friendly. It delivers 100% of that traditional flavor with none of the guilt.
A slice of this lasagna is the perfect stand alone weeknight dinner yet special enough to grace any holiday table. It is incredibly versatile. Serve it simply with a side garden salad, or dress it up for a special occasion with a starter of Italian wedding soup or stuffed mushrooms. If you have the points to spare you can add a slice of garlic bread or a dinner roll.
A pan of lasagna is a great dish to bring to a work luncheon or potluck dinner with family and friends. It’s a favorite with both adults and kids.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- 93%. lean ground turkey
- Ground fennel
- Salt & pepper
- Red pepper flakes, optional
- Fat free ricotta
- Frozen chopped or cut leaf spinach
- Egg whites or whole egg
- Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese – I used Romano.
- Your favorite jarred or homemade marinara – I used no sugar added Prego
- Lasagna noodles – I used Barilla no bake noodles.
- Fat free. shredded mozzarella
Sodium Alert: The sodium content of the no sugar added Prego that I used is high. If you substitute a low sodium marinara, such as Victoria’s or The Silver Plate, you will lower the sodium from 614 mg sodium to 416 mg sodium per serving. If you use Francesco Rinaldi’s no sodium added you will reduce the sodium to 370 mg. A list of no salt added or low salt products can be found in the top menu bar under ‘Resources’.
Making the Lasagna
Italian Sausage Layer
- Place the ground turkey, ground fennel and salt and pepper to taste into a mixing bowl. If you prefer hot Italian sausage, add some red pepper flakes.
- Use your hands to mix the meat and seasonings together. Pinch off a quarter size piece of the meat mixture and microwave briefly until it’s done. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if you think it is needed.
- Crumble the meat mixture into a skillet and add some water to start the cooking process. Cook over medium heat until it is done. Dump the meat mixture into a strainer over the sink to drain off any water and fat. Return the meat mixture to the skillet.
- Add marinara to the meat mixture, stir it together and briefly heat. Divide it into two portions and set it aside.
Ricotta Cheese Layer
- Squeeze as much water out of the thawed spinach as you can.
- Place the fat free ricotta, spinach, grated Romano cheese and black pepper into a mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix these ingredients together. Taste the mixture and add salt if you think it is needed. The Romano cheese has a robust flavor and contains salt so you may not need to add any salt.
- Add the egg whites OR a whole egg to the ricotta mixture and mix it into the ricotta mixture.
- Divide the ricotta mixture into two portions and set the cheese mixture aside.
Assemble the Lasagna
- I used no bake lasagna noodles. If your noodles need to be boiled first, then prepare them now.
- Place a thin layer of marinara on the bottom of your casserole dish. Place down a layer of lasagna noodles down on top of the marinara.
- Spread a thin layer of marinara on top of the lasagna noodles. Then spread half of the ricotta/spinach mixture on top of the marinara and lasagna noodles.
- Sprinkle half of the Italian turkey sausage mix on top of the ricotta layer and then dot it with marinara.
- Put down another layer of lasagna noodles and spread a thin layer of marinara over the second layer of noodles. Place the rest of the ricotta mixture on the noodles and spread it over the lasagna noodles.
- Place the rest of the Italian turkey sausage mix over the ricotta layer and dot with marinara.
- Put down the last layer of noodles. Spread with a thin layer of marinara and sprinkle with shredded fat free mozzarella.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the internal temperature is 165°-170°F and the mozzarella is melted.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven when done, let it rest briefly, serve and enjoy. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
Serving Ideas
- Lasagna is great for dinner any night, for special occasions or a holiday meal on Christmas, New Years or Easter.
- A nice size slice of lasagna with a side garden or Caesar salad or some roasted veggies nicely rounds off a meal.
- Not in the mood for a salad, you can pair it with a dinner roll, slice of garlic bread or a basil, garlic, Romano muffin (recipe coming soon).
- If you want to start off with an appetizer, a cup of Italian wedding soup or minestrone soup or stuffed mushroom caps pairs well with lasagna.
WW 7 pt, makes 6 nice size servings
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 278kcal
Equipment
- square casserole or baking pan
- skillet
- large dutch oven
- colander
- mixing bowls
- measuring spoons and cups
- Wooden spoon
- spatula
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
Italian Turkey Sausage
- 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
- 1⅓ tbsp ground Indian fennel, Penzeys Spices
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ c water
- ½ c no sugar added marinara, Prego
Ricotta & Spinach Mixture
- 15 oz container fat free ricotta, Wegman's
- ¾ c cut leaf or chopped spinach, squeezed dry
- 3 tbsp grated Romano
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 2 egg whites OR 1 whole egg, I used egg whites.
