The only downside is how long it takes to make. Well, our resident chef @healthy_floflo has a few tricks up her sleeve to help simplify things without sacrificing on flavour.
Forget the hassle of making a bechamel sauce from scratch. Instead, Flo blends cottage cheese, parmesan and some seasoning for a much quicker alternative that also packs a real protein punch. Double win.
And when you’re devouring those rich, creamy layers of goodness, you’ll quickly forget about the prep time anyway. This is the ultimate weekend meal to share with family and friends or portion up for elite-level lunches for the week. Buon appetito.
Serves 4Ingredients
- 500 g lean beef mince (5% fat)
- 1 carrot (diced)
- 1 celery stalk (diced)
- 1/2 onion (diced)
- 1 can tomato sauce (passata or finely chopped tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 300 g cottage cheese
- 30 g parmesan (grated)
- 1 tsp. Italian herbs
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 6 lasagne sheets
- 70 g mozarella (grated)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Cook the mince in a frying pan with a little low-calorie cooking spray until completely brown and no pink bits remain. Drain off any excess liquid, remove from the pan, and set aside.
Meanwhile, add the cottage cheese, parmesan, and half the amount of the seasonings (half a teaspoon each of garlic powder, salt, and Italian herbs, and quarter of a teaspoon of black pepper) to a small mixing bowl or jug. Use a hand blender to blitz until smooth and all ingredients are combined, and set aside.
Spray a little more low-calorie spray into the frying pan and add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 3-5 minutes until softened.
Add the cooked beef mince and the remaining half of the seasonings, then add a whole can of tomato sauce. If using chopped tomatoes, make sure to break them up with the back of a spoon.
Cook for 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the ingredients have had time to soak up all the flavours.
Now, start building your lasagne tray. Transfer a third of the mince mixture to the bottom of an oven-proof dish and then add 2 lasagne sheets on top. Add another layer of the meat mixture on top of this, along with half of the white cheese sauce on top of that. Finally, add another 2 sheets of lasagne, then repeat the same process once more to use up the remaining mince and cheese sauce.
Sprinkle with a layer of grated mozzarella cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 25-30 minutes (remove the foil for the last 5 minutes).
Once cooked, allow to cool for around 5 minutes before serving. Then, get stuck in!
Nutritional info per serving:
| Calories | 447 |
|---|---|
| Total Fat | 9g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 35g |
| Protein | 55g |
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Lauren is an English Literature graduate originally from the South. She’s always loved swimming, has discovered the power of weight training over the past few years, and has lots of room for improvement in her weekly hot yoga class.
On the weekends she’s usually cooking or eating some kind of brunch, and she enjoys trying out new recipes with her housemates – especially since shaking off student habits, like mainly surviving off pasta. Above all, she’s a firm believer in keeping a balance between the gym and gin.
Find out more about Lauren’s experience here.
