Tag: pasta

Freezer Lentil and Spinach Lasagna

Nutrition Snapshot

  • The lentils and whole wheat noodles make this a high fiber dinner that fits a gut friendly eating pattern.
  • Lentils, ricotta, and mozzarella each add protein, which suits anyone cooking a meatless dinner that has to satisfy.
  • Jarred sauce and cheese make it high in sodium, so use the low sodium swap in the notes.

One batch of this lasagna fills two eight inch square pans. Bake one for dinner tonight and slide the other into the freezer unbaked, where it holds for three months. A bag of dry brown lentils replaces the ground beef and costs a fraction of what the meat would. Thirty minutes of hands on work gets you two dinners.

Resistant Starch From Lentils Feeds the Bacteria in Your Colon

Your small intestine breaks most starch down into glucose and absorbs it. Some of the starch in lentils and whole wheat noodles resists that, passes through intact, and reaches the colon. Bacteria there ferment it, and the fermentation produces short chain fatty acids. One of them, butyrate, is the main fuel the cells lining your colon burn.

Adults who added 22 grams of resistant starch a day for four weeks had more butyrate in the stool (McOrist AL, Journal of Nutrition, 2011, PMID 21430242). Butyrate rose most in people who started low, and it fell in some who started high. That amount came from a supplement scale intake, so lentils a few times a week matter more than one large serving.

Reheated Pasta Gives a Smaller Blood Sugar Rise

Cooked starch that cools reorganizes into a form your digestive enzymes reach less easily. That is what resistant starch means, and it is why leftover pasta behaves differently from pasta straight out of the pot. People who ate the same pasta meal reheated had a lower blood glucose rise than when they ate it hot (Hodges C, Foods, 2019, PMID 31881647).

A lasagna you refrigerate or freeze and then reheat goes through a version of that cycle. Baking a frozen pan applies long moist heat, which reverses part of the change. The gain is minor, and refrigerated leftovers of either pan get the same effect.

What’s in a Serving

Most of the protein in a serving comes from three places: the lentils, the part skim ricotta, and the mozzarella. A serving holds a little under half a cup of cooked lentils, which supply protein and fiber in the same food. The whole wheat noodles add more fiber, and the spinach adds folate and potassium.

Most of the sodium comes from the jarred marinara and the cheese. A cup of most jarred sauces contains a large share of a day’s sodium, and mozzarella and parmesan add more. The low sodium version in the card notes cuts most of it. The card below shows the calculated figures for one serving.

What to Buy

Brown Lentils

Buy organic brown lentils and organic whole wheat lasagna noodles (to avoid glyphosate). Lentils and wheat are both often sprayed to dry the field before harvest, and organic growing does not allow that spray. Brown lentils hold their shape through a simmer and a bake. Red lentils fall apart into a puree, so buy brown for this.

Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles

Whole wheat noodles have more fiber than white ones. They also stay firmer after freezing. Boil them one minute short of the package time, since they finish cooking in the sauce. No boil noodles work too. Pour an extra half cup of water around the edges of each pan if you use them.

Part Skim Ricotta

Part skim ricotta gives you the same creamy layer as whole milk ricotta with less saturated fat. Whisk the egg into it before spreading, which keeps the layer from running out when you cut the lasagna. Cottage cheese blended smooth works in place of the ricotta and raises the protein.

Jarred Marinara

Read the label for two things: added sugar and sodium. Many jarred sauces list sugar in the first five ingredients, and some contain twice the sodium of others on the same shelf. A jar listing tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and herbs is what this recipe is built on.

Who This Fits and Who Goes Easy

This lasagna suits anyone building more fiber into their meals. It also gives a meatless dinner enough protein to keep you full through the evening. If lentils are new to you, start with one portion and see how you feel. Gas and bloating are common in the first week of a fiber increase, and they settle as the mix of bacteria in your colon shifts.

Anyone on a sodium restriction should use the low sodium version, which swaps the jarred sauce for crushed tomatoes and cuts the added salt. People with kidney disease on a potassium restriction should check with their dietitian first, since tomatoes, spinach, and lentils are all high in potassium.

How to Make It Your Own

Sliced mushrooms browned with the onion add depth to the sauce. Fresh baby spinach works in place of frozen, wilted in the skillet first and squeezed dry. A quarter teaspoon of red pepper flakes gives the finished dish some heat.

The swaps that change the nutrition:

  • Low sodium: swap the jarred sauce for two 28 ounce cans of no salt added crushed tomatoes, and leave out the parmesan.
  • Lower sugar: choose a jarred sauce with no added sugar, or use the crushed tomato version above.
  • Dairy free: blend 15 ounces of drained firm tofu with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in place of the ricotta, and skip the cheeses.
  • Gluten free: brown rice or lentil lasagna noodles work, and they need the full package boiling time.
  • Higher protein: blend a 16 ounce tub of low fat cottage cheese in place of the ricotta.
  • Nut free: the recipe is nut free as written.

