This ground turkey lasagna recipe is great for feeding a crowd! Pair it with a salad for a meal that everyone will love. 326 calories and 6 Weight Watchers SP

When you're hosting a crowd around the holidays, recipe that feed everyone in one fell swoop, like this ground turkey lasagna, are mandatory. With three layers of filling, this healthier lasagna is anything but wimpy. Pair it with a salad for a satisfying meal that will keep the masses happy.

Every year, the kitchen is filled with Nutella fudge, my mother-in-law's traditional butter cookies and treats from friends. The "No Grinch" rule requires that I dig into some of those treats. It's a tough job, I admit. But a little indulgence means that I need to balance the day with healthier meals.

This lightened-up lasagna is a great option, but we also turn to shepherd's pie, a traditional Canadian meat pie, chicken butternut squash stew and soups.

After doing a little research on various beef lasagnas, I found that the average serving consisted of 22 grams of fat. That's a little hard to swallow when you're trying to avoid wearing nothing but pants with elasticized waistbands.

How to make low fat lasagna:

I set to work slashing fat and pumping up the fiber in a classic meat lasagna. First, I switched to whole wheat lasagna noodles and used lean ground turkey and Italian chicken or turkey sausages.

Instead of using traditional ricotta cheese, or an even heavier Béchamel sauce, I used low fat cottage cheese. Sounds kind of weird, right? When you purée it, the cottage cheese becomes smooth and creamy…perfect for lasagna! This is something I've done for a couple of years, using the smooth cheese in everything from baked ziti to vegetarian lasagna rolls.

If you're short on time, use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce. However, if you have a bit of extra time, this homemade sauce is worth the extra effort.

Healthy recipes to feed a crowd:

Fisherman's Soup with Tilapia, Shrimp, Tomatoes & Capers {Cookin' Canuck}
Healthy Slow Cooker Spaghetti & Meatballs {Cookin' Canuck}
Slow Cooker Taco Soup {iFood Real}
Vegetable Lentil Soup {My Natural Family}

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Best Ground Turkey Lasagna

This ground turkey lasagna recipe is great for feeding a crowd! Pair it with a salad for a meal that everyone will love. 326 calories and 6 Weight Watchers SP

4.55 from 11 votes

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Course: Entrees

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Healthy Dinner Recipes, Pasta

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 1 45

Total Time: 2 15

Servings: Servings

Calories: 326.5kcal

Author: Dara Michalski | Cookin' Canuck

Ingredients

The Sauce:

1 teaspoon olive oil
½ onion chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 spicy Italian chicken or turkey sausages
3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 6 ounce can tomato paste
2 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
½ cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parlsey
2 bay leaves

The Rest:

12 ounces whole wheat lasagna noodles
16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 large basil leaves thinly sliced

Instructions

The Sauce:

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saucepan or skillet set over medium heat. Add the onion, ground turkey and sausages. Cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, until the turkey and sausages are cooked through.
Add the garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomato paste and stir to combine with the ground turkey mixture, cooking for 1 minute.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, parsley and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The Rest:

Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Lay out the noodles on kitchen towels in a single layer.
Place cottage cheese, parsley and salt into a blender, and puree until smooth.

Assembling The Lasagna:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Spread 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.
Lay a few lasagna noodles in a single layer over top of the sauce. When fitting in the lasagna noodles, it may be necessary to cut some in half lengthwise or crosswise so that they fit properly.
Spread ⅓ of the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Top with 1 ½ cups of the sauce, ¼ of the Parmesan cheese, and ⅓ of the sliced basil.
Repeat these layers 2 more times, starting with the lasagna noodles. End with an additional layer of lasagna noodles, and the remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and baked until the lasagna is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.
Let rest for 15 minutes, cut into 12 squares and serve.

Notes

Weight Watchers Points: 6 (Freestyle SmartPoints), 8 (Points+)

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #COOKINCANUCK and I'll be sure to find it.

This post was first published on December 8, 2014 and updated on December 17, 2019.

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Comments

4.55 from 11 votes (5 ratings without comment)