Skinny Lasagna Roll Ups “Meatless Monday”

A meatless lasagna that is low in fat (5.7 grams per roll) but still full of lasagna goodness with plenty of protein.  You won’t miss the meat, the fat and / or the calories in this dish but you can feel good about eating it!

Who doesn’t love a good ooey, gooey, cheesy piece of lasagna!!  ME! ME! ME!

Lasagna has always, always been one of my favorite Italian dishes but I rarely make it because of it’s high fat content! This recipe is just full of all that great Italian flavor but without the extra calories and fat.  These Roll Ups are perfectly portioned and just one roll is only 5.7 grams of fat, 13 grams of protein and 220 calories!!! Picture me doing my happy dance 🙂 Compare that to typical lasagna with meat sauce that weighs in between 15 – 20 grams of fat per serving.

These Skinny Lasagna Roll Ups are very creamy, full of 3 low fat cheeses and a whole 8 oz bag of baby spinach.  There is no meat so it’s a perfect meal for vegetarians or it you want to have one day of week without meat in your meal.  If you are observing Lent, this is a perfect meal for “no meat on Friday’s”.

You can also make a big batch and pop them in the frozen so you can have lasagna whenever you get a craving.  Mine didn’t last long!!  Just defrost in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed below.

Skinny Lasagna Roll Ups (makes 10 servings)

• 10 whole wheat lasagna noodles, (NOT OVEN READY)
• 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups baby spinach (8 oz bag) loosely packed and chopped well
• 1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cup low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup parmasan cheese, grated
• fresh basil to garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water until al dente…about 8 minutes.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Dry with paper towel and lay noodles out on a sheet of parchment paper that has been seasoned with Pam Spray.  Set aside.

Add 1/4 cups of marinara sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan.

In a large skillet, add oil to medium high heat.  Cook a couple of minutes.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 1 – 2 minutes. Add chopped spinach and stir until wilted, about 4 or 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, egg white, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add cooled spinach mixture and stir until mixed well.

To each lasagna noodle on the parchment paper, add 1/4 cup of the spinach cheese mixture. Spread evenly over each lasagna noodle. Roll up noodles and place, seam side down, in pan with the marinara sauce.

Evenly spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over each rolled up lasagna noodle. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese and basil.  I served mine with a big spinach salad and it was the perfect meal!

NOTE:  I made my roll ups earlier in the day and kept them in the refrigerator.  I removed them from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before popping them in the oven.  I cooked them an extra 10 minutes.

Enjoy! 🙂

DD