Freeze One Pan, Bake the Other

Assemble both pans, then cover the second one with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface and a layer of foil over that. It holds three months in the freezer. Label it with the date and the oven instructions, since the baking time from frozen differs from the fresh pan.

Bake the frozen pan straight from the freezer at 375 degrees, covered, for 75 minutes, then uncovered for 15 more. Thawed overnight in the refrigerator, it takes 45 minutes covered and 15 uncovered. Let either pan rest 15 minutes before cutting so the layers hold. Single portions reheat in the microwave in about four minutes.

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Freezer Lentil and Spinach Lasagna

A vegetarian lasagna built on brown lentils and whole wheat noodles. One batch fills two 8 by 8 inch pans, so you bake one tonight and freeze the other for up to three months.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: freezer lasagna, high fiber dinner, lentil lasagna, make ahead dinner, vegetarian lasagna
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 618kcal

Equipment

  • large pot
  • Saucepan
  • Large skillet
  • Colander
  • 8 x 8 Inch Baking Pan

Ingredients

For the lentil sauce

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion yellow, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 1/2 cups lentils brown, dry, organic
  • 48 ounces marinara sauce jarred, no added sugar, from two 24 ounce jars
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning dried
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ground

For the ricotta layer

  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese part skim
  • 1 egg large
  • 10 ounces spinach frozen, chopped, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

To assemble

  • 16 lasagna noodles whole wheat, organic
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese part skim, shredded

Instructions

  • Rinse the lentils under cold water.
  • Bring 4 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
  • Add the lentils and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes until tender.
  • Drain the lentils in a colander.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  • Boil the lasagna noodles for one minute less than the package time.
  • Drain the noodles and lay them flat on a sheet of foil.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft.
  • Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Stir in the drained lentils, the marinara, the Italian seasoning, and the black pepper.
  • Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.
  • Whisk the egg into the ricotta in a bowl.
  • Stir the spinach and the parmesan into the ricotta.
  • Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Spread 1/2 cup of the lentil sauce over the bottom of each baking pan.
  • Lay 4 noodles over the sauce in each pan, trimming them to fit.
  • Spread half of the ricotta over the noodles in each pan.
  • Spoon a third of the remaining sauce over the ricotta in each pan.
  • Lay the last 4 noodles over the sauce in each pan.
  • Spoon the rest of the sauce over the noodles in each pan.
  • Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over each pan.
  • Cover one pan with foil and bake it for 30 minutes.
  • Uncover that pan and bake it for 15 minutes more.
  • Rest the baked lasagna for 15 minutes before cutting.
  • Wrap the second pan in plastic wrap and foil and freeze it unbaked.

Notes

Freeze the second pan unbaked. Wrap it with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, then a layer of foil, and label it with the date. It holds three months.
Bake the frozen pan straight from the freezer at 375 degrees, covered, for 75 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes. Thawed overnight in the refrigerator, it takes 45 minutes covered and 15 uncovered.
Rest either pan 15 minutes before cutting so the layers hold. The total time above covers prep and baking only.
Lower sodium: use two 28 ounce cans of no salt added crushed tomatoes with the onion, garlic, and herbs in place of the jarred marinara, and leave out the parmesan.
Lower sugar: choose a jarred sauce with no added sugar, or use the crushed tomato version above.
Dairy free: blend 15 ounces of drained firm tofu with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in place of the ricotta, and leave out the mozzarella and parmesan.
Gluten free: use brown rice or lentil lasagna noodles and boil them the full package time.
Higher protein: blend a 16 ounce tub of low fat cottage cheese in place of the ricotta.
Look for organic lentils and organic whole wheat noodles. Lentils and wheat are often treated with glyphosate before harvest, and organic versions are grown without it.
Read the marinara label for added sugar and sodium. A jar listing tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and herbs is what this recipe is built on.
Baked leftovers keep four days in the refrigerator. Single portions reheat in the microwave in about four minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 618kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1171mg | Potassium: 1295mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 10g | Calcium: 435mg | Iron: 7mg | Magnesium: 145mg | Phosphorus: 577mg | Choline: 90mg

Brown Lentils Turn a Freezer Lasagna Into a High Fiber Dinner

A lasagna built on brown lentils and whole wheat noodles delivers protein and fiber in the same layer. The resistant starch in the lentils is what colon bacteria ferment into butyrate. Jarred sauce and cheese make this a high sodium dish, and the crushed tomato version in the notes cuts most of that. One of the eight servings is the portion this is built around.