Lasagna
- 9 sheets Barilla no bake lasagna sheets, see note at end below
Instructions
- preheat the oven tom 375℉
Making the Italian Turkey Sausage
- Place the ground turkey, ground fennel and salt and pepper into a mixing bowl. If you prefer hot Italian sausage, add some red pepper flakes. Use your hands to mix the meat and seasonings together.
- Pinch off a quarter size piece of the meat mixture and microwave briefly until it’s done. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if you think it is needed. I tend to under salt my food so you may prefer more. I like to taste the fennel but not be overwhelmed by it but you can more if your prefer.
- Crumble the meat mixture into a skillet and add some water to start the cooking process. Cook over medium heat until it is done. Dump the meat mixture into a strainer over the sink to drain off any water and fat. Return the meat mixture to the skillet.
- Add ½ c of marinara to the meat mixture, stir it together and briefly heat it. Divide the Italian ground turkey into two portions in the skillet and set it aside. I like the sausage to have a tomato taste at this point but I don't saturate it with marinara since there will be a lot of sauce in the lasagna over all. If you like more sauce in your meat, add more sauce and count the points.
Making the Ricotta & Spinach Mixture
- Thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze as much water out of it as you can.
- Place the fat free ricotta, spinach, grated Romano cheese and black pepper into a mixing bowl. Use a fork to mix these ingredients together. Taste the mixture and add salt if you think it is needed. The Romano cheese has a robust flavor and contains salt so you may not need to add any salt. I did not add any extra salt.
- After you have adjusted the seasonings in the ricotta mixture if needed, add the egg whites OR whole egg. Mix the eggs thoroughly into the ricotta mixture, divide the mixture into two portions in the bowl and set aside.
Assemble & Bake the Lasagna
- Place 4 tbsp of marinara on the bottom of the square casserole or baking pan and evenly spread it over the bottom surface.
- Place two no bake lasagna noodles on the bottom of the casserole. Break a third lasagna noodle in half. Take one of the halves and divide it again and use it to fill the gaps in the bottom layer of noodles. See the photo in the post.
- Spread another thin layer of marinara over the lasagna noodles (about 4 tbsp). Then place one half of the ricotta and spinach mixture in dollops over the sauced noodles. Use the back of a spoon to spread out the ricotta mixture into a even layer over the noodles.
- Sprinkle half of the Italian turkey sausage crumbles over the ricotta layer. Dot this layer with marinara. You can refer to the photo in the post to get a feel for how much I used.
- Lay down 2 full sheets of lasagna noodles. Use a serrated edge knife to divide the third lasagna noodle into pieces to fill the gaps to form a layer of noodles. I took off about a third of a strip lengthwise to finish off the bottom and then further divided what was left to finish cover the sides of the layer.
- Spread a thin layer of marinara over the top of this second layer of noodles. Spread the remaining ricotta and spinach mixture over the sauced noodles and then sprinkle the rest of the Italian turkey crumbles over the ricotta layer. Dot with marinara.
- Use three full lasagna noodles and the half of noodle left from the first layer to form a top noodle layer over the second layer of ricotta and sausage. Spread the remaining marinara over the top of the noodles (4-5 tbsp). Sprinkle the shredded fat free mozzarella over the top of the sauce.
- Cover the casserole with aluminum foil, and bake at 375℉ for 35 min. Remove the foil and bake another 5 min. The lasagna is done when the internal temperature is 165°-170°F and the mozzarella is melted.Remove from the oven when done and let sit for 5 min so the mozzarella can set up.
- Slice, serve and enjoy. I normally cut into 6 nice size servings. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
Notes
I used Wegman's fat free ricotta. The brand you use may change the points.
I used Romano as I prefer the more robust flavor. You can easily substitute Parmesan.
The salt content of the no sugar added Prego that I added is high in salt. If you substitute a low sodium marinara, such as Victoria's or The Silver Plate, you will lower the sodium from 614 mg sodium to 416 mg sodium per serving. If you use Francesco Rinaldi's no sodium added you will reduce the sodium to 370 mg.
I had planned on using Fiber Gourmet lasagna noodles which would have lowered the points to 5 per serving but I could not make them work. I used a 6 qt pot of boiling water, put a splash of olive oil in it to keep the noodles from sticking together. I dropped the noodle sheets into the boiling water one by one and stirred often but they still all stuck together and broke into small pieces when I tried to separate them so I ended up throwing them out. For anyone who can make them work more power to you.
Barilla whole grain lasagna noodles that need to be boiled before using were out of stock. If you have access to those and use them in this recipe, the points will be 6 pt per serving.
I had the sausage and ricotta ready when the Fiber Gourmet noodles failed so the no bake Barilla noodles were the best I could do.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.2g | Protein: 30.5g | Fat: 7.5g | Saturated Fat: 1.8g | Sodium: 614mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 9.6g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
