How to Make Ground Turkey Lasagna

Lasagna is one of Italy’s most famous culinary gifts to the world, but people who are watching their weight generally shy away from this rich combination of noodles, cheese, and meat. If you are looking for a less calorie and cholesterol laden version of lasagna, try making it with lean ground turkey, low-fat milk, and part-skim mozzarella.

Prep time: 20 min
Bake time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8 servings
Utensils: Baking dish, mixing bowl, measuring cup, spoon, baking sheet, serving plates and spoons

Ingredients:
Olive oil: 1 1/2 tablespoons
Yellow onion, diced: 1 cup
Garlic cloves, minced: 6
Low-fat milk: 1/2 cup
Lean ground turkey: 1 (22 ounce) package
Salt: 1 teaspoon
Shredded Parmesan cheese: 1 2/3 cups
Low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese: 10 ounces
Fresh ricotta: 1 (15 ounce) package
Dried oregano: 1 teaspoon
Dried parsley: 1 teaspoon
Fresh rosemary, minced: 1 teaspoon
Onion powder: 1 teaspoon
Garlic powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Ground black pepper: 1 tablespoon
Marinara sauce, bottled: 3 1/2 cups
Fresh no-boil lasagna noodles or 1 (13 ounce) package boiled regular lasagna noodles: 1 (13 ounce) package

Instructions

  • 1

    To begin, preheat your oven to roughly 350°F, so it is nice and hot by the time you are ready to slide your lasagna in to bake.

  • 2

    Next, prepare the noodles. If you are using no-boil noodles, you can skip this step – however, if you are using standard dry noodles, you will need to boil them in lightly salted water until they are tender, then drain them and rinse with cold water.

    Image courtesy: thepioneerwoman.com

  • 3

    Now place a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat, and heat the olive oil in this. Toss in the onions, and sauté them until they begin to soften and turn translucent in colour. Add in the minced garlic and rosemary, as well as 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon parsley, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

  • 4

    Sauté all this for around 2 minutes, then add in the ground turkey meat. Mash it and pull it apart with a wooden spoon or spatula, and cook it until it begins to brown. Pour in 1/2 cup of milk, turn the heat down to medium-low, and simmer until the meat is cooked through – this should take around 5 minutes. Add in 2.5 cups of marinara sauce, stir it in, and then take the pan off the heat.

    Image courtesy: noshtopia.com

  • 5

    In a medium-sized bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of shredded parmesan (reserve 2/3 cup), and the remainder of all the herbs and spices, along with the salt and pepper. Mix it all together with a spoon.

  • 6

    Now, you are ready to begin assembling and layering the lasagna. Take a standard lasagna pan, and at the very bottom, spread the reserved cup of marinara sauce thinly and evenly. Then, layer on some lasagna noodles, lengthwise – it’s alright if they overlap.

    Image courtesy: macheesmo.com

  • 7

    Onto the layer of noodles, spread 1/2 of ricotta mixture, and over this, 1/3 of the meat sauce. Add another layer of noodles, and then another layer of ricotta mixture and meat sauce. Keep repeating these steps until you reach the top of the pan (make sure you distribute your sauces and fillings evenly throughout the lasagna).

  • 8

    Spread the remaining sauces over the top-most layer of lasagna noodles (generally the third layer), then mix up the mozzarella and Parmesan. Sprinkle this all over the top of the lasagna. Cover the pan with tin foil (but make sure it doesn’t touch the cheese layer on top), and bake it for 20 minutes. Then, take the foil off the pan, and bake it for another 20 minutes.

  • 9

    The lasagna will be done once the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Take the pan out of the oven, and allow it to rest for around 10 to 15 minutes. Then, cut it into even, square slices, and serve.

    Image courtesy: blogs.babble.com

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