Serve It With

A crisp vegetable side adds crunch against the soft layers, and Easy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw for a Low-Sodium, Heart-Healthy Side keeps the sodium low. Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with Smoked Paprika and Garlic makes a second high fiber dish for the table. For more on the fiber that reaches your colon, see Fiber 101: Gut Health, Weight Management, Cholesterol, and More.

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups

Nutrition Snapshot

  • The alfredo sauce here is built on low-fat milk and olive oil, so it fits a heart-healthy eating pattern.
  • Between the chicken, the ricotta, and the parmesan, two roll ups hold enough protein for a full dinner.
  • Most of the salt in this recipe comes from the parmesan, so use half of it and add lemon and pepper.

Roll ups are lasagna without the layering. You spread filling down a cooked noodle, roll it, and stand the rolls in the dish, and each roll up is one portion. The chicken, spinach, and ricotta inside need no rethinking. The sauce does. A jarred alfredo, or a homemade one, is mostly heavy cream and butter, and that is the one part of this dish to rebuild.

Milk and Olive Oil Give the Sauce Its Body Without the Cream

A classic alfredo is heavy cream and butter, which is where nearly all of its saturated fat comes from. Saturated fat lowers the number of LDL receptors the liver puts on its surface. Those receptors are what pull LDL particles out of the blood, so fewer of them means LDL circulates longer and blood levels rise.

Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat is what lowers LDL, so the type of fat matters more than the total amount (Hooper et al., Cochrane Review, 2020, PMID 32428300). This sauce keeps the fat and changes its type. The creaminess comes from the protein and lactose in low-fat milk, a spoonful of flour thickens the sauce, and olive oil supplies mostly monounsaturated fat. The flavor comes from grated parmesan.

What’s in a Serving

Most of the carbohydrate comes from the noodles, and the whole wheat version brings fiber along with it. The protein comes from three places: the chicken, the ricotta, and the parmesan. Most of the fat is the olive oil and the parmesan, with a little from the part-skim ricotta.

Almost all of the sodium comes from the parmesan, since nothing else in the recipe is salted heavily. The spinach adds potassium, folate, and a little more fiber. The recipe card below shows the calculated figures for two roll ups.

Par-Cooked Noodles Roll Without Tearing

Pull the noodles two minutes before the package time says they are done. At that point the starch has taken up enough water to bend, and the strand still holds together when you spread filling on it. A fully cooked noodle tears down the middle as you roll it.

Drain them and lay them flat on parchment paper rather than leaving them in a colander, where they fuse into one sheet. They finish softening in the oven, sitting in sauce for twenty-five minutes, so they come out tender.

What to Buy

The Lasagna Noodles

The fiber in whole wheat lasagna noodles is what makes this a fuller meal, and they hold up to rolling better than thin no-boil sheets. Buy organic (to avoid glyphosate), since wheat is one of the crops often sprayed to dry the field before harvest, and organic growing does not allow it.

The Chicken

Ten ounces of cooked chicken breast is roughly two small breasts, or the meat pulled from half a rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie is the faster route and comes already salted, so taste the sauce before you add any. Leftover roasted or poached chicken works just as well, and shredded meat holds sauce better than diced.

The Parmesan and the Ricotta

Buy parmesan as a wedge and grate it yourself. Pre-grated parmesan is coated with cellulose to keep it from clumping, and that coating turns the sauce grainy. A wedge also tastes stronger, so you need less of it, which keeps the sodium down.

Part-skim ricotta binds the filling and adds protein with little saturated fat. Whole-milk ricotta is creamier and brings more saturated fat, so part-skim is the better choice here.

Who This Fits and Who Goes Easy

This fits anyone eating for heart health who misses cream sauces, and it fits anyone who wants a pasta dinner with enough protein to hold them. The chicken and the two cheeses supply that protein, and the spinach and whole wheat noodles add the fiber.

Go easy on the parmesan if you are limiting sodium, since most of the salt here comes from it. Two roll ups is a real carbohydrate portion, so anyone counting carbohydrate should plan for it the way they would plan for two slices of bread.

How to Make It Your Own

Chopped mushrooms, roasted red pepper, or steamed broccoli all stir into the filling without changing how it rolls. A pinch of red pepper flakes in the sauce balances the richness. To make the dish meatless, swap the chicken for a second cup of ricotta and a can of drained white beans.

Lower sodium: use half the parmesan, then season with extra black pepper, a grate of garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. Dairy-free: unsweetened cashew or oat milk thickens the same way, and nutritional yeast gives some of the parmesan flavor, though the result is plainer. Nut-free as written. The recipe has no added sugar, so no sweetener swap applies here.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Assemble the whole dish through the parmesan topping, cover it, and refrigerate it up to a day ahead. Bake it straight from the refrigerator and add ten minutes to the covered time. The noodles absorb a little sauce overnight, which makes the finished dish firmer and easier to lift out.

