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This healthy lasagne recipe is livened up with basil pesto and sauteed bell peppers. A fun take on a classic favorite.

There is a good reason why lasagna (lasagne) is one of the most popular dishes to make for a group of people. Let's face it - melted cheese, pasta, tomato sauce and Italian seasonings baked together in one piping hot, layered casserole makes for a crowd-pleaser. However, all the ingredients that make lasagne so darn good are the same ones that cause the buttons on my pants to squeal (please tell me that I'm not the only one out that's heard that disheartening sound on occasion).

If I am going to continue with this whole healthy eating thing for the long-term (and that is certainly my intention), then I need to find ways to lighten up my favorite dishes. Because, let's be honest, deprivation is the first step on the road to weight loss failure. Or something like that. What I mean to say is that moderation is key. Capisce?

How to lighten up lasagne:

The question was, how was I going to lighten up lasagne without losing all of the satisfying flavors? The first step was to use whole wheat lasagne noodles, which is really a no-brainer for us. We rarely use anything but whole wheat noodles in our meals. If you are generally not a fan of whole wheat pasta, this is the place to start weaning yourself off of the white stuff. When baked into a casserole, it's very hard to tell what type of noodle is inside.

The next step was to replace ground beef with a very lean (99% lean) ground turkey. Now, as I explained when I made Baked Pasta Shells with Beef, Sundried Tomatoes & Spinach, I have nothing against beef. In fact, it can be a great way to get some extra iron into your diet. It's your choice. I bumped up the flavor of the turkey by sauteeing it with onions, garlic and chile flakes.

The real trick was reducing the amount of fat from the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses. I chose to completely eliminate the mozzarella cheese and replace the ricotta cheese with low-fat cottage cheese. For an extra layer of flavor, I pureed the cottage cheese with pesto to form a creamy, herb-tinged sauce. When layered with some Parmesan cheese and the rest of the ingredients, my family and I didn't even miss the extra mozzarella and the higher-fat ricotta cheese.

You will get a good dose of veggies from the marinara sauce, but I wanted even more vitamins and an extra layer of flavor. That's where the sauteed bell peppers came in - red, yellow and orange. Layered with the lasagne noodles, creamy pesto sauce and fresh basil leaves, the peppers provide a pop of color and fresh flavor.

Recipe makeover results:

I wanted to share the final outcome of all of this recipe finagling. Assuming that one pan makes about 10 servings (and that's still a pretty good sized piece of lasagne), one serving contains 323 calories. Pretty darn good. And the most important thing? It was a hit with my husband and kids.

The healthy lasagne recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare lasagna noodles per package instructions, rinse with cold water and lay in a single layer on kitchen towels.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat.

Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and red chile flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat to medium-high and add ground turkey meat. Cook, breaking up the turkey meat with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Pour off and discard juices. Transfer the onion/turkey meat mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Warm 1 teaspoon olive oil the same skillet, set over medium heat. Add diced bell peppers and cook until beginning to soften.

Place cottage cheese and pesto into a blender and puree until smooth.

Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Lay a few lasagna noodles in a single layer, slightly overlapping, 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 ⅓ of the turkey mixture, ⅓ of the pepper mixture, ⅓ of the sliced basil, an additional 1 cup of marinara sauce and ¼ of the Parmesan cheese.

Repeat these layers 2 more times, starting with the lasagna noodles. End with an additional layer of lasagna noodles, and the remaining marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and cook until the lasagne is bubbling, 55 to 60 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and just beginning to brown.

Let rest for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Other layered or stuffed pasta recipes:

Pesto Turkey Stuffed Shells
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rolls
Turkey Cannelloni with Roasted Peppers & Spinach

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