Noodle-free white lasagna

Ok reality is, I'm a former pasta fanatic. Having to step away from eating pasta was a sad day for me. But honestly, I never felt better once I made that decision. So maybe this will help you out on that journey as well. Playing around with recipes I've found I can still have much of the food I love. Check out one of my favorite Spaghetti recipes

Lasagna without noodles?? Yep! It seemed so foreign, but it is so yum to me, that I don't even miss the noodles. This is a recipe I adapted from a white lasagne. I also have adapted it for vegan and pegan (paleo-vegan) clients as well, and it's amazing in that format too!

1.5 lb lean ground beef (you can also make this vegetarian by using TVP, or if you like you can use ground turkey or chicken, when I'm on a vegan kick, I usually grind up pecans and use 2 cups)

16 oz alfredo sauce (You can used a jar but check out one of my favorite clean eating delicious alfredo recipes)

2 cups ricotta cheese (For the vegans out there here is my favorite Vegan Ricotta)

1 egg (vegan egg recipe)

1 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp Italian seasoning

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic minced

1 medium onion chopped

1-2 T. Cold Pressed Oil, I prefer Olive Oil in this recipe, but use your favorite

12 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

8 oz shredded mozzarella (my favorite brand of vegan mozzarella)

Directions:

In a large pan, heat oil on medium heat, soften onion until it's kind of transparent, about 5-7 min, then add garlic for about 2 min, after I add the garlic I add a little salt here, add your Italian seasoning. Add and brown the meat, or if you're using nuts, go ahead and add them here. Really break the meat down while you're cooking it by continuously chopping through it while you stir. I really like the meat finely chopped. Remove from the heat and stir in your alfredo sauce and 1/2 tsp salt. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 if baking immediately, I say that lightly, if you forget to preheat, it's ok, just add an extra 5 min or so onto the end of cooking, my preference on this is to refrigerate overnight so the flavors can get all merry! I wouldn't refrigerate more than 2 days. It's always a good idea to bring whatever you're baking to room temp or close to it before baking if you've refrigerated.

In a separate bowl whisk together the ricotta, egg, 1/2 tsp salt, garlic, and onion.

Fun part! This is a lazy lasagna folks! LOL Spread half the meat in the bottom of a large casserole dish, I prefer glass or stoneware. Top with half the ricotta and then half the spinach. Sprinkle half the mozzarella on top. Repeat the layers: meat, ricotta, spinach, and the finish with the rest of the mozzarella on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cheese starts to brown a little and it has that satisfying bubbling going on. If you're using the vegan version of this, the cheese doesn't melt the same so may require a little extra time.

This makes 6-8 servings. But this recipe doubles well and makes amazing leftovers!