Baked roll ups keep four days refrigerated and two months frozen. Freeze them in single portions so you can reheat what you need. A flour-thickened sauce tightens as it cools, so reheat covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a splash of milk stirred over the top.

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Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups

Whole wheat lasagna noodles rolled around chicken, spinach, and ricotta. The alfredo-style sauce is built on low-fat milk, olive oil, and grated parmesan in place of cream and butter.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken alfredo lasagna roll ups, heart healthy pasta, lower saturated fat alfredo, make ahead chicken dinner, whole wheat lasagna
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 640kcal

Equipment

  • large pot
  • Saucepan
  • Whisk
  • 9 x 13 inch Baking Dish

Ingredients

For the roll ups

  • 8 lasagna noodles whole wheat, organic
  • 10 ounces chicken breast cooked and shredded
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese part-skim
  • 10 ounces spinach frozen chopped, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground

For the sauce

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour organic
  • 2 cups milk low-fat
  • 3/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper ground

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  • Cook the lasagna noodles 2 minutes short of the package time, until they are just pliable.
  • Drain the noodles and lay them flat on parchment paper so they do not stick together.
  • Squeeze the thawed spinach dry in a clean towel.
  • Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until it smells sweet.
  • Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
  • Pour in the milk a splash at a time, whisking after each addition.
  • Cook the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes, whisking, until it coats the back of a spoon.
  • Take the pan off the heat and whisk in half of the parmesan, the nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
  • Stir the chicken, ricotta, spinach, and the remaining black pepper together in a bowl.
  • Stir 1/2 cup of the sauce into the filling.
  • Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.
  • Spread about 1/3 cup of the filling along the length of each noodle.
  • Roll each noodle up from the short end and set it seam side down in the dish.
  • Pour the remaining sauce over the roll ups.
  • Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan over the top.
  • Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes, until the top browns lightly.
  • Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Serving size: 2 roll ups. The recipe makes 8 roll ups, 4 servings.
Look for organic whole wheat lasagna noodles and organic flour. Wheat is often treated with glyphosate before harvest to dry the field, and organic growing does not allow it.
The sauce: a classic alfredo is built on heavy cream and butter, which is where its saturated fat comes from. This one uses low-fat milk thickened with a little flour and olive oil, with grated parmesan for the flavor. Whisk the milk in a splash at a time so the sauce stays smooth.
The noodles: pull them 2 minutes short of the package time. They finish softening in the oven, and a fully cooked noodle tears when you roll it.
The chicken: 10 ounces of cooked chicken breast is roughly two small breasts, or the meat from half a rotisserie chicken. Rotisserie chicken is faster and brings its own salt, so taste the sauce before you add any.
Lower sodium: use half the parmesan and season with extra black pepper, garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. Parmesan carries most of the sodium in this recipe.
Dairy-free: unsweetened cashew or oat milk thickens the same way, and nutritional yeast gives some of the parmesan flavor. Use olive oil in place of the ricotta binder and expect a plainer sauce.
Nut-free as written. The recipe has no added sugar, so no sweetener swap applies.
More vegetables: chopped mushrooms, roasted red pepper, or steamed broccoli all stir into the filling well.
Make ahead: assemble through the parmesan topping, cover, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake from cold and add 10 minutes to the covered time.
Storage: keeps 4 days refrigerated and 2 months frozen. Reheat covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a splash of milk, since the sauce thickens as it sits.
Nutrition is calculated by WP Recipe Maker. Re-run the calculation after import.

Nutrition

Calories: 640kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 541mg | Potassium: 1065mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Calcium: 592mg | Iron: 4mg | Magnesium: 136mg | Phosphorus: 649mg | Choline: 102mg

Rebuilding the Sauce Is What Makes This a Heart-Healthy Pasta Night

The chicken, spinach, and ricotta inside a roll up were already fine. Moving the sauce from heavy cream and butter to low-fat milk, olive oil, and parmesan is the change that matters, and the result is still creamy. Most of the sodium comes from the parmesan, so use half of it if you are watching salt. Two roll ups with a green vegetable is dinner.

Serve It With

Two roll ups and something green is the meal. Easy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw for a Low-Sodium, Heart-Healthy Side adds crunch and almost no sodium, which matters next to a parmesan sauce. Cool Summer Squash Soup works as a light first course. For more on why the fiber in the whole wheat noodles counts, see Fiber 101: Gut Health, Weight Management, Cholesterol, and More.